Shiga MIKIO (志賀 幹郎)

Offer Organization: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, System Name: Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Fund Type: -, Overall Grant Amount: - (direct: 12100000, indirect: 3630000)
This research aims to provide data in order to contribute to the improvement of the quality of education in Japan in accepting students with parents of foreign nationality by making case studies of progressive multicultural classroom environments found in schools inside and outside Japan. For this purpose, we have conducted a study on how Japan and each of the other countries are accepting foreign elementary school children and creating a multicultural school environment in the process of improving its system. The study was successful in grasping the situation in the cities of Isesaki, Hamamatsu and Valencia, as well as in Sweden and Taiwan. Furthermore, the study was also successful in grasping the situation of the curriculum reform conducted by Aichi University of Education in an effort to adopting the multicultural coexistence environment.

Offer Organization: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, System Name: Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), Fund Type: -, Overall Grant Amount: - (direct: 3300000, indirect: 990000)
Following the Participatory Evaluation theory, teachers-in-training both planned and ran their own training programs. Need assessments were also done by the participating teachers, and the training form changed from a lecture-course type to a problem-solving type. Collaboration between colleagues encouraged, a common framework for Japanese language assessment called Nihongo Step, was developed. This enabled teachers to make lesson plans for the Japanese language classroom that were more useful, relevant, and applicable to the foreign student’s main classwork. Analysis of the decision-making processes of teachers and construction of a model for effective management of teacher-training programs have yet to be completed.

Offer Organization: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, System Name: Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B), Fund Type: -, Overall Grant Amount: - (direct: 8800000, indirect: 2640000)
Brazil, the Czech Republic, Germany and Italy have compulsory school attendance for all children up to a certain age, regardless of nationality. In Germany and Italy, this system is based on the notion that all resident children should be provided the minimum general education by the state. In Brazil and the Czech Republic the situation concerning the education of migrant children is even more complex. In all four countries the authorities face the common difficulty of identifying non-citizen children. On the contrary, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand as well as Japan, have no system of compulsory school attendance for children of non-citizens. This policy is based on the educational philosophy that the State is responsible for the provision of compulsory education only to country nationals. Each nation has established mechanisms to provide additional local language support, however effective systems to maintain the mother tongue of students are lacking.