The purpose of this presentation is to discuss what kind of relationship exists between the local community and specially chartered small schools in a depopulated area, and how the children appreciate the unique efforts of a specially chartered small school that is connected to the local community, in the case of Okishima Island in Lake Biwa.
In previous studies, it has been pointed out that the efforts of specially chartered small schools using the flexible school zone system have been developed to revitalize the local community, and that schools in depopulated areas have influenced local residents as symbols of the community. On the other hand, the relationship between local residents and children who commute to school from outside the region, and the children's evaluations of the efforts of specially chartered small schools have not been well documented.
For this survey, I selected Okishima Island in Lake Biwa, and Okishima Elementary School. I conducted interviews with school officials and local residents, as well as a questionnaire survey on school events and hands-on learning for children who commute to school by boat from outside the island.
As a result of the interviews, it became clear that some local residents were willing to cooperate with the experiential learning program at Okishima Elementary School, and that the fact that Okishima Elementary School was able to avoid closure by accepting children from outside of the island has contributed to the positive mental attitude of the local residents. The results of the questionnaire survey revealed that the children were interested in learning about the nature and culture of Okishima, and that they developed close relationships with each other and with the school staff through the school-wide activities. In this way, by accepting children from outside the community into the specially chartered small school, a mutually beneficial relationship has been established for both the local residents and the children.
Mots clés : Okishima Island|Lake Biwa|depopulated area|specially chartered small school|flexible school zone system
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