The Neurotypical Assumption: How Japanese Kokugo Educa‑ tion Structurally Excludes Neurodivergent Readers
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| Format: | Recurso digital |
| Language: | English |
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Zenodo
2026
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| _version_ | 1866901687189372928 |
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| author | Sophia, Franny Philos |
| author_facet | Sophia, Franny Philos |
| contents | <p>Japanese language education (kokugo) is built on a pedagogical assumption so deeply embed‑<br>ded that it functions as a self‑evident truth: to read literature is to infer what characters feel.<br>This paper argues that this assumption embeds a neurotypical cognitive norm at the structural<br>level of curriculum design. The dominant kokugo paradigm — in which students must infer<br>characters’ emotional states from fragmentary textual cues — constitutes an implicit Theory of<br>Mind (ToM) task that privileges one cognitive pathway to literary engagement while rendering<br>alternatives invisible. Drawing on Milton’s (2012) theory of the double empathy problem, this<br>paper extends the framework from interpersonal interaction to institutional curriculum de‑<br>sign, arguing that a national educational system organised around a single neurotype‑specific<br>cognitive operation instantiates the double empathy problem at the structural level. The paper<br>introduces the concept of “implicit boundary ignorance” to explain how evaluative frameworks<br>can embed exclusionary assumptions without recognising the limits of their own applicability.<br>Against this critique, the paper identifies alternative cognitive pathways — including pattern ac‑<br>cumulation through extensive reading and logic‑first engagement through mystery and detec‑<br>tive fiction — and proposes concrete reforms grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL)<br>principles. The analysis demonstrates that kokugo assessment may be measuring neurotype<br>conformity rather than literary competence, and that educational systems must interrogate<br>the cognitive boundary conditions of their own design.</p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_19149424 |
| institution | Zenodo |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | The Neurotypical Assumption: How Japanese Kokugo Educa‑ tion Structurally Excludes Neurodivergent Readers Sophia, Franny Philos kokugo education neurodiversity double empathy problem Theory of Mind autism inclusive education Universal Design for Learning reading comprehension <p>Japanese language education (kokugo) is built on a pedagogical assumption so deeply embed‑<br>ded that it functions as a self‑evident truth: to read literature is to infer what characters feel.<br>This paper argues that this assumption embeds a neurotypical cognitive norm at the structural<br>level of curriculum design. The dominant kokugo paradigm — in which students must infer<br>characters’ emotional states from fragmentary textual cues — constitutes an implicit Theory of<br>Mind (ToM) task that privileges one cognitive pathway to literary engagement while rendering<br>alternatives invisible. Drawing on Milton’s (2012) theory of the double empathy problem, this<br>paper extends the framework from interpersonal interaction to institutional curriculum de‑<br>sign, arguing that a national educational system organised around a single neurotype‑specific<br>cognitive operation instantiates the double empathy problem at the structural level. The paper<br>introduces the concept of “implicit boundary ignorance” to explain how evaluative frameworks<br>can embed exclusionary assumptions without recognising the limits of their own applicability.<br>Against this critique, the paper identifies alternative cognitive pathways — including pattern ac‑<br>cumulation through extensive reading and logic‑first engagement through mystery and detec‑<br>tive fiction — and proposes concrete reforms grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL)<br>principles. The analysis demonstrates that kokugo assessment may be measuring neurotype<br>conformity rather than literary competence, and that educational systems must interrogate<br>the cognitive boundary conditions of their own design.</p> |
| title | The Neurotypical Assumption: How Japanese Kokugo Educa‑ tion Structurally Excludes Neurodivergent Readers |
| topic | kokugo education neurodiversity double empathy problem Theory of Mind autism inclusive education Universal Design for Learning reading comprehension |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19149424 |