"Student guidance" is direction and assistance provided for the purpose of enhancing each student's social skills and initiative, while respecting personal qualities and fostering individuality. "Career guidance," on the other hand, is direction and assistance provided for the purpose of cultivating abilities and attitudes to enable schoolchildren to reflect on their own ways of living and become active in making choices about their own future.
    The Guidance and Counseling Research Center conducts surveys and research to inform administrative planning in student guidance and career guidance, and also provides expert assistance and advice to boards of education, schools, and other bodies.
    The principal activities of the Center at present are described below.

 Student Guidance

Survey and Research Project for Creating Attractive Schools

The Survey on Problem Behavior in Schoolchildren has found more than 120,000 cases of truancy among elementary and lower secondary school students every year since fiscal 2000. This poses a major challenge to these students' capacity to attain social independence in future. In order to advance preventive measures against truancy, the Guidance and Counseling Research Center is working in partnership with prefectural boards of education to implement a survey on "creating attractive schools" that can cultivate a "zest for living." Implementation of the survey is being commissioned to 31 different prefectural governments.
    In addition to furthering activities under this project, the Center is working to communicate its outcomes throughout Japan through Block Consultative Meetings on the Survey and Research Project for Creating Attractive Schools. The meetings, which are held in three regional blocks across Japan, bring together persons involved in the project, those engaged in guidance of schoolchildren in prefectural and municipal boards of education, and school staff members to hear reports on initiatives under the project and engage in discussion.

Project for Developing Integrated Student Guidance Partnerships

With the aim of helping to prevent and address problem behavior in schoolchildren, such as bullying, violence, truancy, and juvenile delinquency, and promoting the healthy development of schoolchildren, the Center has commissioned all 47 of Japan's prefectural governments to conduct its project for (a) the development of regional networks through lateral initiatives for cooperation and partnerships among schools, families, community members, private organizations, and related bodies in fields including education, public health, medical care, welfare, law enforcement, and judicial affairs, and (b) fundamental investigation, analysis, and development of measures addressing issues in the guidance and healthy development of schoolchildren in each region.     In addition to furthering activities under this project, the Center is working to communicate its outcomes throughout Japan through Block Consultative Meetings on the Project for Development of Integrated Student Guidance Partnerships. The meetings, which are held in three regional blocks across Japan, bring together persons involved in the project, those engaged in guidance of schoolchildren in prefectural and municipal boards of education and school staff members to hear reports on initiatives under the project and engage in discussion.

Student Guidance Research Liaison Meeting

Once annually the Center holds a meeting to present and disseminate the findings of its research and thereby contribute to the development of student guidance in Japan. Attended by members of staff from prefectural and municipal boards of education, this meeting involves presenting and exchanging information and discussing trends in problem behavior among schoolchildren and approaches to their sound development. This furthers shared awareness of strategies for student guidance and the latest developments in the field, and strengthens student guidance systems in which schools can work in concert with families and the community.

 Career Guidance

Study on Developing More Effective Approaches to Career Guidance

There is now an urgent need for enhancement of life guidance to make schoolchildren aware of the purposes of study and work, and initiatives to equip them with the capacity to make their own career choices. In acknowledgement of the importance of the issue, the Center has conducted multidirectional, multilateral surveys and analyses to identify changes in career consciousness among children in the context of today's rapid social and economic transformations. A collection of career education resources has been produced and distributed to prefectural boards of education and other bodies.

Study on Developing Organized and Systematic Approaches to Career Education in Schools

In order to advance an organized and systematic approach to career education across all educational activities at different stages of the school system, the Center has conducted surveys and research to gather information on activities, analyze problems, and investigate practical approaches to career education. A pamphlet to promote career education for teachers has been produced and distributed to schools, boards of education, and other bodies throughout Japan.

National Research Forum for Career Education and Career Guidance Personnel

In order to foster improvements in career guidance into the future, the Center holds an annual research forum for supervisors in charge of career guidance in boards of education at prefectural and designated city level and teachers taking leadership roles in career guidance in elementary, lower secondary, and upper secondary schools. Lectures on approaches to career guidance are held along with discussions on research findings and activities for information exchange.

 Other Activities

Database on Measures to Address Bullying

In an effort to help address the problem of bullying, the Center is building a database of case studies on community initiatives to address bullying problems in elementary, lower secondary, and upper secondary schools and information on bodies offering bullying-related consultation services (boards of education, education centers, child guidance centers, police stations, etc.) and using it to furnish information to education-related bodies such as prefectural boards of education and education centers, schoolchildren, their parents and guardians, and other parties.

 

List of Materials concerning Student Guidance and Career Guidance

The Center has compiled a list of guidance materials produced for teachers by boards of education at prefectural and designated city level and informational materials targeting schoolchildren and their parents and guardians. The Center envisages that this list will aid further enhancement of research on fundamental policy issues in student guidance and career guidance, and the provision of support and advice to educational institutions.