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Home> FY2005 White Paper on Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology > Chapter1 Part2 Essential Action Plans for Educational Reform


Chapter 1 :
PROMOTING EDUCATIONAL REFORM

Part 2 Essential Action Plans for Educational Reform

On January 17, 2006, Minister Kosaka announced the Essential Action Plans for Educational Reform. These plans incorporate policies to be pursued in a prioritized manner related to educational reform focused on elementary and secondary education with goals to “develop strong, emotionally enriched people who can thrive in the international community” and views to “provide an enriched education for all children.”
▲Minister Kosaka
announcing the Essential Action Plans for Educational Reform (January 17, 2006. 2nd FY2005 General Assembly of the National Council of Prefectural Boards of Education)

Essential Action Plans for Educational Reform ~ An Enriched Education for All Children ~

Of these, concerning the goal of “redesigning compulsory education for a new era,” specific measures and schedules were compiled for restructuring compulsory education (see Part 4-3) based on results from the Central Council for Education(notes)meeting in October 2005 (see Part 4-2).

In addition, efforts to “enrich education to foster vital talents,” “establish environments that support enriched education” and “improve educational functions of communities and families” are to be pursued to improve the quality of childhood learning and development, including compulsory educational reform.

First, for the efforts to “enrich education to foster vital talents,” the following four points will be emphasized: (1) bolster Academic Ability, such as cultivating children's desires and curiosity to learn through a review of Courses of Study, (2) promote emotional education such as examining responses to children's emotional and psychological problems such as the recent significant social problems of “losing control,” and responding to the issues of non-attendance through cooperation among schools, homes, and related organization, (3) foster sound bodies by improving child physical fitness and promoting food education, (4) foster independent and challenging youth by career education and sponsoring opportunities to reeducate NEET, etc.

Next, to “establish environments that support enriched education,” efforts will be made to (1) create safe and secure schools and communities, (2) promote education and learning utilizing ICT, and (3) examine educational costs.

With regard to creating safe and secure schools and communities, in response to the successive occurrence of extremely heartbreaking incidents in schools and along school routes, efforts will be made to promote the Safety and Security Project for Children to perfect and ensure safety and piece of mind.

In addition, to promote education and learning utilizing ICT, several activities will be devised from the viewpoint of “developing human resources” that support the ICT nation of the highest global standards. These include calling for local governments to speed up ICT installments in school facilities and conducting ICT promotion campaigns such as “Informatization of education month” in March 2006.

Furthermore, the modality of education expenditures will be examined taking into account the viewpoint of declining birthrates countermeasures, with a view to understanding precisely the reality at each stage of education, from pre-school to adulthood, while considering the social condition as a whole. Proper measures will be considered upon clarifying challenges.

Finally, for improving educational functions of communities and families, “early to bed, early to rise, breakfast” will be developed as a private-led national movement, with cooperation from organizations such as the PTA. This supports the cultivation of basic lifestyle habits that are the basis of intellectual education, moral education, and physical education. Furthermore, creating spaces for children within the community is being promoted (see Chapter 2, Part 2 and 3).

Along with these specific efforts, proper measures will be taken to amend the Fundamental Law of Education and formulate the Basic Promotional Plan for Education in order to clarify the educational principles for the new times and organize their implementation (see Part 3).


(notes) Central Council for Education
See Column 2 regarding the Central Council for Education

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