Handbook Local Good Practices (GP) for Education for...

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Handbook

“Local Good Practices (GP) for Education for All in Japan and

their Application to Developing Countries”

－Promotion of school attendance of children and

involvement of local community in school―

March, 2009

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“Local Good Practices (GP) for Education for All in Japan and their Application to

Developing Countries” - Promotion of school attendance of children and

involvement of local community in school -

Published March 31, 2009

Publisher: Office of “the International Cooperation Initiative”

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEST)

3-2-2 Kasumigaseki Chioda-ku Tokyo 100-8959, Japan

Tel: 03-5253-4111

Copyright, All Rights Reserved – MEST

Photo (the bottom of the cover page): “Graduation ceremony of a Komori-School 4th

batch” KOMORIGAKKO NO JISSHOTEKI KENKYU, Waseda University Publishing

(1995)

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This handbook was produced as the outcome of the project “Research on Local Good

Practices (GP) for Education for All in Japan and their Application to Developing

Countries” implemented in 2008-2009. The project received a research grant from “the

International Cooperation Initiative” Scheme of Japanese Ministry of Education,

Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEST).

The project members are as follows:

Ashir Ahmed, Kyushu University, Japan

Satoshi Iijima, Kyushu University, Japan

Reiko Ogawa, Kyushu University, Japan

Taro Komatsu, Kyushu University, Japan *Project leader

Yasuaki Shinya, Kyushu University, Japan

Masahiro Motokane, Kyushu University, Japan

Kuniaki Yamashita, Kyushu University, Japan

Shoko Yamada, Nagoya University, Japan

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The structure of the handbook

*Introduction: Purpose of the handbook

* Current status of Education for All in developing countries

* Historical and social background of basic education development in Japan

Local Good Practices (GP) for Education for All in Japan

Issue 1 Parents lack interest in education and are unaware of what schools offer

GP1 (School Sports Day) → Local residents participate in school sports festival

GP2 (School Cultural Day) → Children show parents their daily learning outcomes

Issue 2 Lack of community involvement in school

GP3 (Fathers’ involvement in school) → Fathers offer their skills at school

GP4 (Children Make Lunch Day) → Children make their lunch with help from adults

Issue 3 Girls and women do not receive education because of their work

GP5 (Special School at Silk Mills) → Factories offer education to working children

GP6 (Nyokoba Education) → Special curriculum offers training to girls and women

Issue 4 Children have to take care of their younger siblings

GP7 (The Komori-School) → Girls can go to school with their younger siblings

Issue 5 Poor children lack interest in school and do not know outside world

GP8 (Mannen Elementary School) → School principal investigates reasons for children

not coming to school and devises educational arrangements to cater to these children

Issue 6 Minority group do not receive education because of social discrimination

GP9 (Adult Literacy Class) →Minority groups learn at adult literacy classes

Issue 7 Children do not go to school because of hunger

GP10 (School Lunch) → School provides lunch meal with support from the community

Issue 8 Children lost parents in disasters

GP11 (Okayama Orphanage) → Private orphanage offers protection and education for

orphans

Issue 9 Many youth do not receive education

GP12 (Secondary Night Schools) → Youths receive secondary education at night

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*Introduction: Purpose of the handbook

The purpose of this handbook is to introduce school enrollment and attendance

promotion measures implemented at the local level during the process of the

modernization and post-war reconstruction as well as in present day Japan. It also

looks at the unique promotion measures for involvement of local communities in school.

These measures are referred to as Good Practice (GP) in this handbook. We hope that

this handy book helps the people of the countries involved with the aim to achieve the

"EFA: Education for All" by gaining the understanding and cooperation of local

residents.

Main intended users for this handbook are as follows: local and central government

officials, nongovernmental organization staff, members of civic organizations or

advocacy groups, community leaders, aid workers and researchers.

It is widely recognized around the world that education is a human right and essential

for development of individuals as well as the society. The realization of the EFA was set

as a goal that every country should achieve. Concrete goals were set for realization by

2015 including the universal access to elementary education. However, the real

implementation of this education policy that was established by international

conferences and the central government is vested in the local people concerned with

education. Even if policies such as the free compulsory education system or automatic

grade promotion system are decided by the central government, it may not always prove

effective in all local areas. It is often the local people concerned who have innovative

ideas that create and implement the measures reflecting the actual conditions of the

locality.

In Japan, the school enrolment rate did not reach 30% at the end of the 19th century.

Universal elementary education was achieved about 30 years later. Afterwards, Japan

became a developed nation and became the world's largest donor of development

assistance measured by the amount of contribution in the 1990s. How did this country

achieve the EFA? It was a fact that the central government had strong leadership in

Japan. However, the EFA policy was actually realized by the local people concerned.

This handbook refers to the distinctive EFA measures implemented by local actors

including schools in Japan. These Japanese examples show that the EFA is not only

realized by the leaders at the top, but is mostly achieved by the initiative and

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cooperation of various stakeholders who are involved in education at the local level. In

fact, this is the message of this handbook.

We included GPs in contemporary Japan as well. The issues of access to basic education

are nearly solved in contemporary Japan. However, it is pointed out in recent years that

the tie between schools and local residents has been weakened. Extra-curricular

activities such as “dietary education” are conducted involving local residents as human

resources and other methods to solicit interests of local residents in schools are tried. By

gaining understanding from local residents, schools can expect their support to raise the

quality of school education and can widen the roles of schools including lifelong learning

for adults. Incidentally, gaining understanding and cooperation from local residents is

essential to increase children’s school enrolment and attendance as well. From this

perspective, the contemporary Japanese GPs involving communities in schools can

provide some suggestions to today's developing countries.

How to use the Handbook

There are various factors that constrain realization of the EFA. In the previous page,

"the structure of the handbook", the Good Practices of Japan are classified according to

issues. We suggest that the users of this handbook refer to the GP addressing the

similar issues to the ones that your local area has.

Description of each GP avoided detailed information and explanation to make it

adaptable to various local contexts, but some users may feel not enough information is

provided. Every region has it own history, culture, and social background. The practices

that worked in one area or time may not always apply to other times and places as they

are. This handbook is produced with the intention to offer "ideas" to the people involved

in the EFA.

In producing this handbook, we actually examined the applicability, and relevance of

some of the Japanese GPs to local contexts of developing countries. Pakistan from

Southern Asia and Ghana from Africa were chosen as survey countries. We asked a local

NGO, the Social Action Bureau for Assistance in Welfare and Organizational

Networking (SABAWON) in Pakistan and a university research center, the Center of

Research in Improving Quality of Primary Education in Ghana (CRIQPEG) of the Cape

Coast University in Ghana for cooperation. In examining the GPs, SABAWON actually

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implemented two GPs at school in the North West Frontier Province and the Cape Coast

University undertook action research following the implementation process of one GP.

The results of the study are described in【Application】of the pertinent GP for your

reference.

In addition, this handbook includes two brief essays as an introduction to the

description of GPs. The first essay summarizes the current status of EFA in the

developing countries. The progress of the EFA and the mainstream educational reform

are described, so that the significance of this handbook was positioned in that context.

The second essay explains about historical and social backgrounds of basic education

development in Japan. The essay was written with the intention to help users of this

handbook to place and comprehend the GPs in a wider social context of Japan through

pre-modern, modernization, post-war reconstruction and the present day.

A copy of this handbook can be downloaded from the website below.

http://e-archive.criced.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/

http://e-archive.criced.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/

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* Current status of Education for All in developing countries

Amongst various policies and reforms currently underway in developing countries, the

drive to achieve universal access to basic education and the decentralization of

educational management can be singled out as the most common challenges faced by

their policy makers and practitioners.

The representatives from 189 countries came together in New York in September 2000

and developed the "Millennium Development Goals" (MDG) for realization of world

poverty reduction and peace. Eight MDG goals which are considered indispensable to

ensure dignity and improvement of peoples’ lives were set to achieve by 2015; education

is regarded as a necessary means for the development and eradication of poverty and it

is one of the goals to have all children complete the primary education by 2015. In the

same year, the "World Education Forum" was held in Dakar, Senegal. In step with the

Millennium Development Goals, pledges were made to complete the compulsory

education goals by 2015, eliminating gender discrepancies, and achieving a 50%

improvement in the adult literacy rate.

Unfortunately, the analysis indicated that many countries will not be able to achieve the

goal of universal primary education and the 50% improvement of the literacy rate by

2015 based on past and current rates of progress. According to the EFA monitoring

report (2008), 58 countries will not be able to achieve the generalization of primary

education at the elementary level at the current rate by 20151. In addition, the report

points out that the discrepancies in access to education and the quality of the education

not only between nations but also between local areas and between social groups within

nations exist and are even widening. The discrepancies mean not only that there are

still many children and adults who do not fulfill their right to an education, but also

that enlarged inequalities separate the people who do receive the right and people who

do not, resulting in the loss of social cohesiveness, which could lead to various forms of

conflicts.

The reasons why children do not want to or cannot receive education are diverse. The

problems of the supply side such as the lack of financial and human resources and

inefficient administration result in a lack of educational facilities (schools), teachers,

desks, chairs, teaching supplies, and restrooms as well as absenteeism of the teachers.

1 EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008, UNESCO

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On the demand side, the problems are: no funds to buy learning supplies due to poverty;

children are needed for domestic labor; lack of parental understanding about education

(education contents may not meet the needs of the learners or their parents). The

problems of finance and insufficient manpower on the supply side have no immediate

and sustainable solution. However, as to promoting administrative efficiency and

increasing parents’ understanding of education, the situation can be improved to some

extent, depending on the measures and interventions taken. The measures that address

the local reality are highly likely to succeed. But action on such measures comes from

the ideas of the people concerned on the local level. The decentralization of the

educational administration was implemented in many developing countries specifically

for the purpose of accelerating this result.

The decentralization of the educational administration aims at offering more effective

delivery of education opportunity, more direct participation of local residents in policy

making, closer monitoring of the programs by the residents, and widening fiscal

resources for education. It is assumed that this will improve the delivery of educational

services. Authority is transferred to local governments or local schools. People who

perform policymaking and implementation are local politicians elected by local

residents and local government officials appointed by them, as well as the school

principals and teachers rather than the national parliamentarians and the officials of

the Ministry of Education. The implementation of educational administration and

school management are required based on the local characteristics and the needs of the

local residents who exercise jurisdiction over them, while at the same time maintaining

policies consistent with those of the central government.

In addition, decentralization is anticipated to allow various local stakeholders to be

involved actively in policy making and administration enforcement. In many developing

countries, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the Civil Society Organizations

(CSOs) including the universities are already active in this field. They may work not

only to provide the basic social services to marginalized groups, but also form policy

suggestions (advocacy) for the official government agencies. In recent years, more and

more organizations are forming partnerships with the government to try to improve

social services to local residents.

