Relay Column: The Twilight of Cram School Culture & the Technology of Exam Study (Tatsuya Fujimura)

There was a time when the culture of preparatory schools was openly discussed. Generally, a preparatory school is viewed as a place focused on helping students successfully pass university entrance exams by providing the necessary knowledge and skills in a rational manner. This perspective isn’t entirely incorrect. However, at the same time, unique cultural elements that can be described as a specific culture of preparatory schools were also thriving. There were erudite teachers who spoke about philosophy, literature, and life theories, disregarding the official texts and curriculum; former student activists who shared their experiences and organized students to participate in protests; and charismatic instructors who captivated students with their flamboyant fashion, excellent storytelling, and stunning performances. The environment was diverse, a blend of high and low elements, and it exuded an underground chaos that was hardly educational.

From the perspective of rational exam preparation, these aspects could be viewed as a kind of surplus or even waste. However, for students continuing their studies with hopes of a comeback the following spring, the year as a "ronin" (a student preparing for a re-examination) is long and lonely. Achieving status through educational background or employment is a form of delayed gratification. Merely chasing a distant carrot doesn't always sustain the motivation of the examinee. This reveals the underlying functions of preparatory school culture. Classes that expose students to philosophy and literature inspire a longing for the university waiting in "a slightly further future." The anecdotes from student movements direct their gaze toward a society filled with conflicts that spread beyond school and exam studies. Alternatively, theatrical classes, which amaze students with fashion and speaking skills, connect examinees about to fall out of the world of effort and diligence to learning in the "here and now." This very culture has likely supported anxious and lonely ronin students behind the goals of acquiring educational credentials and the normative culture of effort and diligence.

If examinees relied on "exam techniques" to efficiently solve entrance exam questions, one could argue that the diverse classes taught by instructors were, consciously or unconsciously, techniques for their survival. Preparatory schools operate within a market system, making instructors and classes commodities. Those who lack support from students have no choice but to leave the podium. However, unlike conventional schools, preparatory schools lack the institutional basis to enforce learning, which is why a unique culture designed to attract students and direct them toward studying emerged somewhat inevitably.

Thus, the culture of preparatory schools has supported exam studies as a backflow of a credential-oriented society and a meritocratic ethos. However, this culture has gradually diminished since the 1990s, when the number of examinees declined and the tendency for current students to aim for higher education intensified. The mass closure of most campuses of Yoyogi Seminar, once considered one of the three major preparatory schools and at the center of its glamorous days, in 2014 announced the twilight of preparatory school culture. In its place, EdTech, which involves the application of the latest technology in education, has begun to rise in recent years. Now, at Sundai Preparatory School, AI teaching materials have been introduced alongside instructor-led classes, and Jonan Preparatory School has significantly shifted its business model to focus on personalized learning tailored to small groups through individual guidance and AI teaching materials, eliminating traditional classes altogether.