Chapter 1: The Emergence and Development of Inclusive Education in Japan: Local to Global and Back Again
Davey Young
Abstract
Since its emergence as a global policy movement and alternative to special education in the 1990s, inclusive education has been touted as a guarantee of equitable education provisions to minoritized groups around the world. However, the implementation of inclusive education has been irregular, confined in part by historical, cultural, and ideological factors at the local level, including in Japan. This chapter traces the evolution of inclusive education within the history of Japanese schooling framed against the backdrop of its development as an international policy movement and proposes a global-local policy cycle that shapes inclusive education’s incremental and context-specific advancement at various levels of policy and practice. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the current state of inclusive education at the compulsory and postsecondary levels in Japan, including consideration of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
About the Contributor
Davey Young is a Lecturer in the Department of English Studies at Sophia University. He began his career in education working with at-risk student populations in Seattle public schools, including providing language support for immigrant and refugee students. This experience led to his commitment to furthering education as a human right for all people. He holds an MA TESOL from Seattle Pacific University and a PhD in International Studies (Comparative Education) from Waseda University’s Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies. His research is focused on ELTs’ preparedness to teach students with disabilities.
Citation
Young, D. (2024). The emergence and development of inclusive education in Japan: Local to global and back again. In A. Burke, D., Young, & M. L. Cook (Eds.), Barrier-free Instruction in Japan: Recommendations for teachers at all levels of schooling (pp. 22-64). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/30/1
Since its emergence as a global policy movement and alternative to special education in the 1990s, inclusive education has been touted as a guarantee of equitable education provisions to minoritized groups around the world. However, the implementation of inclusive education has been irregular, confined in part by historical, cultural, and ideological factors at the local level, including in Japan. This chapter traces the evolution of inclusive education within the history of Japanese schooling framed against the backdrop of its development as an international policy movement and proposes a global-local policy cycle that shapes inclusive education’s incremental and context-specific advancement at various levels of policy and practice. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the current state of inclusive education at the compulsory and postsecondary levels in Japan, including consideration of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
About the Contributor
Davey Young is a Lecturer in the Department of English Studies at Sophia University. He began his career in education working with at-risk student populations in Seattle public schools, including providing language support for immigrant and refugee students. This experience led to his commitment to furthering education as a human right for all people. He holds an MA TESOL from Seattle Pacific University and a PhD in International Studies (Comparative Education) from Waseda University’s Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies. His research is focused on ELTs’ preparedness to teach students with disabilities.
Citation
Young, D. (2024). The emergence and development of inclusive education in Japan: Local to global and back again. In A. Burke, D., Young, & M. L. Cook (Eds.), Barrier-free Instruction in Japan: Recommendations for teachers at all levels of schooling (pp. 22-64). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/30/1
Information About the Book
Title: Barrier-Free Instruction in Japan: Recommendations for Teachers at all Levels of Schooling
Editors: Alexandra Burke, Davey Young, and Melodie Lorie Cook
Read more...
Title: Barrier-Free Instruction in Japan: Recommendations for Teachers at all Levels of Schooling
Editors: Alexandra Burke, Davey Young, and Melodie Lorie Cook
Read more...