Diversity and language in education policies and practices in Japan: the formal and nonformal education interface

Japanese society has increasingly included linguistically diverse populations especially since newcomer migrants began arriving in early 1990s, notably from South America and Asia. The national government has not formulated... [ view full abstract ]

Japanese society has increasingly included linguistically diverse populations especially since newcomer migrants began arriving in early 1990s, notably from South America and Asia. The national government has not formulated systematic and comprehensive language in education policies to address migrant needs in comparison to other migrant societies, other than belatedly issuing guidelines and funding for Japanese as a Second language (JSL) programs and assisting cultural ‘adaptation’ in schools in the early 2000s. While the national government more recently began to acknowledge the benefits of the diversity brought by migrants to the whole school population in the 2008 Course of Study (the national curriculum guidelines), their language needs (JSL and heritage language maintenance) have not been adequately addressed. For example, migrant children continue to experience difficulties in proceeding to post-compulsory schooling, as do their adult counterparts in securing employment. There have been various initiatives by civil society groups to tackle this problem (e.g., neighbourhood language classes, homework clubs), to the extent that formal schools and employers now depend on them. This paper examines language in education policies and practices in addressing the increasing population diversity in the formal education sector and outside it, with a focus on the formal-nonformal interface, drawing on document analysis and case studies. The document analysis examines government reports, guidelines, and the Course of Study to trace the policy development in the last two decades. While JSL instructional support in formal education has been developed over time, the policies are silent about heritage language support. The case studies include those presented in secondary sources, Presenter A’s studies of school children in Osaka and Kobe, and Presenter B's study of adult learners in a -mid-sized city in rural region. They investigated how schools and communities addressed migrants’ JSL and heritage languages, with what consequence.  The results demonstrate how learning opportunities in non-formal education support migrants in navigating their integration and resistance in the face of the strong force of assimilation. The paper argues that the interface provides the potential space for critical reflections and productive collaborations not only in language in education but also in learning generally.