Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > Japanese Government Policies in Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology 2001 >Chapter1 Section2.1

It is important for schools, homes and communities to join forces and help the emotional development of children in order to cultivate social awareness, encourage their independence and foster Japanese with rich humanity. In particular, providing children with opportunities to experience a variety of experiential activities, including social service learning activities, within and outside the school offers the key to helping them cultivate emotional richness within themselves, including:

Such opportunities for children at the same time are contributing to revitalizing cooperation among schools, homes and local communities. Further, experiential activities that emphasize children's association with society help enhance their willingness to learn and create a zest for life.

  According to the results of the "questionnaire survey on children's experiential activities," conducted by the then-Ministry of Education Science, Sports, and Culture in FY1998, children with many everyday life and outdoor activities, and children who frequently help with household chores are found to have a stronger sense of morals and justice than other children. Under the "Let's Try Week" program in Hyogo, students at all public lower secondary schools in the prefecture are provided with opportunities of experiential activities with the cooperation of local communities. It has been reported that through these efforts, schools, homes and communities have been able to deepen the levels of mutual understanding and cooperation among them.

  Concerning moral education, while seeking cooperation with communities and homes and further expanding experiential activities, schools need to strive to improve moral education by utilizing children's lively experience activities through the use of better teaching materials and non-teacher instructors to encourage children to think deeply about their own future and life and to deepen their level of understanding. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide stronger emotional support for children regarding such problems as non-attendance, bullying and school violence.

  Education should start at home. Children should be taught basic customs of life and social rules at home. Also, the family is the foundation upon which children should cultivate basic ethics such as compassion and a sense of justice. Unfortunately, however, it has been noted that the "educational functions" of the family have been on the decline, as exemplified by a lack of basic disciplining, overprotection, excessive interference and an anxiety over child rearing. To deal with these problems, it is necessary to implement support measures, such as community-based networks of assistance to help parents raise children with confidence and to provide learning opportunities concerning education at home.

  Further, local communities are losing their function of providing community-based support for the education of children amid thinning human relationships among residents and a decline in adults' sense of respect for social rules and models. Local communities are being called upon to revive their educational functions and improve the environment for community-based rearing of children. To achieve those goals, communities need to provide children with opportunities for various social services and other experiential activities and increase opportunities for adults to participate in community-based child rearing activities.

  On the other hand, children are still developing both mentally and physically, having an immature sense of responsibility and judgment. Therefore, it is important to exert efforts to shield children from harmful information, including information on sex and violence in the media.