The Direction of Vocational Education in Specialized High Schools and Regional Talent Development

As industrial structures and social systems become more complex, the knowledge and skills that young people need to acquire when they enter society are also becoming more advanced. This has made it necessary to reconsider the nature of vocational education at the high school level

• Vocational high schools have contributed to the development of local industrial human resources
• Vocational high schools are expected to further strengthen their efforts to develop human resources who will lead local industries
• Vocational education has historically been curtailed
• What are the two characteristics of vocational high school students?
• Vocational high schools improve student motivation and clarify career aspirations
• What challenges does the expansion of university enrollment bring to vocational high schools?
• Developing human resources to support local industries by converting vocational high schools into technical colleges

Vocational high schools have contributed to the development of local industrial human resources

In addition to general education departments, Japanese high schools have specialized departments that provide vocational education, and comprehensive departments that emphasize career education that integrates general education and vocational education. Of these, high schools with specialized departments are called vocational high schools, and they contributed to the development of local industrial human resources throughout the period of high economic growth after the war. In recent years, it is said that the knowledge and skills required in the workplace have become more advanced, and there is a policy trend to connect vocational education at vocational high schools to higher education. However, responding to the trend toward higher education requires the expansion of general education, which could create a dilemma with vocational education at vocational high schools

Source: Created by the author

Let's start by understanding the basics of vocational high schools. A vocational high school is a high school that offers specialized departments primarily focused on vocational education, such as agriculture, industry, commerce, fisheries, home economics, nursing, information technology, and social welfare. Vocational high schools are said to have contributed greatly to Japan's rapid economic growth and industrialization by cultivating human resources that support local industries (Wada 2024). According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Basic School Survey, in 1960, the proportion of students attending vocational high schools was the highest since the system was established, with 40% of students attending. In 2023, the number of students was approximately 500,000, representing 17.1% of all high school students. The proportion of students enrolled in each specialized department within the total number of high school students is as follows: Industry 7.0%, Commerce 5.6%, Agriculture 2.4%, Home Economics 1.2%, Nursing 0.4%, Fisheries 0.2%, Social Welfare 0.2%, and Information Technology 0.1%. Of the 6,528 full-time and part-time high schools nationwide, 1,920 are vocational high schools (including schools with multiple departments), accounting for approximately 30% of the total.

The number of credits required for high school graduation is 74 (1 credit is equivalent to 35 50-minute classes), but vocational high schools are required to allocate at least 25 of these credits to specialized subjects. However, up to 5 credits each can be included for foreign language subjects and subjects that can achieve the same objectives as specialized subjects.

In recent years, the number of students who pursue further education rather than employment after graduating from vocational high schools has been increasing. In fiscal year 2024, of the 158,221 total graduates, 47.2% found employment (self-employed and permanent/fixed-term employees). In contrast, 25.5% went on to university (including junior colleges), and 24.7% went on to vocational schools, public employment vocational skills development facilities, etc.

Source: Created by the author based on the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's "Career Paths of High School Graduates by Department"

Vocational high schools are expected to further strengthen their efforts to develop human resources who will lead local industries

Since the 2020s, government policies have increasingly placed greater expectations on vocational high schools to strengthen the development of human resources to support local industries.

Since fiscal year 2019, the "Project to Promote High School Education Reform through Collaboration with Local Communities" has been implemented, promoting initiatives to realize inquiry-based learning through the resolution of local issues by forming consortia between high schools, local governments, higher education institutions, and industry. In the "professional type" of this policy, the promotion of practical vocational education through collaboration with local industries, mainly in specialized departments, has been desired (Wada 2024). Furthermore, the

"Meister High School Project" has also been implemented since fiscal year 2021. In the outline of this project, it is stated that "the industrial structure and job content are changing rapidly due to the progress of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, digital transformation, and sixth-sector industrialization," and that vocational high schools "have an urgent need to cultivate vocational human resources that can respond immediately to the continuous changes in industrial structure and job content" (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2024). Furthermore, designated vocational high schools and stakeholders from industry and other sectors are expected to collaborate on curriculum reform and educational practices.

In addition, the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education (Cabinet decision on June 16, 2023), which covers the period from fiscal year 2023 to 2027, lists "enhancing career education and vocational education" as a basic measure to achieve "the development of solid academic abilities, broad knowledge and general education, specialized skills, and practical vocational skills." Within this, it is mentioned that "the efforts and achievements of vocational high schools that develop distinctive educational content will be promoted."

