Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERNMENT POLICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE, SPORTS AND CULTURE 1996 > Priorities and Prospects for a Lifelong Learning Society Chapter 3 Section 3 4

In its April 1996 report the Lifelong Learning Council advocates the concept of "school-community integration." This can be defined as the most advanced form of the existing idea of school-community cooperation. It is based on role sharing between school education and social education but goes further, being an approach to children's education that combines elements of both school and social education, including learning venues and activities.

For example, Children's Nature Centers, which are social education facilities, are used by schools as part of school education. In some cases, however, activities in these facilities are decided unilaterally by schools, while in other cases guidance is left almost entirely to the management of the facilities. To make full use of the human and material resources of these facilities and achieve the educational aims of schools, it is necessary to build close cooperative relationships between school and facility staff across the board, from the planning of activities to actual guidance at the implementation stage.

The potential for such an approach must be considered according to the priorities of each side and from all perspectives of school and social education. Under the School-Community Integration Promotion Project, which was launched in fiscal 1996, MESSC is carrying out research and surveys on approaches to new forms of cooperation and integration among schools, families, and communities. The ongoing implementation of this program is expected to yield important results.