Thank you for visiting this page about the National Survey of Education and Work. This section of the website introduces this research project.
The survey is a purely academic study funded entirely by public funds and is not connected to any ideological, political, or religious group. No for-profit group has provided any support or cooperation.
●Survey purpose
●Funds and organization
●Survey overview
●Preliminary survey results
●Presentation of research findings【New!】
●Survey purpose
Education, child-raising, workstyles, and lifestyles in contemporary Japanese society are undergoing major changes due to factors such as a worsening employment environment, declining birthrate, and aging population. As a result of those changes, people’s values have diversified, and one hears people discussing a variety of approaches and views with regard to education and child-raising. At the same time, differences in income and education among different segments of the population are attracting new attention.
There has been ongoing discussion about such differentials in the context of education, work, and economic conditions, but studies on the subject of education to date have not adequately investigated work and economic conditions, while studies on work and economic conditions have not adequately investigated education. As a result, there is not enough information to support an accurate assessment of the relationship between education and work, and between education and economic conditions, regardless of the source of data one utilizes.
This survey is designed to measure and analyze in an academic manner the relationship between education and society, which has not been adequately explained by available data to date, by undertaking a detailed study of the relationships connecting educational experience, occupation, and social status from both standpoints. In addition, we hope to utilize the results of our analysis to provide useful advice on the subject of future educational policy.
●Funding and organization
After receiving public funding from the scientific research fund administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, an agency of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Scientific Research Fund [Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research A]: Grant No. 23243083 [from the National Institute of Informatics KAKEN Grant Database]), Professor Takayasu Nakamura of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Education formed the http://kaken.nii.ac.jp/d/p/23243083.ja.html2013 Education, Social Status, and Social Mobility Survey Research Group consisting of expert researchers from around Japan. The Group, whose members are listed below, carried out the survey under the direction of the Nakamura Lab.
【Members of the Education, Social Status, and Social Mobility Survey Research Group (as of May 30, 2014) (◎: research representative; 〇: manager) 】
◎中村高康（Professor, the University of Tokyo） ・多喜弘文（Instructor, Hosei University）
○平澤和司（Professor, Hokkaido University） ・須藤康介（Assistant Professor, Meisei University）
○荒牧草平（Associate Professor, Kyushu University） ・日下田岳史（Assistant Professor, Taisho University）
○中澤 渉（Associate Professor, Osaka University） ・小川和孝（Project Researcher, the University of Tokyo）
・吉田 崇（Associate Professor, Shizuoka University） ・野田鈴子（second-year master’s program student, the University of Tokyo Graduate School）
・古田和久（Associate Professor, Niigata University） ・元濱奈穂子（second-year master’s program student, the University of Tokyo Graduate School）
・藤原 翔（Associate Professor, the University of Tokyo） ・胡中孟徳（first-year master’s program student, the University of Tokyo Graduate School）
●Survey overview
【Subjects】
We asked a total of 4,800 subjects age 30 to 64 from around Japan to participate in the study. To ensure that our sample would be representative of the population as a whole, we chose survey locations with a lottery-like method known as random sampling, examined the Basic Resident Register for each chosen location*, and selected subjects at a fixed interval from the register (a method known as systematic sampling).
*Academic surveys carried out by universities are permitted to access the Basic Resident Register in order to choose subjects. This survey obtained the permission of the cities, wards, towns, and villages in question before accessing the register and did so by means of a procedure put in place by the Nippon Research Center, an organization that carries out contract surveys. All information has been managed carefully to ensure its confidentiality.
【Survey methodology】
The survey was carried out by mailing questionnaires to subjects and then having examiners visit their residences subsequently to collect the questionnaires. Some questionnaires were collected by having the subjects mail them back, for example in cases where the subjects had recently moved.
【Survey dates】
October to December 2013
【Questionnaire】
●Preliminary survey results
1. Collection of questionnaires
The survey targeted 4,800 randomly selected men and women age 30 to 64 from around Japan. Information about the collection of questionnaires follows (the valid collection rate is calculated using the planned sample size [total number of subjects] as the denominator).
Total number of subjects: 4,800
Number of valid responses: 2,893
Valid collection rate: 60.3%
These numbers are excellent for a nationwide academic study, and they indicate that the data obtained is highly reliable. The lab would like to thank all subjects for their cooperation.
2. Basic characteristics of respondents
Figure 1. Gender
Figure 2. Age/span>
Figure 3. Geographic area
3. Results of analyzing survey data (excerpt)
3.1 Educational experience
Figure 4. Did you exercise with a parent (guardian) when you were an elementary school student? (Question 18a)
Figure 5. Did you go to art museums or other museums with a parent (guardian) when you were an elementary school student? (Question 18b)
The data indicates that subjects from younger generations were more likely to have exercised or visited art museums or other museums with a parent (guardian) when they were in elementary school. Whereas just 14.3% of subjects in their 60s indicated that they exercised “frequently” or “occasionally” with a parent, 45.8% of subjects in their 30s replied that they did so. The relationship between parents and their children may have changed over time.
