School Life and Club Activities in Japanese Junior High Schools : A Sociological Study based on a Questionnaire Survey in Tokyo

Our concern is to examine the differentiation between secondary school students. Although a great deal of effort has been made with regard to the theory of tracking-perspective, what seems to be lacking is a exploration of other factors of differentiation, besides academic achievements, and a consideration of lower secondary education. Eminent as the theory is, it has been applied too monotonously to explanations of differentiation. We focused on junior high school students, especially on their club-activities, and made a questionnaire survey of 912 students from six junior high schools in Tokyo. We examined five subjects : student subcultures, career prospects, peer relationships, family background, and gender. From these view points we recognized additional factors contributing to between students. Viewed in this light, we propose that one-dimensional model ought to be modified to take into account "a plural model of school culture"