外国人の子どもの教育保障に関する一考察 ──施策動向と就学の義務化をめぐる議論を中心に

抄録

As many as 20,000 foreign school-age children of elementary and junior high schools may not be receiving a school education at all in Japan. The foci on educational policies for foreign children are about to change from Japanese language education at elementary and junior high schools to a more comprehensive approach. To reduce the number of out-of-school foreign children, there is a growing debate about implementing measures to help those currently not in the education system to enroll in school. Many experts say that studying at ethnic schools should be recognized as compulsory education. However, when discussing whether or not to accept studying at ethnic schools as compulsory education, their educational quality is rarely questioned from the perspective of academic achievement. It is necessary to clarify the legal status and the criteria of ethnic schools. In this respect, the criteria which we need are not those required for“ethnic schools”but for“the place where children study.” In other words, through the problems of out-of-school foreign children we should rethink fundamental questions about why and what to learn at schools, and why children attend schools.