生活課題解決に向けた住民の学習に関する歴史的考察

―旧産炭地・筑豊地域の生活保護問題を中心に―

抄録

  Mass unemployment caused great concern and hardship in the Chikuhou region of Fukuoka prefecture in the 1960s. With a rise in unemployment, problems of poverty created serious issues for local communities. The changes that occurred directly affected people's daily life and especially influenced their learning environment. The purpose of this study was to consider the effects on adult and community-based learning when the people were faced with insufficient public assistance that resulted in living problems. From this point of view, this paper analyzes learning activities among literacy circles of the Chikuhou region during the 1960s. In the town of Kawasaki, a number of autodidactic organizations were formed, through which many people learned about their living problems. They studied, for example, human rights, child education, child care problems, social security systems, and the right to education.

  The conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows: first, in the postwar period, learning organizations were working toward alleviating poverty and illiteracy to improve the future for children in the region: second, after the 1960s, people living in the coal mining areas became independent learners with respect to social problems.