A Basic Study on Education of Children of Immigrant Workers- Experiences of Some Developed Countries -

1991 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 02451040
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Educaion
• Research Institution: National Institute for Educational Research (NIER)
• Principal Investigator: WATANABE Ryo NIER, Dep. of International Education, Chief, 国際研究協力部, 室長 (30141980)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KAWAI Hisashi NIER, Dep. of Overall Planning and Research, Senior Researcher, 企画調整部, 主任研究官 (30214589) ; INOUE Seiji NIER, Dep. of Overall Planning and Research, Co-ordinator, 企画調整部, 企画調整官 (70223253) ; YUUKI Tadashi NIER, Dep. of Educational Policies, Chief, 教育政策研究部, 室長 (20033574)
• Project Period (FY): 1990 – 1991
• Keywords: Immigrant workers / Immigration policies / Assimilation / Second language / Multicultural Education / Cultural identity

Research Abstract

This study analyzes the situation of immigrant workers in Germany, France, the United States and Australia, and their implications for the education of their children. Various documents have been collected from the concerned government agencies as well as international agencies such as the Council of Europe. It was found that a large number of immigrant workers moved into these countries in the past and the respective governments have taken various measures to control these flow of these immigrant workers as well as to facilitate their settlement. Some of them adopted policies to assimilate them in their society and culture. There exists a phenomena of a chain migration to reunion families of certain ethnic groups. With the increase in the number of immigrant workers, there is a problem of applying the principle of assimilation to the culture and society of these countries.
Major problem and an empliasis placed on the education of the children of immigrant workers, is the acquisition of the language of new languages such as English, German and French. Some governments promote multicultural education, and emphasize the learning of their official language through such programmes as a English as a Second Language programme for especially those who come from the non-English speaking background. It was also found that with the anticipation of the formation of the European Community, it is in the process of reconsider the nature and role of these immigrant workers in European countries.