Tel/Fax 81-3-3942-6836
E-mail:
sinohara@human.tsukuba.ac.jp
1. The National Course of Study for Special Schools
In Japan, we
have ' the National Course of Study for Special Schools' ('the Course of Study'
will be described in the sentences that follow). Special Schools refer to the
schools for the children with each disability, such as blindness, deafness,
mental retardation, physical handicap, and healthy impairment/ physical
weakness.
The Course of Study is general principle in planning educational contents of special schools. Meanwhile, curriculum is referred to as the plan of educational contents in Japanese Schools.
The curriculum of Japanese Special Schools in primary school department consists subjects (such as Japanese, Mathematics, Music, Drawing and Handicraft, Physical Education, Life Studies), Moral Education, Special Activities, and Activities for Living a Life of Independence.
2. The goal of 'Activities for Living a Life of Independence '
The
Course of Study prescribes the goal of 'Activities for Living a Life of
Independence ' as follows.
Activities for Living a Life of Independence, aiming children with special needs to live an Independent Life in future, encourages them to foster knowledge, skills, attitude, and self-motivation necessary for improving and overcoming disabilities, therefore lays the foundation of their well-balanced development.
The name, i.e.,' Activities for Living a Life of Independence' has been altered from 'Therapeutically Educational Activities' Mar. 1999. Needless to say, the goal and contents of activities to educate as well as its title are different from of 'Activities for Living a Life of Independence'. It is a modification of education for children with special needs in Japan that living a Life of Independence is weighted in education, especially in instruction of 'Activities for Living a Life of Independence'. According to this emphasis on to live independently like as aiming 'to live an Independent Life', the expression 'Therapeutically Educational Activities' was thought to become inappropriate. The term 'Therapeutically' seems not to correspond with living an Independent Life, since its implication is to be cured passively.
3. The educational contents of 'Activities for Living a Life of
Independence'
The educational contents of 'Activities for Living a Life of
Independence' are composed of following five domains instructions.
1 Maintaining good health
2 Tranquillising
3 Comprehending
outer world
4 Moving kinetically
5 Communicating
Each article is also sub-divided as follows.
1 Maintaining good
health
(1) Rhythmical living a life, forming good habits and keeping
regular them
(2) Understanding to be sick and regulating life
(3)
Understanding impairment and taking care of it
(4) Maintaining and
reinforcing good health
2 Tranquillising
(1) Tranquillising emotionally
(2)
Laying foundation for human relation
(3) Adapting oneself to changing
situation
(4) Raising self-motivation to improve and overcome difficulties
depending upon disabilities
3 Comprehending outer world
(1) Relevant use of functioning
sensation
(2) Using aids and alternative devices for dysfunction of
sensation
(3) Comprehending outer world using whole sensation
(4)
Formation of concept leading to appropriate cognition and behaviour
4 Moving kinetically
(1) Underlying skills of posture and
kinetic motion
(2) Retaining posture and using aids for kinetic motion
(3) Activities of daily living
(4) Locomotion
(5) Performing smooth
5 Communicating
(1) Basic skills for communication
(2)
Receptive and expressive ability of language
(3) Acquisition and use of
language
(4) Selection and use of communication media
(5) Communication
according to situation
4. Revision of 'The Course of Study'
The Ministry of Education,
Science, Sports and Culture (MESSC is abbreviation of Ministry of Education,
Science, Sports and Culture) notified newly revised 'The National Course of
Study' at December 1998.
Note 1) We have two kinds of 'the national
course of study'. The one is for primary schools and secondary schools. The
other one is for special schools. They both contain Subjects, Moral Education
and Special Activities.
Note 2) 'The National Course of Study for
Special Schools' (mentioned above) is according to the one for primary schools
and secondary schools. Whenever it is revised, 'The Course of Study' is revised
in connection with its revision.?
Note 3) Special Classes and
Resource Rooms are regarded to conform 'The National Course of Study' for
primary schools or secondary schools at law. But, pupils whose disability are
getting severer and more multiply are increasing in special classes, teachers
of special classes are often forced to apply it to planning the educational
contents.
5. The basic framework for curricula 'The Course of Study' provides
Curriculum standards are prescribed in the 'The Course of Study' issued by
MESSC. The Minister decides 'The Course of Study' on the basis of
recommendation from the Curriculum Council. 'The Course of Study' was revised
and reissued in December 1998, and are to go into effect in April 2002. This
revised 'the Course of Study' was drawn up on the basis of the following four
guidelines:
Thus, in the new curriculum the new view of learning that emphasise affective domain such as interest, thinking judgment, and expression, has appeared. In modern society, referred to as the information oriented and lifelong learning society, learning abilities are required for students so that they may demonstrate their learning will and attitude, and the ability to think. In order to educate students to have an attitude toward learning and thinking independently, it is necessary to fundamentally reconsider the curriculum and teaching method. We have many experience learning, stressing investigation problem and problem solving, carrying out lessons in which observations and experiments are considered to be important, and planning and developing lessons that are open-ended and goal-free.
The emphasis on education reported above available for every child and pupils. Consequently, there is no exception on education aforementioned and many experience learning, stressing investigation problem and problem solving, carrying out lessons in which observations and experiments not only are encouraged for students with special needs as well as students for without special needs.
6. Training teachers as a specialist
Teaching the contents of
'Activities for Living a Life of Independence' needs special knowledge and
skills. There are only so many teachers in special schools. But comparatively a
lot of teachers with special knowledge and skills on 'Activities for Living a
Life of Independence' are working at schools for the blind and the deaf. Though
many teachers are certificated to teach 'Activities for Living a Life of
Independence', there are an amount of teachers who are little more than
non-professionals because their specialty is at teaching the subjects such as
mathematics, science, Japanese, music and so on. Training that enables them to
understand the importance of teaching 'Activities for Living a Life of
Independence' at least, actually to do so, and to practise teaching it should
be urged to implement.
7. Teachers liasing themselves and with specialists
It is necessary
for teachers to liase each other and with other specialists such as speech
therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and
medical doctors etc., in teaching 'Activities for Living a Life of
Independence' since the contents of them are very multifarious. Therefore we
are now seeking the collaboration system between teachers and specialists.
Making collaboration system function is thought on the premise that the persons
are placed playing a role of the coordinator. It is the question that who the
coordinator is. The opportunity is to be given to teachers to take in-service
training for the coordinator.
8. Participation recommended by ICIDH
Participation on which 'The
Course of Study' insists is coincided with 'Participation' of ICIDH-?. It is
said that 'Handicap' of ICIDH will be changed into 'Participation' next year.
The author thinks that performing the contents of 'Activities for Living a Life
of Independence' is prerequisite for full participation to commune and various
social activities there. In other words, the contents of it help the children
with disability to participate the society.
Reference
1) Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (1998). Course of
Study for ?Primary and Secondary School. Ministry of Finance Press: Tokyo.
2) Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (1999). Course of
Study for Special School. Ministry of Finance Press: Tokyo.
 |
 |