As mentioned above, administrative decentralization involves trying to improve the

quality of education by giving authority to those closer to local residents and by having

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these local stakeholders being directly involved in the process. However, the results

obtained in many developing countries have not been as good as expected. The reasons

are that there was insufficient infrastructure to implement the policy at the local level

and difficulties in fair and smooth enforcement owing to political intervention of various

forms. Still, it is also probably true that many local administrative officials and school

officials, who became responsible for offering social services with the decentralization

reform, still cannot overcome the mentality of top-down policy formulation and

implementation and hesitate to come up with innovative local solutions.

Meanwhile, it should be pointed out that there exist local administrations of developing

countries that have been implementing various unique measures after and even before

the administrative decentralization began. Changes of the national educational policies

could promote changes in the consciousness of the officials in charge of the local

administration. However, as far as the EFA experiences of Japan are concerned, the

national education policies (such as free tuition system) are important factors, but even

more important factors are the initiative of the people (local administrative officials,

principals, citizen groups, business persons) to provide educational opportunities for all.

Also in developing countries, there are many examples of such initiatives where those in

charge of providing education involved local stakeholders in implementing measures to

provide more children with education that would better meet their needs. Learning

mutually those innovative practices across the world would certainly be beneficial to the

realization of EFA.

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＊Historical and Social Background of Basic Educational Development in Japan

１．Pre-Modernization Era

Modern education in Japan began in 1872 with the introduction of the first unified

education system. Prior to this, Japan did not have a form of modern state and was an

aggregate of warlords. Local governments (feudal clans called Han) had their own

educational systems, but they were meant mostly for military nobility, not common

people. In fact, the ruling class was negative about educating common people.

From around the mid-18th century, the commodity economy began. The commodity

economy made it necessary for common people to acquire basic numeracy. People

exchanged papers, kept accounting records and handled administrative documents.

Also, the common people wanted to learn because they wanted to be engaged in artistic

activities and acquire culture. Then, “Terakoyas,” private elementary schools, began

operating to teach the common people basic numeracy. Terakoyas started responding to

the demands of the common people, but the village lords also supported the

establishment of Terakoyas that taught village children because they saw Terakoya

education as essential to maintain the order in the village. Terakoyas expanded mostly

in cities, though. In Edo (Tokyo), the literacy rate reached 80%. Throughout Japan, the

literacy rate was said to be around 20% to 30%. The rapid expansion of Terakoyas is

attributed to its educational contents relevant to daily life of the common people.

Despite the passiveness of the governments towards education for common people, their

learning activities were spread all over Japan.

２．Introduction of modern education system

In Japan, even prior to the modernization, the would-be leaders of the Meiji government

(1868~) were studying western education systems by translating relevant documents

and visiting France and the Netherlands. The new modernized educational system was

established in 1872 based on the outcome of their study. The new system aimed to

create a unified educational system in Japan. However, the modernized school

education was not initially well accepted by the common people who had been

accustomed to the traditional learning style. Some even revolted against the new

educational system. It was clear that the common people were not very pleased with the

new modernized school education system.

In 1877, five years after the introduction of the modern education system, the

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enrolment rate of compulsory education was approximately 40%. However, the real

ratio was said to be around 30% since only 70% of enrolled children actually did go to

school. The education administration wanted to raise the enrolment rate, and employed

various measures to entice children to come to school. For example, they gave a special

medal to those children coming to school and a special flag to those schools that were

successful in enrolling children. In some cases, the police threatened non-enrolled

children or their parents to forcefully encourage the children to come to school. Still, the

enrolment rate did not increase.

In particular, the girls’ enrolment did not show much increase. This was because there

was a dominant view at that time that girls did not need education. Even when the

enrolment rate reached 50% around 1890, the girls’ enrolment rate was merely 30% as

opposed to 50% for boys’. The gap between boys and girls was apparent.

３．Parents’ understanding of education

When the modernized school system began, elementary schools were constructed at the

center of the village. In some villages, the school shared a building with a public office.

Village people felt that the public office was not easily approachable. Therefore it was

only natural that they felt some distance to the school. Until around 1880, it was taken

for granted that children from families with stable jobs tended to inherit them, rather

than going to school.

In order to increase the enrolment rate, it was judged crucial that parents and

community people understand and accept the school education. Therefore, it was

deemed necessary to show the parents how important school education was, how

interesting it was, and what advantages it can give when children start working.

In order to increase understanding of parents towards school education, various

activities were organized for adults. Adults were invited to come to school and shown

facilities and learning materials accompanied by lectures and films to explain about the

roles of education. In fact, this type of learning activities for adults later became “social

education” or “life-learning” in Japan. It can be said that the life-learning originates

from the activities to help parents understand the importance of school education. In

addition, the schools organized Sports Day or Students’ Arts Exhibitions and invited the

parents. These school activities were meant to raise the interest of parents in schools.

The parents were not only observers, but also participants of some activities. Through

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these events, parents developed understanding of schools and the link between schools

and the community became closer.

The newly established Meiji government started reorganizing pre-modern village

communities in order to construct a centralized administration system. Around this

period, the village communities that had maintained social order on their own started

disintegrating. Then, schools were expected to play a role as a new force to unite village

communities. The schools were well positioned to serve this role since they were located

at the center of the village and equipped with facilities to be used as a community center

as well. As for teachers and school principals, the rare secondary school graduates in the

village took the roles, and acted also as informed counselors for the village people.

４．Teachers education and networking

Japanese modern education began with the establishment of a “Normal School,” that is

a school for would-be teachers. In 1872, the National Normal School was established in

Tokyo prior to the promulgation of the Education Ordinance, the first education law

concerning the educational system. The National Normal School invited Professor

Marion Scott from the United States as a teacher trainer and taught students coming

from all over Japan with translated versions of training manuals. The students later

returned to their home regions and taught students coming from the local areas at local

normal schools. In this way, the new teaching technique spread all over Japan. Later,

when the students who were sent overseas to study on a government mission returned,

they were invited to the National Normal School as the leading teacher-trainers to

teach new educational theories and teaching methods. Then, the students again spread

the new information to would-be teachers at local normal schools and provided

in-service training at local schools. This “cascade system” served well to disseminate

new educational information in the beginning of the modernization era in Japan.

In 1886, the Ministry of Education reorganized the Normal Schools. The National

Normal School in Tokyo became a higher training institute for secondary school

teachers. Other prefectures were allowed to establish only one Normal School to

maintain its standards. The tuition of Normal Schools was free. Students were provided

with accommodation and were rented uniforms. Because of this policy, the brightest

ones even from the poor families aspired to enter the Normal Schools to become

teachers. The students of Normal Schools acquired a sense of loyalty to the nation and

responsibility to educate the people. The boarding school arrangement made it easier to

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nurture such attitudes of students. The would-be teachers developed a strong sense that

education was essential to the national development and they would take an important

part in the process. This strong sense of responsibility that teachers possessed towards

education led to voluntarism that enhanced enrolment rate and educational

development in local areas.

It should be noted that students of regional Normal Schools were obliged to work as

teachers in a respective region after graduation. Half of the cohort of students was

allowed to enter Normal Schools on the basis of recommendation by district governors.

After graduation, the students were obliged to serve each district they came from. In

this way, the Normal Schools trained students from all districts and made them work as

leaders of local communities in their home districts upon graduation. Schools gained

confidence from the local community by employing those trusted by the local residents.

As for the networking, teacher associations were formed in villages, cities and

prefectures from around 1880s. This association included not only teachers but also

educational administrators. The teacher associations were in principle private entities,

but their major positions were occupied by governors and mayors. The associations were

also financially supported by the government; thus they had a public character as well.

Then, the national teacher association was created as an umbrella organization of all

teacher associations. Each teacher association issued a newsletter informing their

members of educational information and exchanged the newsletters with other teacher

associations to share information. In this way, good practices implemented in a local

area soon became known to teachers around the country.

５．Expansion of compulsory education and increase of enrolment rate

In the 1900s, free tuition became established as the Japanese economy grew. The

enrolment rate increased as the community became revitalized with the school at the

center of its activities. In 1907, the duration of compulsory education was extended from

4 years to 6 years. By that time, the enrolment rate reached over 90% for both boys and

girls.

This increase of school enrolment is partly due to the improved economic situation; but

most of all, it is due to the teachers’ strong sense of responsibility towards education,

schools efforts to gain understanding, confidence from parents, and everyone’s

realization that education would provide a venue for success in society.

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GP１ School Sports Day

Currently, School Sports Days are implemented at almost all schools in Japan. They

were started in the 1880s when modern school systems were introduced into villages.

With modernization, cohesiveness of the village community became weakened. School

Sports Days increased awareness among parents towards school education and

functioned to strengthen the community ties.

【Issues】

Modernization in Japan began in the 1880s and a unified educational system was

introduced under the centralized administrative framework. In the beginning, the

modern school system, which took over the education conducted voluntarily at temples,

was not accepted well by the local community and the attendance rate at elementary

schools was at a standstill. Also, the disintegration of the village community was

becoming an issue. Traditional village events such as seasonal festivals were no longer

performed, so the villagers were losing their sense of belonging to the community.

【Implementation】

* In Japan, it is said that the “Athletic Sports Festival” held at the Imperial Naval

College in 1874 was the first Sports Day. Later, it began to be held at elementary

schools.

Management

School Sports Days are normally held in each individual school, but in case the size of

the schools is too small, several schools jointly organize it. Since School Sports Days are

considered to be the most important event in school, the schools distribute the school

calendar to the parents in the beginning of each academic year, and inform them of the

schedule of School Sports Day. Because the event is very important to local communities,

・ Parents’ indifference to modern school education ・Weakening of community ties

Issues

・Increase in parent’s awareness

of school education ・Strengthening of community ties ・Improved enrollment rate

School Sports

Day

GP Outcomes

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the schedule is notified also to the community associations through the PTA. The PTA

obtains and supplies the equipment that is necessary for the organization of School

Sports Days and helps with the preparations. In the program, there are many activities

where the children have to cooperate and perform together, including group games and

gymnastic formations. Therefore, before School Sports Day, children practice and

prepare for around one month, mostly during physical education classes. Children,

especially senior students, share the responsibility of managing the whole event such as

preparation of signboards and equipment, program announcements, guiding of children

etc. Cleanup after the School Sports Day is also undertaken by the children themselves.

Content

In elementary schools, the School Sports Day program ranges from physical events such

as running races, and recreational events including throwing the ball in the basket, tug

of war, group games, and gymnastic formations, many of which need team work.

Children participate in various programs with different educational purposes. Usually,

all children are divided into two teams; red and white, and these two teams compete.

