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Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS IN JAPAN 1971 > CHAPTER2 6

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CHAPTER 2. IMPROVEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND METHOD
6 Diversification and Upgrading of the Content and Method of Social Education


Social education provides a wide range of programs to meet a variety of social needs. They can be categorized into several areas such as those related to general culture and hobbies, sports and recreation, family living (including family education), occupations and citizenship.

Recent social changes such as industrialization, demographic concentration in urban areas, extension of the average span of human life, and changes in family life necessitate provision of the following types of education at each stage of human development.

(1) For infancy and early childhood, parents should be encouraged to learn various things and children should be encouraged to play in groups.

(2) For middle childhood, parents should deepen their understanding of the aims of middle childhood education and children at this stage should be given opportunities to explore nature, to play, and to participate in-group life. Bad magazines and movies should be prohibited and children should be trained to be selective regarding mass media.

(3) For adolescence, youths, especially those moving to urban areas, should be given assistance in becoming independent adults in mind and body. Youths should in general be encouraged to reflect on their own way of, life and widen their thoughts and views. They also should be encouraged to utilize their leisure time in a planned way. Training for social solidarity is also an important task at this stage of development.

(4) For adulthood, measures should be taken to meet technological innovations and the rapid increase in information; consideration being given to the recovery of initiative is human beings. Interest in family education should be aroused. For women especially, the understanding on family life should be enriched, volunteer activities should be promoted, and thus their abilities should be fully developed.

(5) For later maturity, activities to improve life for older men should be developed, vocational training should be provided, and other measures for enriching their lives should be taken.

Social education activities can be categorized into three patterns. The first is individual learning utilizing correspondence courses, educational broadcasting and libraries. The second involves attendance at public lectures, concerts, or athletic meets in which people can participate freely depending upon the theme or kind of activity. Third is group learning in which particular members participate and which create a collective identity among its members, such as young men's associations, women's associations, youth classes, and classes for women.

Diversification of learning content and demands for the development of individuality are increasing the necessity for individual learning. But to meet the tendency toward professionalization and the upgrading of learning content, the public activities of the second type are also necessary, and in light of the fact that community consciousness is becoming weaker and the sense of solidarity is being lost along with urbanization, group learning activities should also be strengthened.


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