[Info. File] Proposals for the Development of Human Resources in Social Education

Central Council for Education proposes revitalization of the workplace by "social educators"

In June 2024, the Social Education Human Resources Subcommittee of the Lifelong Learning Division of the Central Council for Education published its "Final Summary on the Ideal Way to Train and Promote the Activities of Social Education Human Resources." Recognizing that

social education plays a crucial role in forming the foundation of sustainable local communities and that it is necessary to cultivate a soil for building relationships in which people can cooperate with each other through "learning" (Fourth Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education), the final summary points out the importance of collaboration between school education and social education in building local connections, advancing the development of the next generation, and coordinating social education with local community-related policies in fields such as welfare, disaster prevention, and rural development.

As the base of those who carry out social education expands to include social education facilities, social education-related organizations and NPOs, mayoral departments, and private companies, the report states that the role played by human resources who can organize social education activities is significant, and that both qualitative improvement and quantitative expansion are important. Overall, the report envisions the realization of human resource development, connection building, and community building with social education human resources as the hub.

Specifically, this document focuses on the roles of social education specialists and social education professionals as members of the social education field.

Source: Created by the author

Social education specialists are appointed as professionals by the board of education. They are expected to play a central role in promoting social education throughout the region by connecting social education with school education and other areas handled by the mayor's office, such as the environment, welfare, disaster prevention, rural development, and community development. Social

education professionals, on the other hand, are specialists for creating vibrant communities who have completed social education specialist training courses or programs. They are expected to revitalize activities and deepen their significance by utilizing their expertise in various fields and knowledge of social education in field-level activities. In order for

social education to play a role in supporting local communities, social education professionals need to acquire coordination skills to effectively advance learning and practice in the community, as well as the knowledge and skills to connect learning outcomes to solving local issues while collaborating with relevant administrative agencies and diverse stakeholders. As methods for training such professionals, we propose expanding the capacity of social education specialist training courses, improving the quality through inter-agency collaboration, and expanding opportunities for activity.

(Published with additions and revisions in the August 2024 issue of "EN-ICHI FORUM")

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