A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of Financial Aid for Low-Income Students in Japan and China

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K14024
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 09050:Tertiary education-related
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Wang Shuai 東京大学, 社会科学研究所, 准教授 (40743422)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 奨学金 / 経済的支援 / 低所得層 / 大学生 / 教育機会 / 大学生活 / 学習行動 / 日中比較

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Financial aid is intended to provide equal educational opportunities, it needs to be made evident to what extent they should be limited to low-income groups. The Japanese higher education "free education" policy, which is about to be implemented, has a minimal target of households exempt from residential taxation, but how students will respond to it and what effects it will have are important research questions. This study focuses on low-income students and examines the impact of financial aid on students' choice of higher education and their learning behavior after entering university on both the policy side and the user side. A survey-based empirical study of a case study in China, which has already implemented financial aid for students from low-income families, was conducted and examined the ideal form of financial aid through a comparison between Japan and China based on the survey results.

Free Research Field

高等教育

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

奨学金は教育機会の均等を目指すものであることから，相対的に低所得の学生を対象とするのは当然であるが，どの程度の低所得層に対象を限定するか，学生の反応，またどのような効果をもつかは，いずれも重要な研究課題であるにもかかわらず明らかになっていない。本研究は低所得層学生に着目して，比較的視点で経済支援の問題を捉えることで，経済支援の効果研究の蓄積に貢献することができる。また，日中の比較可能な調査データセットを構築することによって，経済支援の在り方に係る議論の展開に基礎的な資料を提供し，日本の高等教育における経済支援の効果的な活用に示唆を与えることができる。