The team is organized across grades and classes and children have chance to interact

with those of different grades. Competitions are performed based on grade and sex and

scores are added to each team that children belong to.

Participation of parents and young children

One of the notable features of School Sports Days is the participation of the local

community. School Sports Days are organized in a friendly picnic style atmosphere so

that parents and the community residents feel free to come and participate in the event

and familiarize themselves with the schools. When the enrollment rate was low, local

residents came to School Sports Days and during the event conversations between

teachers and parents took place. Teachers took advantage of this opportunity and

encouraged the parents to send their children to school. In the current School Sports

Days, kindergarteners and nursery school children who will attend elementary schools

in the next academic year are invited to participate. First grade children give small gifts

to children who will attend elementary schools next year with the intention that the

children feel welcomed and look forward to school.

【Legal aspects】

Currently, in the educational guidelines, School Sports Days are defined as educational

activities outside the curriculum designated as “special activities” which will contribute

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to socialize children. Each school can decide how to organize the Sports Day.

【Actors Interaction】

Approach

Budgetary support

【Preconditions】

Minimum equipment required to organize sport events

Space at school for organizing sporting events

Understanding of the local administration

【Outcomes】

School Sports Days were started as a main event of a village when the village

communities were collapsing in the process of modernization. Villagers brought lunch

from home and came to see the sport festival at the school. They also took part in

various programs which increased parent’s affinity for school. Then, many other events

of the village began to be held centered around school which contributed to promoting

community cohesiveness and further schooling of children. For children themselves,

School Sports Days enhanced their health and taught them the importance of

teamwork.

【Impact】

In the 1890s, the School Sports Day became widespread throughout the country. The

village communities were seeking for stronger ties. The concern for children’s physical

development and health promotion was increasing among the people who were in

School

Initiative

Cooperation

Principal Executive committee

(Teachers and

community members)

School staff

Local community

Parents and children

Local residents

Local educational

administration

Preparation and

cooperation with

implementation

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educational administrations.

【Lessons learned】

Keys to success

The success factor of School Sports Days was the recreational aspect of it that allowed

the local residents to casually participate in school events. Originally School Sports

Days began in order to give children the opportunity to play sports and games, but later

it also functioned to increase awareness among parents, who were not associated with

schools or had less understanding of schools, about school education. By making School

Sports Day participatory, it enhanced the interest and commitment of parents, who

were otherwise distanced from the schools. Increased interests of parents towards

schools resulted in the increase in the school enrollment of children. Before and now,

School Sports Days are held on Sundays so that the parents can easily participate

because they are off from work. In present day Japan, the enrollment rate is no longer

an issue, but School Sports Days continue to play a role in increasing parents’ interests

and involvement with school.

Constraints

The preparation of School Sports Days takes time depending on its scale and frequency.

If it is organized too often, it becomes a heavy burden on school managers and teachers.

【Application of GP1 School Sports Day】

In the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the local NGO “SABAWON” (Social

Action Bureau of Assistance for Welfare and Networking) supplied sport equipment to

an elementary school near Peshawar and implemented School Sports Days in

cooperation with the school staff and village community.

Implementation

NGO "SABAWON" approached the parents and school staff and undertook the

preparations. Soccer and cricket were popular among the children so these were

selected as programs to be held at Sports Day. Since the selected school had no

schoolyards, children were taken by the teachers to the nearby empty lot after school

and a School Sport Day was implemented.

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Actors Interaction

Participation

Approach

Supply of sport equipment

Coordination

Outcomes

The GP School Sports Day was a success in enhancing the interest and the expectation

of children who participated in the School Sports Day and their parents. At public

schools in rural areas, usually only the classes prescribed by regular curriculum are

conducted. Some of the parents’ who assessed the School Sports Day said; “at school,

children sat still and listened to what teachers say like a small bird in a cage.

Implementation of a school event like a School Sports Day is welcome. It is good for

children’s physical development and we as well as our children have become more

interested in schools.” On the School Sports Day, some 10 out-of-school children also

participated.

Lessons learned

Since the GP School Sports Day in Pakistan was implemented on weekdays, the

participation of parents was limited. The organizers felt that the school children felt

more affinity with school thanks to the Sports Day. However, SABAWAN analyzes that

for the children who are not enrolled in school, the School Sports Day does not

necessarily lead to the increase in attendance of children; the poverty has to be

addressed. Still, if such an effort is continued and positive participation of parents and

the local community is obtained, it is expected to increase the parents’ understanding of

School

Support

Cooperation

Principal Classroom

teachers

School staff

Local community


(Mainly school

children)

Local residents

Local NGO

Local educational

administration

Increasing

awareness

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the significance of education. Poverty was one of the factors of non-enrollment at schools

in Japan as well; however, parents’ increased perception of education as means to get

out of poverty eventually led to the improvement in the enrollment rate.

Grouping of children

Playing a soccer game Children having fun playing cricket

"We hope the School Sports Day will be held

often."

NGO staff exchange opinions with community

members.

Listening to the explanation about the School

Sports Day

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GP２ School Cultural Day

In the present day, School Cultural Day is organized at many schools in Japan. Cultural

Day was started when the enrollment rate was low in Japan. It was started in Kobe to

show the parents who did not understand the meaning of school education how the

school education was useful for their children.

【Issues】

Around the end of the 19th century soon after the universal education policy was

introduced in Japan, there were parents who did not have their children attend school

because they did not understand the significance of school education. Even for those

parents who had their children in school were not particularly enthusiastic about

children’s schooling. Therefore, school staff felt it necessary to show the learning

outcomes of the children.


＊Around 1890, School Cultural Day began in a school in Kobe. Then it became

widespread throughout the country. Later, School Cultural Day became an opportunity

to inform and seek understanding from the parents of the outcomes of new educational

practices the educational administration and schools introduced.

Purpose

School Cultural Day aimed to encourage students’ schoolwork and to increase parents’

understanding of school education.

Contents

In the beginning, programs such as singing of songs learnt at school, recitations,

reading compositions of their own, and comments and lectures of the teachers were

shown to their parents to enhance understanding of school. Since the purpose of the

Parents not interested in school education

Issues

・Increased awareness among

parents towards education

・Increased enrollment rate

School

Cultural Day

GP Outcomes

22

School Cultural Day was to show the achievements of daily learning in public, teachers

guided the children to be able to express themselves in public. School Cultural Day was

also an opportunity to teach children manners and how to socialize at gatherings where

parents and people from the community participated.

From 1910 to 1920 in Japan, new educational practice based on a child-centered

approach was implemented (Taisho Free Education). New effects of school education

such as creativity and the ability to express one’s self were needed to be shown to the

parents. Consequently, School Cultural Day became the place to develop children’s

creativity centered on theater and music or to show the outcome of educational

activities that used body expression. Since the children’s performances were

entertaining, some parents came to look forward to the School Cultural Day.

【Legal aspects】

School Cultural Day as well as School Sports Day is positioned as “Special Activities” in

the educational guidelines. Schools can decide whether they will organize School

Cultural Day or not and how it will be implemented. In many secondary schools,

students voluntarily initiate cultural programs.


Visit school

Approach

Understanding and cooperation

【Preconditions】

Space in schools to perform School Cultural Day (utilization of classrooms and gyms)

Understanding and cooperation of local government

【Outcomes】

School

Initiative

Cooperation


(Teachers and students)

School staff

Local community


Local residents

Local educational

administration

23

For parents whose children were in school, School Cultural Day offered understanding

of daily learning outcomes of their children. On the other hand, for parents whose

children did not attend schools, it gave chances of knowing what school education was

like. School Cultural Day contributed to increase the school attendance and enhanced

parents’ and communities’ interest in education.

【Impact】

School Cultural Day that began in Kobe is now organized in many schools in Japan.


Keys to success

One of the most important factors for the success of School Cultural Day is to plan it in

a way that children’s parents can happily participate. It provides an opportunity for the

parents to familiarize themselves with school. It motivates children to work hard by

providing a venue to present their school achievements in public. In addition, when

group presentations are performed or students themselves plan the event, it becomes an

opportunity for them to learn about collaboration and develop a sense of responsibility.

Constraints

School Cultural Day, like School Sports Day, takes time to prepare depending on how

they organize it. If these events take place too often, it imposes a heavy burden on

school managers and teachers. Therefore many of the recent Cultural Days are planned

and implemented by children themselves.

School Cultural Day in old times2

2 “Photos for Social Studies” http://www51.tok2.com/home/kimutoshi/）

School Cultural Day in present day

http://www51.tok2.com/home/kimutoshi/

24

GP３ Fathers’ involvement in school

In contemporary Japan, the tie between communities and schools has been weakened.

Particularly, the fathers who have school-aged children do not have many opportunities

to attend school events. Also, there are many retired men who do not have close ties to

the local community. The challenge was to link these two groups in the local community

to the schools in order to increase school resources as well as to vitalize the

communities.

【Issues】

In contemporary Japan, people move frequently so new communities are always being

created. The people who settled down in these new communities do not know each other

well. For children, school becomes a place where they can get to know each other, but for

many adult males who work during the daytime, and for retired men, they do not have

any place to socialize. However, such men have much knowledge and various skills that

they acquired through their work experiences. Meanwhile, schools increasingly felt

incapable of responding to diverse educational needs of the community including those

of adult learners. Therefore, the idea is to make use of the human resources such as

fathers and retired men in order to broaden and strengthen the capacity of the school,

and increase community cohesiveness.


＊In the 1980s, people from all over Japan migrated to Akitsu-City, Chiba Prefecture, to

settle on reclaimed land along Tokyo Bay and a new community was created. However,

the social interaction among adults, especially men, was very limited. At Akitsu

elementary school, the school created opportunities inviting men from the community to

teach children various skills that they had acquired through jobs, life experiences, and

・ Fathers (and retired

men) are not active in the

local community.

・ School resources are

limited.

Issues

・ Stronger community

ties

・More human resources

at school

Fathers’

involvement in

school

GP Outcomes

25

their own hobbies. In fact, not only men but also many women participated in teaching

as well. The participation of local residents in extra-curricular activities of school

strengthened the community ties. Simultaneously, school came to function as a place for

lifelong learning for adults.

Management

The "Community Room Steering Committee" was organized composed of 15 members

including parents who have school-aged children and those from the local community.

The Committee was launched as a forerunner of the PTA. The Committee is in charge of

the management of various extra-curricular activities that men perform at school. In

this way the activities are managed by local community members. The Committee

members possess the door key of the classroom used for activities and take

responsibility for all facilities and equipments in the room. The school principal

participates in the Committee as an observer. Under this Committee, around 40

extra-curricular activities called “club activities” take place. Classrooms are used after

school or on holidays. Activities are conducted about 200 days a year.

