1.
an organization established to provide formal education, such as a school, college, university, vocational school, or other accredited teaching body; an educational institution
A formal cover term for any organization whose main purpose is to provide education. It includes elementary schools, junior high and high schools, universities, graduate schools, technical colleges, vocational schools, and special-support schools. The word is common in laws, regulations, statistics, and formal announcements. In everyday conversation Japanese speakers usually refer to specific institutions by type, such as 大学, 高校, or 専門学校.
The number of students advancing to higher educational institutions is increasing.
Composed of 教育 (education) + 機関 (institution, organization, body). 機関 is a productive second element that forms the names of many kinds of institutions — e.g., 金融機関 (financial institution), 医療機関 (medical institution), 報道機関 (news organization).
Common collocations
- 高等教育機関: higher educational institution (college, university)
- 中等教育機関: secondary educational institution
- 教育機関向け: for educational institutions
- 教育機関と連携する: to collaborate with educational institutions
- 公的教育機関: public educational institution
Typical examples
- 小学校: elementary school
- 中学校: junior high school
- 高等学校 (高校): senior high school
- 大学: university
- 大学院: graduate school
- 専門学校: vocational / technical school
- 高等専門学校 (高専): technical college
- 幼稚園: kindergarten (in Japan, a kind of 教育機関)
Similar words
- 学校: school — the everyday word, much less formal.
- 教育施設: educational facility — essentially a synonym, emphasizing physical facilities (buildings, campus) rather than the organization itself.
- 学園: academy, campus — a more literary or brand-like term often used in the names of private schools (~学園).
- 教育団体: educational body / organization — broader, can include NPOs, research groups, and associations.
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Formal and written. Appears in laws and government statistics, company recruiting documents ('We welcome cooperation from 教育機関'), news reports about education policy, and research papers. Somewhat stiff for conversation, where speakers prefer 学校 or the name of a specific school.