Japan explores quality alternative education beyond “free schools”

“Free schools” are on the rise in Japan, as the number of k-12 students with extended absence from classrooms (futoko) continues to grow, reaching the record high of 200,000 in 2022. Often triggered by bullying, the ratio of truancy is highest in the middle school (5%, or one out of every 20 students), followed by the high school (1.7%) and elementary school (1.3%). The school phobia phenomenon is more acute in urban areas, with Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi (where Nagoya is) prefectures leading the statistics. Desperate parents started the free school movement in the 1980s, which is gaining traction rapidly.

What are free schools?

Free schools are not free, per se. According to a government survey conducted in 2015, the average cost of free schools was approximately $330 per month, similar to regular private schools. However, they are free from pressures to conform. Despite the declining number of children in Japan, the classroom size in public schools is still the maximum of 35 students (can be up to 40 in private schools), supervised by one homeroom teacher.

In such a packed context, diversity is rarely tolerated, let alone encouraged. Public school students, particularly from the seventh grade and above, are often subjected to strict rules on their appearances and behaviors. For example, school uniforms must be worn with white socks, overcoats may be prohibited even in winter and long hairs must be braided.

Free schools, most of them community-based and managed by non-profit groups, parents and volunteers, are not only much smaller, with ample attention on each child, but also relaxed. Some have independent curriculums, while others pursue therapeutic approaches to heartbroken children and their parents.

Still bound to conventional school system

Though promising, free schools are not yet real contenders to their conventional counterparts, due primarily to the issue of accreditation. As they are not part of the official system, they cannot issue any certificates. If children maintain an enrollment status with the conventional school that they are absent from, their days at a free school may be treated as regular school attendance, at the discretion of the principal of the original school. The same goes for a diploma or a transcript in applying for higher education institutions.

The expectation remains that children return to conventional schools sooner or later, with free schools filling a void (however deep it may be), rather than allowing the freedom for parents and children to choose an educational environment best suited for them.

This is a stark contrast to homeschooling in the U.S., where roughly 6% of school-age children opt for it in favor of a safe environment and customizable curriculums. The research shows that they perform better academically than average public school students. College admissions accommodate homeschool students, allowing them to submit transcripts and school reports prepared by a parent or a primary teacher. They do not need a diploma to apply for college and financial aid, as long as they can declare that their homeschool education meets state law requirements.

Finding unconventional approaches

Notwithstanding these constraints, there are other approaches being experimented with in Japan. For example, an online version of free schools has been launched to provide supplementary academic support. Efforts to reform regular schools – public and private – are also underway, as introduced through an independent film that won the 2023 Japanese Movie Critics Award in the Best Documentary section, “Yumemiru Shogakko (Dreaming School).”

In a group of private schools across central to western Japan, children learn from a year-long project, which they can choose from construction, culinary, farming and theater. Through hands-on learning, they master problem-solving, teamwork and subject-matter expertise. Similarly, a public elementary school in Nagano has abolished school reports, predetermined curriculums and classroom bells so that children can set their own goals, whether to visit forests every day or raise livestock.

In the future, the issue of accreditation in the Japanese school system will be less of an issue, now that many leading universities around the world offer distance learning. Parents and students in free schools, less constrained by the conventional educational framework, will be better placed to take advantage of these global-level options for quality education if they so wish. They are the pioneers, with far more possibilities on the horizon.