Activities

Various club activities are conducted utilizing the knowledge, wisdom, and skills of the

fathers. Also, any community members who do not have school-aged children can

initiate a new club activity or participate in any existing club activities. There are also

some activities linked to regular school classes. Concrete examples are described below.

1. Carpentry Club

The fun of carpentry with its various tools and materials is taught to children. The club

members produce things that the school can use for educational purpose. For example,

the members created a chicken house and donated it to the school. The school uses this

chicken house in science and life environmental studies classes. Also, children and

several members of the club made a wooden signboard, a sandbox (for children to play

in), and a flowerbed and donated all of them to a nearby kindergarten.

2. Clean environment club

The club members and the children learn the importance of environmental protection.

As a part of their activities, for example, the adults and children work together and

collect garbage around the school every morning.

26

3. Rice-growing club

There is a rice field in the schoolyard, and children learn about rice growing as part of

the regular curriculum. Men who were engaged with rice growing for a long time act as

teachers or assistants to help teach children.

【Legal aspects】

In the Fundamental Law of Education in Japan, which was amended in 2006, the

significance of "lifelong learning" is stated that human beings should keep on learning

for their entire lifetime. To promote “lifelong learning”, some schools were designated as

model schools to promote learning for local communities. The Akitsu elementary school

is one of these model schools.


Management

助言

Advice

【Preconditions】

Commitment from fathers and retired men

Classrooms available in schools (depending on the number of activities)

【Outcomes】

By participating in various activities taking place at school, the local community

members came to know each other well. As a consequence of developing a strong

community, Akitsu-City has a low crime rate now. Children can have opportunities to

Local community

School

Observer

Cooperation

Principal

Community Room

Steering Committee

Local educational

administration

School

teachers

Extra-Curricular

Activities

27

interact with local community members, whom they otherwise have few opportunities

to meet. For men who participated in the extra-curricular activities, it became a venue

for mutual learning among the community members.

【Impact】

Due to the weakening of community ties, this GP of Akitsu, Chiba Prefecture which

aimed at the regeneration of the community centering around school and utilizing

various knowledge and skills that fathers and retired men have had spread all over

Japan. Some communities set up child-rearing centers at schools where parents can get

together to exchange information, while others have established group activities for

retired people. This GP became widespread in Japan since school exists in every

community and by initiating activities that the community members can participate in,

it contributed to develop and strengthen the capacity of the community.


Keys to success

In general, the resources of school in terms of people, materials and finance are limited.

However, school, primarily being a non-profit organization, can be a place where

volunteers who have enthusiasm can easily participate. Therefore, the factor for the

success of this GP is to use the character of school as a non-profit entity to involve

various people like fathers and retired men in local communities on a voluntary basis in

developing the capacity of the school as well as strengthening the local community.

Constraints

For the local community to participate in extra-curricular activities as teachers or

learners, it is necessary to have the understanding of the local educational

administration. There must be confidence towards the self-governance capacity by the

community or its potentials to develop such capacity through this kind of activity.

Fathers and retired men

from the local community

interact with children at

school.

28

GP４ Children Make Lunch Day

In present day Japan, the environment around children is changing rapidly. It is

becoming difficult for schools alone to solve newly emerging problems children face,

such as the deterioration of children’s health owing to changing dietary habits. One

school decided to use the children’s lunch to seek and strengthen the cooperation with

local residents. In this GP, children make lunch by themselves with support from their

parents; they get to experience the feeling of gratitude.

【Issues】

In Japan in the 1980’s when the period of high economic growth ended, schools

experienced the problems of classroom disruption, school violence, and an increase in

student dropout rates. The problem was that children suffered a decrease in the feeling

of self-worth and complained of feeling empty inside. The causes were many. A lack of

communication between generations in the nuclear family, the demands of modern

Japanese companies that required one or increasingly both parents to commute long

distances, work long hours and work on holidays, and the consequent reduction in

family time when families could have fun and relax together all contributed to this

problem. In addition, the stress on the family structure contributed to children’s health

problems due to changing dietary habits. These problems were too big for schools to deal

with them alone.


＊The practice of Children Make Lunch Day started with the initiative of Mr. Kazuo

Takeshita, a principal of junior high school from Takamatsu-city, Kagawa prefecture.

Mr. Takeshita thought that the best way to deal with the problem of emptiness inside is

for children to learn to appreciate others and be appreciated by others. Then, Mr.

Takeshita began his experimentation by having children make a lunch box by

themselves and bringing it to school. Children started observing how their parents cook

・School lack resources

・Children feel empty inside

Issue

・ Strengthened tie between school and the community

・ Children learned to be

thankful

Children

Make Lunch

Day

GP Outcomes

29

in order to learn cooking. This led to the development of appreciation by children for

their parents preparing meals every day. Also, children felt a sense of pleasure when

they were thanked by their family members when they gave out the extra food they

could not fit in their lunch box. Moreover, communication between parents and children

increased. Later, Children Make Lunch Day spread throughout Japan. Many schools

now use the opportunity to strengthen the cooperation with the local community by

involving the local residents in the event. In some cases, older local residents come to

school and cook traditional meals with children. Children can then learn about

traditional life.

Preparation

Children Make Lunch Day is usually implemented for junior high school students aged

between 13 and 15, or elementary school senior grades aged 11 and 12. For parents, it is

normal that they feel anxiety such as “I never had my child handle a kitchen knife,” “My

child had never operated the gas cooker,” “My child always wakes up late and does not

have time to cook.” Therefore, it is important that the school makes an effort to seek

parents’ understanding about the event, using opportunities such as the PTA or school

newsletter. Schools inform the parents that: 1) Children Make Lunch Day is a school

event, thus schools take responsibility to teach children the basics of preparing lunch

and do not impose an excessive burden on parents; 2) schools carefully prepare the

event by making “Study Cards” or “Challenge Cards” (a lunch preparation plan

containing illustration, information regarding the amount to be cooked and diet) with

home economics teachers, class teachers and a dietician, while making the utmost effort

to avoid any accidents; 3) the adults should believe children’s potentiality and growth of

self-independence.

Activity

In Japan, parents usually make lunch and have their children carry their lunchbox to

school with them; however, on the “Children Make Lunch Day”, the children themselves

plan a menu, buy materials for lunch, cook it, fill their lunchboxes and then clean up.

“Children Make Lunch Day” is implemented about once a month during a semester (five

times a year). On the first “Children Make Lunch Day”, some students show the whole

class the lunch they have made that morning. It does not matter if there are some

children who got their parents to help them because they will eventually feel guilty and

will try making lunch at home voluntarily several times before the second “Children

Make Lunch Day” comes around. Afterward, they will ask earnestly their parents to

30

show them how to make lunch. Therefore, every time the “Children Make Lunch Day”

comes around, the parents and teachers will notice the children improve their skills for

making lunch and increase their talking to their parents. Parents are also involved

before they know it.

Reflection

Every time Children Make Lunch Day has ended, the lunch prepared by children is

recorded by a camera and the photo of the lunch is placed on an individual “Challenge

Card” for each student. Children name each lunch such as “pep lunch” and “spring wind

lunch” according to a particular theme that the school may set for each Children Make

Lunch Day so that they easily remember what they cooked and reflect how it went. At

the end of the year, children themselves make self-evaluations based on three criteria:

cooking technique, knowledge about diet, and motivation.

【Legal aspects】

In Japan, the Course of Study issued by the Ministry of Education maintains the

minimum standard of the quality of elementary and lower secondary education.

However, the curriculum is in the jurisdiction of each individual school, and the school

principal is responsible for it. In order to encourage this type of GP responding to the

changing environment of children and involving the parents and the community for

support, it is important to encourage and ensure legally the autonomous school

management.


S

School

Initiative

Principal Executive

Committee

・Home economics

teacher

・Class teacher

・Dietician

・Local residents

Local Community

Parents

Children

Local residents

Local Education

Administration

Support

Offer opportunity for dialogue with children

Advice

31

【Preconditions】

Access to kitchens, appliances, and time to prepare

Understanding of local administrative administration

【Outcomes】

It is difficult to assess the educational outcomes of one activity. However, many of those

involved in Children Make Lunch Day feel the activity is worthwhile. Moreover,

children’s self-evaluation generally shows that they are improving in all three criteria:

skills, knowledge and attitudes. In addition, the community and families are also

changing positively as Mr. Takeshita wanted to change the environment the children

grow up in. This program also helps increase the parent’s understanding and

cooperation with the school events and activities. This allows the schools to be a starting

place for families and local residents to learn and continue learning into the future.

【Impact】

Although the methods and purposes vary from kindergartens to universities, as of

January 2009, 283 schools all across Japan are implementing the “Children Make

Lunch Day” program. This GP, which began with only one school, has spread quickly

with grassroots support. A major factor in the spread of “Children Make Lunch Day” is

the support of the local newspapers, which often leads to increasing the confidence and

encouragement of the people involved in its implementation.

【Lessons Leaned】

Keys to success

In addition to the school principal’s initiative and cooperation from teachers, it is

important that the local education administration supports this type of GP. When the

school principal Takeshita approached the superintendent of local educational boards to

consult on his idea of Children Make Lunch Day, the superintendent immediately

offered support. The prefectural educational administration was also supportive of the

initiative. In fact, the administration once received a phone call from a parent for

opposing the initiative, but decided to leave it to the school principal to make a decision.

Constraints

There are some children who are not enthusiastic about cooking by themselves. Also

there are parents who doubt the effectiveness of such an initiative. Some teachers also

32

express complaints as they are busy with a variety of demands imposed on them. It

often turns out, however, that many of them express satisfaction after the event. Still,

some school principals may feel inhibited by these opposing voices.

【Application of GP4 Children Make Lunch Day】

In the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the GP “Children Make Lunch Day”

was tried by the local NGO. The local NGO “SABAWON” (Social Action Bureau of

Assistance for Welfare and Networking) worked on an elementary school near

Peshawar and implemented this GP in cooperation with people concerned with the

school. In Japan, there is the culture to make and bring a lunch box to school, but not in

Pakistan. Instead of making a lunch box, the GP “Children Make Lunch Day” was

implemented so that children made their lunch together at school.

Process

In preparation, SABAWON took the initiative to talk with the local government

education office, the school officials, and community residents. They received

permission to implement this activity from the local education administration. Hujra,

an informal meeting space in the village, was used to discuss the activity with the

villagers and parents with school aged children. Fifty 5th graders from the elementary

school came to participate in “Children Make Lunch Day” after discussing it with their

parents. The children were divided into five groups of ten children each. Each group

talked about what they would cook and what cooking equipment they would need.

