To support the vitalization of social education at the prefectural and municipal levels, the Practical Social Education Research Center conducts nationwide surveys of social education activities, practical research aimed at enhancing the quality of social education programs, and research that contributes to the training and up-skilling of social education leaders. We also hold seminars and networking events addressing a variety of social education issues for researchers and others involved in the social education field throughout Japan, and run a joint program with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) aimed at up-skilling social education leaders.

 Research Programs

Research on Formulation and Assessment of Local Governments' Social Education Programs

We conduct surveys to ascertain the status of prefectural and other local government initiatives for formulating and assessing social education plans, and clarify matters including planning methods, features of plan structure and content, assessment methods and processes for social education plans, and establishment of implementation objectives and result indicators.

Research on Internet-Based Seminars

In the aim of providing enhanced opportunities for regional social education leaders to take part in training and other developmental programs from a distance, we identify effective methods for running Internet-based research seminars and examine the usefulness of such programs and issues they present. We also provide guidance on future direction for distance training in the social education field.

Research on Vitalization of Community Educational Functions to Support Home Education

Society needs to foster an environment for community-based child-rearing through initiatives such as home education support provided as a collaborative effort by schools, households, and the local community. We survey the status of joint school and community activities and programs, and clarify the role of communities as well as the nature of activities and programs that utilize community educational functions.

Research on the Role of Social Education Coordinators and Training to Enhance Their Skills

Learning coordinators who recruit volunteers and plan programs will play an increasingly important role in the implementation of social education programs. We clarify the status of this role and provide guidance on programs to train and up-skill coordinators.

Research on Hands-On Training

Social education programs need to train people to resolve local issues in fields such as human rights, environmental issues, crime prevention, and disaster response, and this requires a hands-on approach. We provide guidance on hands-on learning programs that encourage willing and active participation by trainees with a view to problem-solving.

Research on Volunteer Activities

Focusing on school and community links aimed at promoting youth volunteer activities, we conduct research on the training of Volunteers for School Assistance as well as the status of volunteer activities and support for them. By analyzing the examples collected, we identify measures to assist the further enhancement of community volunteer activities.

 Research Seminars and Networking Events

To promote cooperative links among lifelong learning centers, we hold Lifelong Learning Centers National Networking Events that gather employees from such centers throughout Japan to examine and discuss the issues they face. We also hold Research Seminars on Vitalizing Community Educational Functions, which examine and discuss issues such as planning programs and developing activities that link schools with the local community.

 Training Programs

In collaboration with MEXT, we offer courses to up-skill social education leaders, including the Specialist Course for Librarians and the Specialist Course for Employees of Citizens' Public Halls. Under commission from MEXT, we also run the Training Course for Social Education Directors, a course for those aiming to become qualified as social education directors.

 National Center for the Promotion of Experiential and Volunteer Activities

The National Center for the Promotion of Experiential and Volunteer Activities has been established within the Practical Social Education Research Center to enhance information gathering and dissemination relating to volunteer and experiential activities, and to support the establishment of experiential and volunteer programs throughout Japan by sharing the results of its efforts with support centers around the country.

 Development and Production of Training Materials

To help to train and up-skill leaders including social education directors, we revise training materials such as the Introduction to Lifelong Learning in response to changes in contemporary society and diversification of learning activities.