Figure 6. Did you frequently not want to go to school as a middle-school student? (Question 24h)
When asked if they frequently did not want to go to school as a middle-school student, the most common response for subjects of all generations was “no.” The younger a subject, the more likely he or she would choose “yes” or “more or less, yes.” It is possible that the relationship between students and school is changing.
Figure 7. Did you attend a “cram school” as a sixth grader or ninth grader? (Questions 19 and 28)
The percentage of subjects who indicated that they had experience attending a “cram school” increased as their age decreased. Whereas 12.9% and 15.2% of subjects in their 60s indicated that they attended a cram school as a sixth grader or a ninth grader, respectively, those numbers rise to 37.1% and 56.5%, respectively, for subjects in their 30s. The data suggests that the cram school system has spread and that a perception may have developed that school education alone is not adequate.
3.2 Perception of education
Figure 8. Is Japan a society where educational background means everything? (Question 49e)
About 70% of subjects in their 30s and about 80% of subjects from other generations indicated that they “agree” or “somewhat agree” with the proposition. Although the perception that academic background is all-determining in Japanese society has weakened slightly among people in their 30s, the data illustrates how this belief remains entrenched.
Figure 9. Are public schools reliable? (Question 62b)
Although 47.9% of subjects in their 60s indicated that they “agree” or “somewhat agree” with the proposition, that number declined with age, falling to 38.7% for subjects in their 30s. It’s not an enormous difference, but it suggests that confidence in public schools may be falling gradually.
3.3 Perception of work
Figure 10. Do you have opportunities to increase your occupational skills through your job? (Question 10d)
In response to this question, 71.2% of subjects in their 30s and about 65% of subjects in their 40s and 50s replied “definitely” or “to some extent.” By contrast, about 20% to 30% of respondents replied “not really “ or “no.” The data indicates that there is a gap in the extent to which workers are given opportunities to build occupational skills through their jobs.
Figure 11. What kind of person do you perceive as being skilled in your current workplace? (Question 11)
*Analysis includes only subjects who are currently working.
When we examined questions asking subjects to characterize the type of person they perceive as being skilled in their current workplace, we found generational differences in terms of “people who can communicate effectively” and “people who exhibit leadership.” Whereas 76.5% of subjects in their 30s chose communication skills, which have been emphasized in recent years, only 63.4% of subjects in their 60s did the same. A similar trend is evident in subjects’ choice of leadership. The data suggests that there are differences in the extent to which people emphasize different skills.
3.4 Perception of society
Figure 12. Is the opportunity to receive a university education distributed uniformly without regard to differences in wealth? (Question 62d)
When we asked whether the opportunity to receive a university education is distributed uniformly without regard to differences in wealth, more than 60% of all subjects replied “not really” or “no,” regardless of their generation. The data indicates that most people believe that economic differences continue to have a significant influence on one’s ability to receive a university education, regardless of the fact that such opportunities have expanded over time.
4. Plans to release more detailed data and analysis results
The above analysis results are only preliminary in nature. Please note that our final data may diverge slightly from the information presented here.
The Research Group plans to publish a report describing a more expert analysis along with tabulated results for all questions at the end of March 2015 after conducting a more detailed analysis. We also plan to make that report available for viewing on this website to the extent that doing so is practical.
〔This information was compiled by Suzuko Noda and Takayasu Nakamura.〕
●Presentation of research findings【New!】
・Takayasu Nakamura and Kazushi Hirasawa, “Educational Experience and Social Status: Using 2013 ESSM Data” (presentation given on September 13, 2014, at the 66th meeting of the Japan Society of Educational Sociology [at Ehime University and Matsuyama University])
・Kazuyoshi Ogawa, “The Relationship between Pre-primary Education and the Social Status of One’s Family and Educational Attainment: Using 2013 ESSM Data” (presentation given on September 13, 2014, at the 66th meeting of the Japan Society of Educational Sociology [at Ehime University and Matsuyama University])
・Kazuhisa Furuta, “Evaluation of Education, Occupation, and School Education: Using 2013 ESSM Data” (presentation given on September 13, 2014, at the 66th meeting of the Japan Society of Educational Sociology [at Ehime University and Matsuyama University])
・Hirofumi Taki, “Quantitative Research into Vocational School as an Educational Background: Using 2013 ESSM Data” (presentation given on September 13, 2014, at the 66th meeting of the Japan Society of Educational Sociology [at Ehime University and Matsuyama University])
・Wataru Nakazawa, “Educational Awareness and Social Status: A Multinomial Logit Model for Latent Social Class Using 2013 ESSM Data” (presentation given on September 13, 2014, at the 66th meeting of the Japan Society of Educational Sociology [at Ehime University and Matsuyama University])