Actors Interaction

Participation

Approach

School

Initiative

Cooperation


(Mainly teachers)

School staff

Local NGO

Local educational

administration

Local community


(Mainly school

children)

Local residents

Approach

Coordination

Coordination

33

Outcomes

SABAWON analyzed the result of the GP “Children Make Lunch Day” in Pakistan and

concluded that it produced the following four outcomes: the activity built teamwork

between the children; the children handled the assigned work well; the children were

able to find solutions as a group; and the activity enhanced their interest and

expectation for school. On the day, six out-of-school children also came to join in the

activity. This trial was slightly different from the “Children Make Lunch Day” in Japan,

but both enhanced the interest and understanding of the children and local residents

towards schools.

Lessons learned

In Pakistan, the government-run schools do not have such a good reputation and are

considered more monotonous than the private schools. This “Children Make Lunch Day”

GP was implemented at a government-run school as an extracurricular activity as a

kind of Life Skills Training and was well received by both the children and their parents.

One of the parents who participated gave this evaluation: “The administration should

positively encourage and support this activity. The activity activates the mind and

bodies of the children. Children have the right to receive such an education.” To

implement and continue the activity like “Children Make Lunch Day” at schools, more

positive involvement and support of the local governments are needed. However, the

local educational administration was currently very busy after the decentralization and

the local NGO acknowledged that they had difficulties reaching the local government

education office. As for the activity’s sustainability, all the necessary cooking

ingredients and utensils for cooking and eating were brought by the participants. Since

no financial help was received from outside, schools themselves could possibly continue

this activity in the future, if it receives support from the community.

34

Preparation meeting for "Children Make Lunch

Day" Children start cooking ingredients brought by

children of every group.

Children share work and cut vegetables. Completed lunch and the child who participated.

Children are having lunch with friends which they

made with teamwork. Boys do not have many

opportunities to prepare meals at homes.

After implementation of this GP, parents and

local residents exchange views.

35

GP５ Special School at Silk Mills

From the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, modernization in Japan

has led to the development of industry. These industries at the early stage of capitalism

were labor-intensive and many girls from poor families were obliged to work. In Nagano

Prefecture, educational opportunities were provided to those poor girls who were

engaged in the silk-reeling industry.

【Issues】

The silk-reeling industry was a key industry that contributed to the modernization of

Japan. However, the demand for cheap labor forced girls from poor backgrounds to work

in factories. These girls were school-aged but since they had to work, they were deprived

of their educational opportunities.


＊Nagano Prefecture, which was aiming to increase the enrollment rate in compulsory

education, issued a notice to open special schools at silk mills and instructed factories to

give compulsory education to these girls. Each silk mill carried this out by obtaining the

cooperation of neighboring elementary schools. The methods of special schools at silk

mills have various characteristics mentioned below.

Location

There were two cases: one was special schools that were delegated to neighboring

elementary schools; the other was established within the factories. The former was

usually carried out every other day due to constraints of school resources. Both share

similar characteristics concerning special school implementation.

Assignment of teachers

Teachers were dispatched from elementary schools or retired teachers were employed.

Girls could not attend school because they have to work in a factory.

Issues

Girls completed elementary school while working.

Special school

at silk mills

GP Outcomes

36

The factories covered the expenses. Even the factory owners who were not enthusiastic

implemented the activity due to strong enforcement from the administration.

Selection of subjects

Subjects were mainly Shushin (moral education), national language, and arithmetic. At

some places, physical exercise was also carried out in order to keep the children healthy.

Hours of teaching

The majority of the special schools carried out classes two hours a day for factory girls.

(General elementary schools had 28 hours per week). Hours for special schools for

factory girls were included in working hours. This enabled the girls to have classes

during daytime, not after work.

Certificate for Graduation

Examinations were conducted to certify completion. This enabled the children to

become elementary school graduates.

【Legal aspects】

The special schools at silk mills were considered equivalent to the three-year

elementary school defined by “the 1890 Elementary School Order”. In accordance with

this Order, Nagano Prefecture established special school regulations and accredited this

educational activity.

【Actors Interaction】 (In the case of special schools at factories）

Guidance and accreditation Teachers dispatched

Promotion of learning

Silk Mill

Owner of

the Mill

Special School

Teachers in

charge of each

subject

Local community

Parents

Children

（Especially girls）

Local educational

administration

Elementary

School

Understanding of

special schools Understanding

and cooperation

37

【Preconditions】

Understanding and cooperation of mill owners

Space and minimum facilities to open classes within factories

Existence of a nearby elementary school

Understanding and cooperation of the local governments

【Outcomes]

Since it became possible to receive education while engaged in labor in silk mills, many

factory girls could receive elementary school education. As a result, the girls’ school

enrollment rate improved. Moreover, by explaining the importance of compulsory

education to mill owners, the corporate sector developed an understanding of the

significance of education.

【Impact】

The special schools at silk mills were implemented in Nagano from 1914 and lasted

until around 1940. After World War II, child labor became completely prohibited in

Japan (Legally, there is a punitive clause for employers), so that the special schools

became no longer necessary.


Keys to success

The success of the special schools at silk mills was due to the fact that they established

an education system for girls who had to work due to poverty to be able to learn without

stopping their work. Regarding the implementation, it was important that the

educational administration of Nagano Prefecture took initiative, tried to gain the

understanding and cooperation of the mill owners, and issued relevant administrative

orders.

Constraints

When teachers were dispatched from nearby elementary schools, traveling of teachers

became a problem in case there was no school in the neighborhood. Also, it was difficult

to implement the special schools if the mill owners did not fully cooperate. In principle,

factories are for profit so administrative and legal actions to persuade them to cooperate

were necessary.

38

GP６ Nyokoba Education

Vocational Skills Training for Girls

When the modernization of Japan began in the 19th century, the view that women

should attend school was not common and the girls’ school enrolment rate was low. At

this time, women were required to master sewing or handicraft and morality whether

they choose to work or get married. It was “Nyokobas” that taught such skills, together

with reading and writing.

【Issues】

When the modern school system started, the girls’ school enrolment rate did not rise.

For the government, it was important to change the stereotype perception that girls and

women did not need to learn. At that time, there were girls who worked as geishas

(female entertainers versed in traditional classical music and dance) and yujos

(courtesans) in Kyoto. Many girls were held in servitude because of their parents’ debts

and were made to work in menial jobs at okiyas (the lodging house where geisha live)

and in the red light districts when they were young. Some girls began to work as

geishas and yujos at around 15 or 16 years old. Some girls, when they became free after

the contracted period expired, needed to master skills called “Nyoko” (handwork such as

sewing and handicrafts) in order to make a living.


* In Japan, local administrations had the responsibility to ensure education for all.

However, it was difficult to have girls go to school under the pre-modern perception that

women did not need to go to school. Volunteers in Kyoto-City established an institution

to teach Nyoko in 1873. Kyoto city supported this idea and established the first Nyokoba

(“ba” refers to the place). Some 80 Nyokobas were established in Kyoto within ten years.

These Nyokobas, often located within school premise, were for elementary school-aged

girls who worked mainly in okiyas and in the red light districts. During the same period,

・Low girls enrolment

・Poverty

Issue

s ・Increased girls enrolment

・Increased independence of girls

Nyokoba

education

GP Outcomes

39

in Kyoto, Nyokobas were also established for older geisha girls and yujos. The purpose

of those Nyokobas was to provide vocational education, so that women could find proper

work when they became free after the contracted period expired. Another type of

Nyokoba promoted further education for girls who finished elementary education.

Contents of education

Every Nyokoba had its own curriculum. In addition to skills such as sewing, embroidery,

cooking, etiquette, tea ceremony and Japanese flower arrangement, more basic skills

such as calligraphy and arithmetic were taught. Moral education was also included.

Teachers

Usually, experts who were familiar with Nyoko were employed as teachers at Nyokoba.

They were masters of private sewing schools and primary teachers who could sew.

Management

As for the operation of Nyokoba, a governing body was founded by influential local

leaders in elementary school districts. The governing body collected investment money,

donations, and membership fees from their members as well as from others in order to

run Nyokobas. Moreover, sale profit from the products that the students made was also

earmarked for expenses. The sustainability of Nyokoba was assured by these policies.

Many Yujos were held in servitude because of their parents’ debts. After the contracted

period expired, they would become free. In view of this, the cooperation with the

contractors who were employing these women was also essential to run the Nyokobas.

There were three types of Nyokobas as follows:

1. For geisha or yujo

Girls were taught Nyokos to acquire skills to make a future living. The Nyokobas were

established in the red light districts. There, yujos were taught Nyokos to make a living

when they came back to society after their contracts were over.

2. For school-aged girls

Nyokobas were established at elementary schools to offer education for girls working in

okiyas and in the red light districts. This had the advantage that reading and writing

could also be taught. The girls’ school attendance was also promoted by teaching Nyokos

40

at school so children who were reluctant to try modern education would attend to

master the Nyoko skills and also learn to read and write.

3. For girls who graduated from elementary school

There were Nyokobas where girls who graduated from elementary school were taught

not only sewing, required etiquette, and morality for women, but also advanced general

education. Such Nyokobas that included modern education were established in

elementary schools, but there were Nyokobas established some other places as well.

Some Nyokobas hired foreign teachers and offered English education.

【Legal aspects】

From a legal point of view, the Nyokoba was not included in the school education.

However, government authorities administered the Nyokoba school affairs. Later,

Nyokobas were reformed into sewing schools by the revision of the law. As for Nyokobas

for yujos, with the enactment of the anti-trafficking law, the importance of Nyokoba

became increasingly recognized as it offered yujos the possibility to leave the yujo work

and find proper job and therefore many more were established.


School

Nyokoba Ａ

Nyokoba Ｂ

Local community

Yujo

Nyokoba

Local educational

administration

Red light districts

and Okiya

Yujos

Going to school School-aged girls

Graduated

girls

Proceed to

higher education

Support

Support

Teaching

and advice

41

【Preconditions】

Space to establish and operate Nyokobas (in schools and workplaces)

Understanding and cooperation of managers when implemented at workplaces

【Outcomes】

Working girls who could not go to regular school or girls who had no interest in modern

school had opportunities to receive basic education and vocational training through

Nyokobas. The girls’ school enrolment rate was substantially raised by these efforts.

【Impact】

Nyokobas were started in the city of Kyoto and then spread throughout Japan.

Dressmaking and English conversation in modern Nyoko were added later and the

comparatively wealthier class wanted to learn these skills. It lasted until 1885.

Subsequently, Nyokobas became no longer necessary by the institutionalizing of the

sewing schools and by the lack of need for Nyokoba that teaches mostly handwork as

modern industries developed.


Keys to success

It is important to address the learning needs of women to promote their school

attendance. Before, the view that “women did not need academic skills” was dominant

in Japanese society. Many women themselves had negative attitudes about learning at

school. The reasons for the success of this GP are considered to be as follows: the

original purpose of Nyokoba education was to teach skills required for work or marriage

preparation to women. Through Nyokoba education, however, girls and women acquired

basic learning skills including reading and writing taught at regular schools.

