The University Rowing Club as a Site of Moral and Social Education in Japan

In 2001 the Japanese Ministry for Education, Sport, Culture and Technology (MEXT) put forward the 'Education Reform Plan for the 21st Century' or as it was labelled 'The Rainbow Plan'. The 'Rainbow Plan' comprised seven priority strategies to achieve this reform. These strategies included the encouragement of cultural and sports club activities and the improvement of moral and social education. MEXT goes on to add that social education is 'a general term for organised educational activities not covered in the regular curricula of elementary schools, secondary schools and institutions of higher education'. This educational reform is a response to the belief that younger generations in Japan have little 'understanding or experience of traditional Japanese spirituality' and have become 'accustomed to a more international and materialistic lifestyle' (Yasumura, 1998: 81). The delivery of modern education and the educational institutions from which it is delivered are sites par excellence for the reproduction of culture, which, through the inevitable pedagogy imbedded in 'the school', are responsible for the appropriate socialisation of students (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Bourdieu, 1990). Furthermore Bourdieu & Passeron (1977) believe that the pedagogic action of education (in its broadest sense) plays a central part in the reproduction of culture and the whole social system