Consequences of Educational Expansion in Contemporary Japan I: Behavior and Attitude among University Students

Panel Convenor(s)

• SM

  Satoshi Miwa

  University of Tokyo, Japan

Panel Chair(s)

• SM

  Satoshi Miwa

  University of Tokyo, Japan

Panel Discussant(s)

• TI

  Takehiro Ikeda

  Rikkyo University, Japan

Presenter(s)

• KK

  Kentaro Kamada

  University of Tokyo, Japan
• SN

  Setsuko Nishima

  University of Tokyo, Japan
• YY

  Yurino Yamaguchi

  University of Tokyo, Japan
• MS

  Minami Shimosegawa

  Sakushin Gakuin University, Japan

This panel session was organized in order to discuss various issues of disparity and inequality concerning university students and their families after educational expansion in Japanese society. All of our researches are based upon quantitative approach for social research, especially using micro-level behavioral datasets. Japan's higher education advancement rate has been steadily rising since the 1990s, and currently stands at a level approaching 60%.  Under these circumstances, it has been pointed out that there are problems with the quality of university education, the increase in the number of dropouts, the difficulty in finding employment for university students, the careers of youth generation, the soaring cost of education, family relationships and home education, etc. In order to clarify the social mechanisms underlying these problems, we analyze changes in people's behavior and their relationship to social institutions and structures. This organized panel session focuses on the behavior and attitude among University Students in Japan. This session is comprised of four speakers who have researched on sociology of education, social stratification, or family studies.

The first speaker is Kentaro Kamada. He examines how Japanese university students' living time has changed with the expansion of education. As a result, while the number of university students has increased in Japan, the amount of time spent studying has also increased.

The second speaker is Setsuko Nishima. She focuses on internal migration between regions. She finds that regional mobility, particularly from rural to urban areas, favors educational attainment. However, she also shows that regional migration itself is on the decline, and that the effect of regional mobility on careers has weakened in recent cohorts.

The third speaker is Yurino Yamaguchi. She approaches the content of Japanese university students' job interviews from both qualitative and quantitative research. The reasons and conflicts surrounding why university students choose their hobbies and extracurricular activities rather than their studies as the center of their student lives will be examined.

The fourth speaker is Minami Shimosegawa. She investigates whether the significance of social capital in school to work transitions varies depending on an individual's graduation status. The result reveals a more pronounced decrease in the risk of leaving their initial jobs for dropouts who utilize personal networks compared to graduates.

Presentations:

• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  Changes in Student Time Use During the Transition from Mass to Universal Higher Education in Japan
  

  Presenter: Kentaro Kamada – University of Tokyo
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  The Effect of Residential Mobility to University on Status Attainment
  

  Presenter: Setsuko Nishima – University of Tokyo
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  What Do Students Present in Job Interviews?: Student Activities during College
  

  Presenter: Yurino Yamaguchi – University of Tokyo
• 09:00 – 10:45 (GMT+7)

  Exploring Employment Disparities and Social Capital in School-to-Work Transitions: Difference between Higher Education Graduates and Dropouts in Japan
  

  Presenter: Minami Shimosegawa – Sakushin Gakuin University