Constraints

In the case where Nyokoba education is conducted for geisha and yujos, it was essential

to have full cooperation from their employers. Even with administrative orders from

local government authorities, these women may not feel secure engaging in learning, if

their employers did not have a good understanding of their needs.

42

GP７ The Komori-School

When the coverage of modern general education expanded in Japan, there were girls

who could not go to school because they had to take care of infants in their own or

somebody else’s home. The Komori-Schools were created in an effort to provide such

girls with opportunity to learn.

【Issues】

Modern general education began in Japan at the end of the 19th century, but the

perception that there was no need for girls to go to school was deep-rooted in those days.

Moreover, the practice of family labors and the absolute poverty were big factors

preventing girls from attending school. Traditionally, girls had the responsibility for

domestic work such as baby-sitting (“Komori”), house sitting and cooking. In poor

families, many school-aged girls took care of their own younger brothers and sisters in

their homes or worked in somebody else’s home. Taking care of their younger brothers

and sisters in their own homes was considered to be a natural duty for girls from 8 to

around 17 years old. Meanwhile, baby-sitting other people’s children was a paid

occupation, bringing important incomes to their families. That is why these girls could

not go to school.


＊The first Komori-School for children who were baby-sitting was started at Akatsuka

School in Tokyo in 1878. Komori-Schools were not official schools like ordinary

elementary schools. From a legal point of view, they were classified differently from

normal elementary schools but nonetheless considered as the regular education, even

though the content of the education was somewhat simplified. Girls were permitted to

attend school with babies they were nursing (often carrying babies on their back).

Girls could not attend school because of family duty (childcare). .

Issue

s Girls who were involved in

childcare could go to school.

Komori- School

GP Outcomes

43

Classroom management

Children came to school with the infants in their care and the classes were often

disrupted by noises of these infants. The teachers in charge did not receive special

training to deal with this, but they did devise several methods to help.

1. Komori-Schools were equipped with some toys. Those toys were lent to the infants

while the class was in progress.

2. The baby-sitters hung a colored string where the infant on their backs could reach.

When the infants started crying, teachers swung the string and attracted the attention

of the babies.

3. When many babies started crying at the same time, teachers stopped the class and

turned the class into a music lesson with everyone singing.

Management of Komori-School

Some Komori-Schools (classes) were operated at elementary schools; others were

operated in other institutions. The management of each operation is explained below.

1. Implementation at elementary school

① A special class (Komori-class) was created and conducted in school during regular

school hours.

② A branch school of an elementary school was used as a Komori-School; full-time and

part-time schoolteachers were hired and assigned to teach at Komori-School.

③ Some classes were held in vacant classrooms after school or on Sundays. Classes

were taught by volunteer schoolteachers.

As an example, the Komori-School, in Nagano was operated as a special class in the

elementary school. In this Komori-School, students were taught with a special

curriculum, with shortened years and reduced school hours. In many cases, the classes

were open only two or three days in a week. Because of the shortage of classrooms, some

Komori-Schools held two shifts such as morning and afternoon classes. Since most of

the children could not buy textbooks, teachers did not use textbooks but employed

verbal instruction methods with the help of wall charts, etc.

The teachers in charge of the Komori-school received little or no pay. Because teachers

in those days were taught during their formal training to do their best to serve to their

nation and local community, they thought that it was natural to work hard for

non-regular schools such as Komori-Schools even with little pay or without pay.

44

2. Implementation at independent institutions

Some Komori-Schools were established as independent institutions and facilities. Many

of these schools were run and funded by temple managers and local women's societies. A

separate building was built in a temple or a kindergarten, but not many were built

because a large amount of funds were required for construction. In this arrangement,

teachers employed by the founder or volunteer schoolteachers taught the classes.

Similar to the Komori-Schools established at regular schools, the teachers were paid in

some case, but often they were volunteers.

【Legal aspects】

From the legal point of view, Komori-School was established based on the Article 17 of

the Educational Order (revised in 1880). It is written: “Those who wish to offer general

education to school-aged children outside regular schools or on a mobile class must seek

permission from a district supervisor.” In addition, there was a regulation in Article 36

of the Elementary School Order: “One can offer subjects of elementary school in home or

other places with permission from the mayor of the city, town, or village.” These orders

were effective in establishing the Komori-School. Yet, there were times Komori-Schools

were established without such official legal regulations.


Approach

Budgetary support

Advice

Approach

Elementary school

Initiative

Principal Full-time teachers

Part-time teachers

Local community

School-aged

baby-sitter girls

and their parents

Independent institutions（such as temples）

Philanthropists

Community associations (women's societies)

Local educational administration

45

【Preconditions】

Space to establish Komori-School

Educational administration motivated to raise school enrolment rate

The existence of philanthropists who were willing to offer personal assets to education

【Outcomes】

The Komori-School gave learning opportunities to children who could not attend regular

school because they were baby-sitters. The girl’s school attendance rate at the beginning

of the 20th century in Japan was overwhelmingly low. It was necessary to make special

arrangements for baby-sitter girls for them to be able to learn. By establishing

Komori-Schools, the girl’s attendance rate rose sharply.

【Impact】

The Komori-School rapidly spread all over Japan around 1900, and it lasted until about

1930s. When the difference in school attendance between boys and girls was obviously

out of balance, there was need for such special arrangements for girls as the

Komori-School. However, the necessity of the Komori-School disappeared as social

circumstances changed as follows: the number of baby-sitting children decreased; child

welfare policy developed; child-care institutions expanded.


Keys to success

In needy families, there were cases where children were involved in housework and

other labor, and it was often difficult for them to take regular compulsory education.

This GP was successful because it carefully considered the living condition of children

and arranged educational opportunity to cater to their needs.

Constraints

Many of the Komori-Schools could not be established without the support of

philanthropists who had an understanding for education. Also, it was very difficult to

ensure the provision of teachers and classrooms for Komori-Schools. In some cases, the

number of classrooms became in a short supply due to student increases in regular

schools, resulting in the abolishment of Komori-Schools to give space.

46

GP８ Mannen Elementary School

When Japan was aiming at universal elementary education across the country, poverty

was a big barrier to some children for attending school. There was an effort to try to

create an educational system that responded to children’s actual conditions in poverty

areas, while trying to offer opportunities to show a new, better world to the children.

【Issues】

Since the modern school system was introduced in 1872, Japan established a policy

aimed at universal access to elementary education. To raise the enrolment rate, the

national and local governments were required to urge children from the poor families to

attend school. In Tokyo at that time there were several areas where the poor lived as

well as three areas of extreme poverty, where low-income households were concentrated.

In the latter half of the nineteenth century when the modernization began, the poor

from across the country gathered and settled in these areas. Additionally, when

modernization progressed with the rapid advancement of capitalism, some people fell

behind in the society. The government of those days had the challenges of raising the

enrolment rate by urging the poor to be enrolled in school and having Japan develop as

a modern state.


＊In 1902, the Emperor Meiji donated money to pay the educational expenses of the

local government in Tokyo in commemoration of the Crown Prince’s engagement. The

local government in Tokyo established five elementary schools for the poor with the

imperial donation. In the end, a total of 11 such schools were established. In 1903, the

first school was established in the three areas of extreme poverty and the second school

was built in the moderately poor area. One of the schools was built in Mannen-town, so

it was named “Mannen elementary school” by the first principal, Ryunosuke Sakamoto.

Mr. Sakamoto did his best to offer proper education to the poor children. He avoided

Children did not attend school because of poverty.

Issues

The poor children could go to school.

Mannen

Elementary School

GP Outcomes

47

using the name "special elementary school" even though this school had a special

character. The school was named after the place just like ordinary public schools. This

was because he wanted the students in this school to feel just like the students in

regular schools.

Preparation

Since Mannen elementary school was established in a poor area, they had to find

children who were at school age in the poor community. The first principal, Mr.

Sakamoto, visited every house to look for children who should be enrolled. If he found a

child who was not in school, he asked his/her parents the reason.

The reasons why parents did not let their children come to school were investigated.

The reasons were as follows: 1) if the children go to school, family income will decrease

and living expenses will increase; 2) education was considered to be unnecessary; 3)

anxiety over free-tuition (anxiety that something else might be demanded); 4) some

children were not on the family register; 5) fear of being kidnapped; 6) There were many

illegitimate children.

Based on his research, Mr. Sakamoto persuaded parents to allow their children to be

enrolled in his school. He encouraged the children to come to school and tried to provide

them with an education that responded to their actual conditions.

Contents of education and techniques

1. To know a new and better world

Since children did not know the world outside of their own poor communities, teaching

about other worlds and societies was the first priority. The reason was because it was

believed that the children had the right to choose their own life after having received an

education, and not remain poor forever. Therefore it was necessary to learn about

alternative worlds. This idea was the basis for teaching all the subjects.

For example, poor households did not have things which were generally seen in the

houses of the middle class. When the word “kettle” was used in a Japanese language

class, the children did not know what it was. So daily objects such as “lid, bottom,

handle of the kettle” were taught using real things. In addition, specimens, wall charts,

and toys were used to teach. In this way, the children could have concrete images of the

48

objects that teachers explained in classes. The children were also brought to other

towns on a train to have a real experience in the world outside poverty.

2. Education which responded to children’s actual conditions

Home visits were undertaken by the principal and teachers of Mannen elementary

school and the children’s actual conditions were investigated. Consequently, the school

was able to provide an education that responded to the children’s actual conditions. The

specific activities are mentioned here below.

① Many of the children were contributing to income. Compared to other children,

children who worked were considered healthy and disciplined, so teachers had

children do baby- sitting, newspaper delivery, sorting out chip waste, bookbinding,

and cigarette rolling at school. A special handicraft course was established to

produce ceramic toys. The income through these works was paid to children as a

salary.

② Some of the teachers utilized their own abilities to teach children various skills. For

example, there was a teacher, who was from a good family and she learned lace

making when she was young so she taught it to children. This was regarded as one

subject at school.

③ A bath and haircutting facilities were established in the school and this contributed

to improve the living conditions. All the expenses were charged to the Tokyo local

government.

④ In regular elementary schools, children came to school with a lunch box, having

classes in the morning and afternoon. In Mannen elementary school, however, two

separate sessions in the morning and in the afternoon were held for children who

could not bring lunch.

⑤ Regular night schools were established for children who could not come to school

during the daytime. A special night course was established for those who wanted to

learn regardless of their age.

⑥ A special class for children who could not be enrolled in classes of their own age and

needed support in their studies.

⑦ The duration of compulsory education was extended in 1907. Evening class was

opened for the senior students who needed to work during the daytime.