At the same time, in order to respond to the increasing sophistication of skills and knowledge required in the workplace, there are plans to extend vocational education beyond the high school level and connect it with higher education such as universities and vocational schools.

For example, the summary of deliberations (2020) and the interim summary (2023) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the Central Council for Education recommend considering the development and implementation of educational curricula that are not limited to three years, such as utilizing the specialized course system in vocational high schools, reorganizing them into technical colleges, and developing and implementing a consistent curriculum in cooperation with higher education institutions. In this way, we can see the policy intention to enhance the educational content of vocational high schools and strengthen vocational education.

Vocational education has historically been curtailed

On the other hand, vocational education has historically been on the decline. Let us take a look at this trend

Source: Created by the author

In the postwar period, vocational education was required to train mid-level technicians as part of reconstruction policies. In 1951, the Industrial Education Promotion Act was enacted, providing national subsidies and promoting the stable operation of specialized departments (vocational departments) and the independence of vocational high schools. Furthermore, with the arrival of the period of rapid economic growth, based on the recommendations of the Central Council for Education in 1966, efforts were made to diversify specialized departments.

However, around this time, against the backdrop of the spread of the Japanese-style employment system, the orientation towards general education expanded, and the hierarchy between general education and vocational education progressed. It became common for companies to train new graduates they hired in bulk within their own companies, and students' employment came to be determined not by vocational knowledge and skills, but by "basic and general abilities" and "trainability" (Komikawa 2015). As a result, vocational education was no longer emphasized in schools and universities, and newly established schools and faculties became academically focused and detached from general education and specific occupations. The economic downturn caused by economic crises such as the oil shock, coupled with an increase in the number of students wishing to attend high school, led to a clear hierarchy between general and specialized high schools (Kawashita 2013), with general high schools largely absorbing the rise in high school enrollment rates. According to Kawashita (2013), this resulted in "unwilling enrollment and dropping out of vocational high schools becoming a problem."

Against this backdrop of declining interest in vocational education, in 1995, the "Research Council on Measures to Revitalize Vocational Education," a private advisory body to the Director-General of the Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau of the Ministry of Education (at the time), issued a report titled "The Path to Becoming a Specialist." This report stated that education in specialized high schools is the "first stage" to becoming a "specialist." It argued that vocational education should be positioned within lifelong learning, including school education, and that the high school level should focus on basic and fundamental education (Wada 2024). Subsequently, in the 1999 revision of the curriculum guidelines, the number of required credits for specialized subjects in vocational high schools was reduced from "30 credits or more" to "25 credits or more." This number of required credits for specialized subjects is the lowest since the end of World War II.

What are the two characteristics of vocational high school students?

As mentioned above, the number of required credits for vocational education has been reduced, but even so, education at vocational high schools has played a role in shaping the identity of students who intend to enter the workforce.

Minamoto (2016) attempted to describe the situation of students attending vocational high schools by conducting a survey of vocational high school principals. The survey targeted 1,100 principals, with 591 valid responses. Principals were asked to evaluate aspects such as behavior, learning status, and career awareness using a four-point scale ("strongly agree" to "strongly disagree").

From Minamoto's (2016) survey, two main characteristics can be observed about students at vocational high schools. First, while their behavior is good and they are obedient to guidance, they have challenges in terms of initiative. Many principals gave positive evaluations of items related to students' behavior. Items such as "few late arrivals or absences," "punctuality," and "doing a thorough job of cleaning" were positively evaluated by 80-90% of principals. Furthermore, nearly 70% of principals gave negative responses to the item "Many students dislike tedious tasks that require perseverance."

In contrast, they acknowledged the challenges regarding students' initiative. For items such as "Students are confident in themselves and can express their individuality" and "They actively engage in everything and can demonstrate leadership," around 60% of principals responded "Not really applicable" or "Not at all applicable." In addition, while students enroll with a clear awareness of future employment, nearly 60% of principals recognized that "Students enroll without deeply considering their future and are only there because others recommended it," suggesting that students' motivations for enrolling in and studying at vocational high schools are passive.

