A Study of Foreign Children's Education in Japan : The Role of Foreign/International Schools in Their Interncultural Experiences

1992 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 03610136
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Educaion
• Research Institution: Tsuda College (1992); Hokkaido Tokai University (1991)
• Principal Investigator: KUNIEDA Mari Tsuda College, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Associate Professor, 学芸学部, 助教授 (00205105)
• Project Period (FY): 1991 – 1992
• Keywords: overseas children's education / foreign children in Japan / foreign school / international school / intercultural experience / identity / mother tongue / mother culture

Research Abstract

These days, people have more chances to live and study in countries other than their own. In the case where children are exposed to foreign languages and cultures at early stage, the impact they receive is considerably serious in their personality development. In this study, we intended to investigate foreign children's experiences in Japan, mainly at school.
Among those schools we investigated, there are (1) schools like Finnish School, Norwegian School, Swedish Scholl, Indonesian School, Korean School, etc.which are supported by respective governments and aim at teaching subjects according to their original system's curriculum in mother tongue, (2) schools like French School which are supported by governments, but accept children of many nationalities, functioning as international schools, and (3) international schools like Seishin International School, Seisen International School, and Nishimachi International School, where children are accepted from many countries, paying attention to the balance of nationality.
The question of children's identity heavily depends on (1)the number of years of their stay in Japan, (2)parents'attitude toward the Japanese culture and society, and (3) the nature of school they attend. Children educated at international schools, aiming at teaching from global viewpoing, tend to be confused in the notion who they are. In order to avoid such a confusion, school like Nishimachi International pays more attention to giving more chances to feel "being in Japan" as "Japanese" than any other international school, which may suggest some possibility in overseas children's education in Japanese context in the future.