e-mail: tokunaga@nise.go.jp
Purpose
The compulsory education of Japan is offered to the child from 6 to 14 years old. The ratio of enrolment at school is a numerical value near 100%. About the situation of the compulsory education for children with disabilities, the education in schools for the blind or deaf was made compulsory in 1948. Additionally, the compulsory education of special schools (for children with mental disabilities or physical disabilities etc.) was established in 1979. About 20 years had passed since all children received school education, no matter how the disabilities of children were very profound. The ratio of children who are in special schools and special classes (attached with ordinary schools) is the entire 1% or a little more now. Recently, the condition of child's disabilities have became more severe. This research is aimed to consider the policy and the measures which have given all children the opportunity of education from a viewpoint of human right of child(parent).
Method
The current state of the education for children with profound and multiple disabilities is described. The policy and measure of special education from establishment of compulsory special education to recent years are discussed, so that problems of special education are examined. It is assumed that children with multiple disabilities are "children who have two or more disabilities which include deaf, blind, mental disabilities, physical disabilities or sickness.
Short History and Development about Special Education
(1) Current state of education for children with profound and multiple disabilities
1) Trends of the number of children who are unable to commute to school:
The number of children who are not to be able to attend school education is shown by the number of children permitted exemption from, or postponement of school attendance.
The number of children who is not attend school is 1,711 in 1999. In these children, the number assumed to be main reason as disabilities or illness is 164. This is 0.0013% of all children in the compulsory education stage, and one every 100,000 people(Table 1: Monbusho, Special Education Statistics in 2000).
2) The disabilities of children in special school become more and more profound and severe:
The ratio of the child with multiple disabilities(multiple disabilities classroom) in special school is 45.2% in 1999. Especially, in school for children with physical disabilities, the ratio of this children is 74.4%, higher than the ratio in other special school. When children have multiple disabilities, many children are intellectual disabilities. So that it is difficult in school for teachers to have lessons about subjects such as Japanese(National Language) or Mathematics.
(2) Trend of measures of special education
1948: Regulations of compulsory education in school for children with visual or hearing disabilities
1956: Regulations on establishment and improvement of special school in province area toward compulsory special education
1973: Government ordinance about the date of establishment compulsory special education
1979: Regulations of compulsory special education(school for children with mental disabilities, physical disabilities, health impairment)
1997: Plan of homebound and hospital education for children in upper secondary education
1999: Project research on cooperation among educational, medical, welfare services for children with profound and multiple disabilities
As for the measure of education for children with profound and multiple disabilities of these 30 years, the regulation of compulsory special education in 1979 might be the most important toward Education for All.
As recent trends
(3) Tasks of education for children with profound and multiple disabilities
1) Practical provision concerning medical treatment care Recently, the number of children who need medical treatment care in a special schools have increased. In medical treatment care, suction of phlegm, tube feeding and urelhral catheterization etc. are included. The ratio of the children who have need of each care is 6.9%, 6.0%, 2.3% in schools for children with physical disabilities(Table.2). In the advancement of the medical care and the expansion of the staying at home for children with needs of medical care, when these children reach the school age, one problem of this situation is how the board of education offers them the school education (Table3.).
In that case, as a possible method, there are
There are some discussion points about this issue as teacher training, the corporation between education and medical service, attendance of parents etc. .
2) School selection of parents
With the extension of the idea of the Normalization, a lot of parents hope their children are offered school education in ordinary school near home as much as possible even if the children have disabilities. When the disabilities of a child is profound and multiple, primary schools have a lot of difficulties to give him school education. The school should prepare the extra staff and special skill and knowledge about his difficulties according to the condition of child's disabilities. But it is not enough as for the regulation of education, the support system, and the budget to meet with his complex needs. In addition, primary schools which should include children with disabilities have a lot of problem as restless children or absence of children, so that the improvement of school education is requested. In Japan, the ratio of children registered in special school is 0.4%. In advancing the policy of inclusion, should we need reduce this ratio ? If it is not so, it may be important for children with disabilities in ordinary school to increase the educational services which parents can choose and improve the quality of educational provision.
3) Joint Activities as education in community where children live
One of projects toward inclusion in community for children with profound and multiple disabilities is Joint Activities. Joint Activities in community area means that children who are registered in special school visit the primary school in his community once every two weeks or once a week, so that children can have lesson with friends. The activity aims at maintenance of relation with friends before schooling, relation with friend in community, extension of these relation rather than achieving appropriate learning. This activity is to achieve social inclusion in community where children live. In this activity, some problems are:
Discussion
The educational system in JAPAN have changed to offer school education to all children with profound and multiple disabilities since 1950. To examine the process of realization of this purpose, historical issues and current problems were described. The feature of the progress are as follows: one feature is that condition of children's disabilities have became more profound and multiple, another is extension of social inclusion which parents wants to live in community even if their children have disabilities. These progress in educational system are considered from the point of child's right to receive school education. Before 1970 many children were not offered school education because of their disabilities. They were excluded from school education. However these children had got equal opportunity of school education by "establishment compulsory education for all children with disabilities (1979)" and "homebound education".
Recent problems in education for them are medical treatment care and
improvement of educational provision in ordinary school. The high-quality
education will be offered by solving these difficult problems. In addition,
many parents are requested to attend school with their children, because
medical treatment care or as helper assistant. This is not a situation from
which parent's right is defended. No matter how children have profound
disabilities, these parents have the right to choose their activities , for
example working at company, just like parents with non disabled children.
(TOKUNAGA Yuataka)
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