Source: Created by the author

Vocational high schools improve student motivation and clarify career aspirations

Secondly, many students show increased motivation and a clearer understanding of their career paths as a result of education at specialized high schools. Over 90% of principals gave positive evaluations to items such as, "Many students demonstrate enthusiasm and ability in practical and experimental classes," and "Many students deepen their understanding and acquire knowledge, skills, and techniques because there are many experiments and practical sessions, and learning is done through experience." In addition, nearly 90% of principals gave positive evaluations to the statement, "Many students understand the content and significance of work while learning, and develop a sense of professionalism," and over 80% gave positive evaluations to the statement, "Many students have a clearer understanding of their career paths and are interested in the content they are learning." Perhaps as an effect of specialized education, over 70% of principals evaluated that "many students aim to find employment in fields where they can utilize the learning results from their specialized subject after graduation." However, there were also evaluations that there are a small number of students who feel that the learning in the specialized subject does not match their interests or who do not show interest.

Minamoto's (2016) research shows that students who lacked initiative converged towards employment in occupations related to what they learned through vocational education at specialized high schools. In this regard, Nakazawa, Abe, and Ishii (2009) also state that vocational high schools "strongly serve as a place for students to cultivate an identity related to occupations they are likely to pursue in the future." Vocational education at specialized high schools can be said to function as a track to supply human resources to fields that align with the educational content of local industries.

Source: Created by the author

What challenges does the expansion of university enrollment bring to vocational high schools?

Expanding opportunities for higher education may be inconsistent with the track function of vocational high schools. To enter higher education, students need general and universal knowledge acquired through general education rather than knowledge and skills specific to a particular occupation. Alternatively, they may aim for admission through methods other than traditional subject-based examinations, such as AO entrance exams and self-recommendation entrance exams, which are on the rise due to the declining birthrate. Both of these present challenges from the perspective of developing human resources to support local industries.

If general education is expanded, vocational high schools are likely to become closer in content to comprehensive high schools. According to the 2023 Basic School Survey, the employment rate for comprehensive high schools was 22.4%, less than half that of vocational high schools. Also, the percentage of students who are undecided about their future at graduation ("other," including those who are repeating a year) was 5.4%, the same level as general high schools (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology). Comprehensive high schools are departments that "advocate career education that looks ahead to the entire life of the students" (Konishi 2020), and may not be suitable for education focused on the objective of developing human resources for local industries. Therefore, this is inconsistent with the policy objective of strengthening vocational high schools.

On the other hand, non-traditional methods of higher education, such as AO entrance exams and self-recommendation entrance exams, may also negatively impact the acquisition of specialized subjects and courses. Koga (2016), who studied career guidance at schools offering diverse career paths, points out that career guidance that deviates from the framework of "entrance exams/employment = academic tests" and focuses on internal evaluations and interview practice may fall into the trap of learning test-taking techniques. This, too, would not be in line with the objective of developing human resources for local industries. These are some of the challenges in linking vocational education with higher education.

Developing human resources to support local industries by converting vocational high schools into technical colleges

There are expectations that vocational high schools will cultivate human resources for local industries, and the enhancement of educational content through connection with higher education is being considered. However, considering that vocational high schools have the function of promoting the formation of students' professional identity through consistent vocational education and connecting them to local industries, it cannot be said that simply expanding general education and connecting them with universities and vocational schools will serve the intended purpose.

Rather, it is thought that weakening the "further education" element and strengthening specialized education within vocational high schools is the path to achieving the objective. Such education is already being provided at National Colleges of Technology (KOSEN). Students enter KOSEN after graduating from junior high school and cultivate specialization through a five-year integrated education. The Central Council for Education's report also recommended the conversion of vocational high schools into KOSEN, or the utilization of advanced courses where students can learn more specialized content after graduating from a three-year undergraduate course. This direction is thought to be more beneficial for cultivating human resources for local industries. KOSEN mainly consists of industrial departments and, due to their small number, do not necessarily correspond to the industrial structure of the region. The "expansion" of vocational high schools could be an option to fill the gap left by technical colleges.

However, the potential for vocational high schools to converge students' career choices needs to be considered separately in terms of what it means for individual students' life plans. A system design that is beneficial to both the community and each individual student will be required.

(This article is an edited and revised version of an article from the May 2024 issue of 'EN-ICHI FORUM'.)

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