The Conflict Between Centralization and Decentralization of Higher Education: The Case of Educational Development in Japan

Abstract

Although universities have been decentralized for academic freedom and autonomy, resources are being increasingly centralized, and the role of central administration is growing for efficiency and excellence reasons. At the same time, a division of labor is progressing by assigning specific tasks to professionals. The professionals are also centrally managed. Educational development was introduced by central administration to cope with the massification and quality assurance of higher education. Although it played a great part in promoting educational reform, it also suffered from the rejection of academics and the lack of methodology. Unlike ITC service and student service, educational development touches the autonomy of academics and is always torn between the central administration and academics. This chapter analyzes the structural and cultural difficulty of educational development in Japan by tracing its historical development and by comparing to other countries.

Citation

Yoshinaga, K. (2023), "The Conflict Between Centralization and Decentralization of Higher Education: The Case of Educational Development in Japan", Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2022 (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 46B), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 97-116. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-36792023000046B007