Open AccessConcepts and Challenges of Afterschool Program Quality in Japan
Author(s) -
Fuyuko Kanefuji
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal for research on extended education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2196-7423
pISSN - 2196-3673
DOI - 10.3224/ijree.v8i2.07
Subject(s) - christian ministry , government (linguistics) , quality (philosophy) , welfare , human capital , human resources , qualitative research , content analysis , resource (disambiguation) , qualitative analysis , political science , sociology , business , economic growth , management science , computer science , economics , social science , management , computer network , philosophy , linguistics , epistemology , law
This study examines concepts surrounding the quality of afterschool programs in Japan and related challenges using qualitative and quantitative methods. A content analysis of government guidelines for afterschool programs provided by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is conducted, and the differences in the concepts of afterschool program quality (APQ) between them are explored. Second, using government statistics, the author looks at the current situation and systems of instructional features meant to improve quality. Third, the characteristics of the human resource development system of MEXT and MHLW for APQ are clarified using the social capital theory.