⑧ In order to strengthen teachers’ supervision and support, teachers decided to reside

in the school, so that they could give close attention to the children for 24 hours.

49

【Legal aspects】

From the legal point of view, the mannen elementary school was established under the

Elementary School Order that the government established. As for its operation,

Mannen elementary school was under the supervision of the local government of Tokyo.

The tuition was free of charge, and the textbooks were rented.


Approach

Budgetary support

【Preconditions】

Infrastructure to work on income generation at school.

Support from local administration

【Outcomes】

The opportunity to attend school was given to the children of the poor families who had

no chances to attend school. Above all, the ideal of compulsory education was

transformed from a forced duty to a child’s right for education through the efforts of Mr.

Sakamoto. This also brought a drastic change to the thinking of the government.

【Impact】

Mr. Sakamoto served as a principal and led the Mannen elementary school until 1921.

People from all over the country visited the school to learn from their experience. The

efforts of Mannen elementary school lasted until 1932. Mr. Sakamoto thought that

School

Leadership

Principal Teachers

Administrative

staff

Local communities

Parents

Children

Youths

Local educational

administration

Offering opinions

to government

50

these schools which cater to the poor community should not last long, so he was

determined to close the school within 30 years. In the end, the poverty in Japan in those

days that created the need to establish a special elementary school was improved, and

the Mannen elementary school was eventually transferred to another ward and was

renamed Ueno elementary school.


Keys to success

By showing a new and better world to children, the possibilities in life and importance

of having a dream was taught to the poor children. This served as strong motivation for

learning. In addition, the content of the education and the teaching methods were based

on the children’s actual conditions.

Constraints

Parent’s lack of understanding towards education and the situation of child labor could

become constraints.

【Application of GP8 Mannen Elementary School】

In Ghana, there are women who have emigrated from the northern area and settled in

the suburb of Cape Coast, in the southern region along the coast. The women are very

poor and produce palm kernel oil for their living. Most of these women have never been

to school. Some of them have been divorced and have to support their families by

themselves. Their children are often out of school.

The Center of Research in Improving Quality of Primary Education in Ghana

(CRIQPEG) of Cape Coast University has been interested in supporting this woman’s

group. CRIQPEG studied Japanese GPs and was inspired by the initiative of Mr.

Sakamoto to try to provide education for the poor. In particular, CRIQPEG took interest

in the way Mr. Sakamoto prepared for his realization of Mannen Elementary School.

Just as Mr. Sakamoto did, a team of CRIQPEG researchers visited the women to try to

understand their living condition and their view on education. Reasons cited by most

women for not sending their children to school are identical to those remarked by

families visited by Mr. Sakamoto: 1) if the children go to school, their income will

decrease and living expenses will increase; 2) education was considered to be

51

unnecessary. Following this research, the CRIQPEG team visits the women once a

month and encourages them to send their children to school by explaining the benefits

of education. Initially, the women repeated their remark “we need money,” but have

begun to understand that education is a key to getting out of poverty.

There are of course different conditions between Japan and Ghana that make it difficult

to apply the GP of Mannen Elementary School as it is to the local context in Ghana. For

example, in Ghana, many teachers leave schools for other work in the afternoon making

it rather difficult to organize evening classes or stay with the children all the time. Also,

teachers capable of providing vocational training are hard to find. The diversity of

languages is another issue. Those girls who immigrated from the north speak a

different local language from the language spoken in Cape Coast, thus making it hard

to adjust to the school life. CRIQPEG intends to plan arrangements to provide

education to the immigrant children and women, taking into consideration their living

conditions and needs. This approach is precisely the same as that taken by Mr.

Sakamoto.

CRIQPEG views its role as not just a research center but an active outreach

organization. In cities like Cape Coast, teachers come from afar. The teachers may not

feel a strong sense of attachment to the communities where they work. They may not

actively seek out-of-school children and encourage them to come to school. CRIQPEG

wants to be engaged in Education for All as a vital actor filling in gaps not fully

addressed by schools and administrations such as the women group from the north.

A QRIQPEG staff investigating the living

condition of women immigrants from the

north

A CRIQPEG staff discussing roles of

education with the women’s group

52

GP９ Adult Literacy Class

In the 1920’s, the enrolment rate for compulsory education in Japan was nearly 100%.

The people who were socially discriminated against called “Burakumin” (“Buraku”

literally means “village” and “min” means the people), however, had difficulties in

attending school for a long time because of poverty and discrimination at school. An

education program for children and adults that addressed this problem started around

1960.

【Issues】

It is believed that almost all Japanese people learned to read and write when Japan

achieved nearly 100% enrolment for primary school education. Yet, it was a different

story for people called “Burakumin.” Burakumin refer to those people from

discriminated communities that were formed in the pre-modern Japan era. Even

though there is no legal discrimination now, various kinds of discrimination still exist.

In the past, there were many Burakumin who could not get jobs to make a living and

were reduced to poverty. Therefore, there were many cases where people could not pay

the expense to educate their children or they could not have their children attend school

because they needed them to work. In addition, some children bullied the children of

Buraku at school. Even some teachers used discriminatory language and gave

discriminatory treatment. For example; a Burakumin student was pushed to the back of

the line when students waited for their turn to drink water. When he complained to

his teacher about it, the teacher said that he could not help because he was Burakumin.

There were many children from Buraku communities who could not attend school

because of such treatment.

Because of such discrimination many people could not receive regular compulsory

education in discriminated communities. Even though many Buraku children started

Difficulties in attending

school because of social

discrimination

Issues

・Adult literacy improved.

・Awareness about social

discrimination enhanced.

・Understanding of the education

for children deepened.

Adult

Literacy

Class

GP Outcomes

53

going to school with democratization of education after World War II, their parents had

problems because they could not read documents from the school to inform them what

to do. Around 1960s, there were still many illiterate people in these discriminated

communities (more than 80% in one area).


＊Literacy classes for adults in Buraku were operated in Fukuoka Prefecture. These

classes were called “Frontier School”. This expression comes from the feeling of the

operators and teachers who wanted them to overcome their struggle to become literates.

This “Frontier School” was the first literacy class for the discriminated communities.

Most people with illiteracy in Buraku were women, thus many learners who came to the

classes were women.

For learners, literacy classes became learning places not only for reading and writing

but also for learning about social discrimination, which was the very reason why they

could not read and write in the first place. They also learned about activities to promote

the Buraku liberation.

Location

Schools and public facilities available for the poor communities were used for literacy

classes.

Educational Philosophy

The education to promote Buraku liberation is called "Dowa education". "Dowa" consists

of two characters of “Do” and "Wa". The former means "equal" and the latter means

"harmony". Therefore, the expression "Dowa" implies the ideal "everyone is equal." An

adult literacy education that began as a part of Dowa education in Fukuoka had the

following two ideals:

1. Making Burakumin become literate is the basis to promote Buraku liberation

movement.

2. Buraku adults becoming literate guarantees the academic achievement of children

who are at school.

Content of education and techniques

In the literacy classes for Buraku people, they learned not only reading and writing but

also the reasons why they could not read and write (the social problems of

54

discrimination against outcast people and its history). They learned that reading and

writing could lead to their own liberation. Thus, learning about the liberation

movement was an integral part of their study. The education technique, in the case of

Fukuoka, was that in the beginner's class, reading and writing were mainly taught. In

the intermediate class, educational materials on the liberation movement were used.

School teachers

In the areas where there were Buraku communities, teachers to assist children who had

difficulty in attending school were deployed at school. In Fukuoka, an organization

called "the Dowa Educators-Association" was formed with the support of the prefecture.

Teachers conducted training where they shared their practices of the Dowa education

with their fellow teachers.

【Legal aspects】

Literacy class had no specific legal status. It was regarded as a voluntary education

activity of teachers who wanted to promote Dowa education.


Approach

Approach (Request for support)

【Preconditions】

Space to establish adult literacy classroom

Learners’ interest in education

【Outcomes】

Adult literacy classes enhanced greater learning effectiveness by teaching reading and

Literacy class

Teachers who promote Dowa education

(Deployed in every school in ward)

Discriminated

communities

Adult illiterates

（Especially women）

Local educational

administration

Budgetary support (teacher allowance –

books, stationeries etc.

Provide facilities

55

writing as well as discrimination issues to illiterate people. Presently, there are few

illiterate Burakumin. The adult literacy class has indeed increased parents’ interests in

and understanding of the education process of their children and helped the

establishment of the relationship between parents and the teachers.

【Impact】

Adult literacy classes that began as a part of Dowa education in Fukuoka spread out

afterwards in Buraku communities in the prefecture. Teachers who promoted Dowa

education all over the prefecture performed literacy classes in every district. At present,

the number of people who need to learn reading and writing has decreased, but

seminars to learn about discrimination against Burakumin have continued around the

country. The literacy classes gradually became places for people to understand and

become aware of the fact that they were once illiterate, that they had economic

problems and they had difficulties with job opportunities, and their children did not

have good academic achievements all due to discrimination against Burakumim. The

literacy classes also got them to think about what they should do to eliminate

discrimination. The literacy classes came to be regarded as means to free themselves

from discrimination.


Keys to success

In adult literacy classes, success was not only due to the teaching of reading and writing

but also to the sharing of consciousness between learners and their teachers, who

promoted Dowa Education, that the illiteracy was caused by discrimination. This factor

enhanced the teachers’ eagerness for teaching and the learners’ eagerness for literacy

learning.

Constraints

When literacy classes were started, there was a social acceptance of Dowa education.

However, because there are only few illiterate people from the Buraku communities now,

some object to providing special financial support for Burakumin. They also object that

teachers are involved with Dowa educational affairs.

56

GP10 School Lunch

In the present day, school lunch is supplied in many elementary and junior high schools

in Japan. Providing school lunch was originally started in Yamagata Prefecture so that

children who were suffering from hunger could come to school.

【Issues】

Based on the modern school education system of Japan, school teaching began in the

morning and lasted until the afternoon. So the parents prepared a lunch box and

children brought it and ate lunch during the noon break. However, poor children who

could not bring lunch could only observe their classmates eating lunch. Subsequently,

they stopped coming to school.


＊School lunch was first provided at a private elementary school in Tsuruoka City,

Yamagata Prefecture in 1888. In the beginning, the lunch was simply rice balls, grilled

fish and pickles. The aim of the school lunch was to increase the enrollment by

providing lunch at school especially to those from the poor families. This school was

located inside the compound of a Buddhist Temple called Daitokuji. The monk visited

all the houses in the village and chanted the sutra in order to collect money and food to

be used for school lunch.

【Legal aspects】

School lunch began in Yamagata and then became widespread throughout Japan. The

school initiated this project in cooperation with the community. In 1954, the National

School Lunch Act was established where the national government demanded the local

governments to provide lunch for compulsory education.

As a result, the system was created to allocate government budget funds that enabled

Children could not come to

school because of hunger.

Issues

・Increased school enrolment

・Improved Children’s health

School Lunch

GP Outcomes

57

the schools to provide lunch at low cost. In addition, a public corporation called the

School Lunch Association was established all over the country to consistently provide

inexpensive and safe food.

【Actors Interaction】(School in Yamagata)

Providing funds Donation

Alms giving

【Preconditions】

Facilities to prepare lunch at school

Groups, such as religious organizations, private sectors, NGOs and public institutions

who are willing to provide funds

【Outcomes】

Children, who faced hunger every day, started to come to the school. The health

condition of the children has improved by providing nutritious food at school lunch.

【Impact】

School lunch began in Yamagata before World War II and it became widespread

throughout Japan. After the War, free compulsory education was introduced. Providing

school lunch became important to ensure that every child could receive education.

During that time, the devastation brought by the War resulted in food shortages all over

the country. Only a few schools could provide school lunch and even if they could, the

food was not nutritious. Supplies, such as milk and flour, were sold by the U.S.

Occupation Forces and nutrition was secured by providing children with these supplies.

School lunch has never been free of charge, but provided with very low cost subsidized

School

Initiative

Principal Preparation for

school lunch by

the cooperation of

teachers and

students

Local

community

Parents

Children

Local residents

Temples

Priests

Understanding of

significance of school

lunch

Promotion of

school enrolment

58

by the government. Today, school lunch provides opportunities to learn about nutrition,

manners at meals, and food distribution and production systems as part of the

education.


Keys to success

One of the factors for the initial success of school lunch is the existence of the groups (e.g.

temple in Yamagata) that understood the significance of the role of education, were

concerned with children’s health and were committed to provide long-term financial

assistance to sustain this project.

Constraints

Preparations for school lunch may force an excessive burden on school staff. It is

necessary to mobilize human resources and prepare the facilities which can supply

school lunch.

59

GP11 Okayama Orphanage

During the Meiji period (1868-1912), modernization began. Japanese society was poor

then and there were many orphans. In order to deal with this situation, a children's

orphanage that offered education was founded in Okayama. This experience was useful

when disasters like the Nobi Earthquake left many children orphans as well.

【Issues】

Even when modernization was in progress, help for orphans was slow in Japan. There

was no system established to protect them and it was difficult for them to go to school

because of discrimination. Mr. Juiji Ishii, a medical student who later founded

Okayama orphanage, thought that if orphans grew up without parents, there was a

high possibility that they might become criminals. Besides the harm to the welfare of

the orphans themselves, this would cause possible future economic loss for the society.


* Mr. Juji Ishii, a medical student from Miyazaki Prefecture heard a lecture by a British

orphanage director and was deeply moved. Afterward, he quit the academy of medicine

and founded an orphanage. He thought it was important to protect the orphans and

raise them starting from an early age. He rented a temple, where he sheltered and

educated them.

Protection of orphans

Since the children had no families, a system was set up. Mr. Ishii made groups of about

10 children and assigned caregivers to take care of them, just like the family. Mr. Ishii

also looked for parents who wanted to adopt children or to be foster parents.

Orphans brought about

by poverty and disasters

did not receive education.

Issues

・Orphans were protected.

・Orphans received education.

・Orphans became independent

Okayama

Orphanage

GP Outcomes

60

Funding

Mr. Ishii organized an orphan association, invited people to join and pay for the

membership to run the orphanage. Initially, many sponsors were from the local area. He

also asked voluntary helpers throughout Japan for donations to cover expenses of the

orphanage. In addition, he received support from the powerful Ohara finance group.

While Ohara was in Okayama, he got acquainted with Mr. Ishii and was impressed with

his work. He became interested in social work. In this way, Ishii talked many

individuals into supporting this project and many did so.

Management

At the beginning, children were sent to a nearby elementary school. However, since they

were bullied because they were orphans, a private elementary school was founded in the

orphanage and the children were educated there. Workshops for printing, weaving, rice

milling and blacksmithing were set up in the orphanage. The children acquired

professional skills, and earned cash for the orphanage by operating their activities. A

musical band by orphans was organized and donations were collected. Administrative

costs including personnel expenses were covered by contributions.

【Legal aspects】

Until "the relief law" was established in 1932, the operation of children's orphanages,

which began with Okayama orphanage, did not receive legal protection and support.

Until then, children's orphanages had been administered by individuals and relied on

their own income and private companies’ good will for funds.


Approach

Cooperation

Financial support

Orphanage

Local community

Orphan associations

Benefactors

Financial groups

Orphan

association

Foster

parents

Orphans

Teachers at elementary school

Children's caregivers

61

【Preconditions】

Benefactors who are interested in supporting the protection of orphans

【Outcomes】

Children who became orphans because of poverty and disasters were able to receive

education in a stable environment. The vocational training helped them to become

independent when they grew up.

【Impact】

After Mr. Ishii founded the children's orphanage in Okayama, he helped open children's

orphanages throughout Japan. When the Nobi Earthquake occurred in Aichi and Gifu

in 1891, many children lost their parents. Mr. Ishii took in over 1,000 of these children

and offered them education.


Keys to success

The success factors were as follows: managers of children's orphanages organized

“orphan associations” to secure financial source, while seeking individual sponsors who

understood the significance of children's orphanages and supported them.

Constraints

The administration of the Okayama orphanage depended on Mr. Ishii completely. Once

Mr. Ishii died, the orphanage had to close. If the project depends entirely on one person,

it may not be sustainable.

Vocational workshop at Okayama Orphanage3

3 The story of Okayama Orphanage, Sanyo Shinbunsha (2002): a photo provided by Ishii Kinen Yuaisha

62

GP12 Secondary Night Schools

In Japan in the postwar period, compulsory education was extended to junior high

school (grade 7-9). However, there were children who could not go to school because of

various reasons arising from poverty. Responding to this situation, secondary night

school was implemented for the youth who could not go to junior high school during

daytime.

【Issues】

In 1947, the School Education Act was enacted and compulsory education was extended

from 6 years to 9 years. However, due to the devastation of World War II, the number of

students who were long-term absent from school increased, especially in junior high

schools (grades 6-9), because of poverty.


＊ In 1949, Kobe-City started secondary night school for students who could not

complete their junior high education because of long-term absence from school. This was

the beginning of secondary night school. Secondary night schools provided opportunities

to people who could not receive compulsory education in the postwar period. It was easy

for them to attend secondary night school since they engaged in work or did their daily

housework during the day.

The secondary night school aimed to teach the courses of compulsory education, using

school buildings or the facilities of the existing junior high schools. However, many of

the people who did not finish compulsory education had not taken even primary

education, so they had to first start by learning reading and writing. There were also

classes for foreigners which taught Japanese language. Of course, extra-curricular

Young people could not go to junior high school because they worked during daytime.

Issues

・ Young people could go to secondary night school while working during daytime. ・Increase in the enrollment rate of secondary schools.

Secondary Night Schools

GP Outcomes

63

activities and school excursions aside from regular school subjects were conducted as

well just as at regular schools. In the beginning, teachers taught as volunteers, but

before long, authorized teachers were assigned.

Current secondary night school

There are also secondary night schools in present day Japan. In recent years. this

includes various groups: Koreans living in Japan for a long time who do not have

Japanese literacy; Chinese returnee children and their families; and foreigners who

recently came to Japan. There is also an increase in children who are not enrolled owing

to being truant. Aside from secondary night schools, there are literacy night classes

which both young and adult students can attend. Since the literacy classes are meant to

acquire reading and writing skills, they are not considered to be part of regular school

education. Literacy classes are run by volunteers and there is no need of graduation. On

the other hand, authorized teachers are necessary for secondary night schools and

graduation certificate will be given.

Learners at the current secondary night schools

1. Returnee children

After World War II, when Japanese evacuated from war-torn China and returned to

Japan, they asked Chinese families to look after their children. After normalization of

Japan-China diplomatic relations in 1972, the children began to return to Japan to look

for their parents. When the children retuned to Japan, their family members often came

with them, so they needed to learn Japanese to make a living in Japan.

2. Koreans living in Japan

The Korean Peninsula was colonized by Japan from 1910 to 1945 and many Koreans

were forced or semi-forced to work or to live in Japan. After the war, many Koreans

returned to the independent South and North Korea, but some could not return and had

to stay in Japan. Since when they decided to become permanent residents in Japan, the

demand to acquire Japanese literacy skills increased.

3. Truant students

Since the 1970s, children who could not adapt themselves to Japanese school education

increased. At first, they were flatly called “students who refuse to attend schools”, but

now the simpler and inclusive term, “truant student” is used to recognize the complexity

of reasons why children do not come to school. One out of 36 students at school is a

64

truant student (about one student per class) and some of them became students at

secondary night school.

【Legal aspects】

Since the law prohibited the implementation of compulsory education at night,

“secondary night school” was implemented as an exceptional case. In fact, there was a

time when central and local governments tried to abolish secondary night school.

However, in the end the governments had to acknowledge the continued demands from

the society for secondary night school and came to support it.


Demand to establish

secondary night school

Budgetary support

【Preconditions】

Security for implementation of school at night

Understanding and support of local educational administrative bodies

【Outcomes】

Secondary night schools, which began in Kobe, incorporated various learners who could

not complete compulsory education. By completing secondary education, learners could

find more jobs and their lives were improved. Learners who finished compulsory

education could master skills to make a basic living.

Secondary night school

Guidance and

supervision

Principal Teachers of

secondary

night school

Local community

People who did not

graduate from junior

high school.

(No age limit)

Local educational

administration

Encouragement

to come to school

Initiative

Budgetary support

65

【Impact】

Secondary night schools began as an exceptional case in the beginning, but then they

spread through the whole country. Before long, the need for schools spread to adults

who were not able to finish compulsory education. In the 1960s based on a general rule

that compulsory education should be provided during daytime, the Ministry of

Education aimed to abolish secondary night schools. In response, graduates and

teachers of the secondary night schools urged local education authorities and the

Ministry of Education to continue to support secondary night schools. As a result, the

administrations began to allow or support the schools. Also, the necessity of the school

was recognized by the new needs from Chinese returnee children and their families,

increased foreign workers, Koreans living in Japan, and children not enrolled owing to

being truant. Subsequently, the secondary night schools were established in Tokyo,

Osaka, Kyoto, Kanagawa, Hyogo, Chiba, Nara and Hiroshima.


Keys to success

Secondary night schools responded to the motivation of learners who wanted to

complete secondary compulsory education. Although classes were opened at night, the

learners had high motivation and the schools also played a role in bringing solidarity

with people who were in the same situation.

Constraints

Not having legal basis and having little support from the local governments sometimes

made the management of secondary night schools difficult.

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