2022 Volume 97 Pages 13-24
This study examined individual cases of social studies multicultural education for second-generation Korean immigrants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with such second-generation immigrants using the life story method. Conflict and educational needs were extracted from each participant’s story, and a concrete analysis was performed of what kind of multicultural education should be included in social studies programs for this population.
Two points emerged. First, routine experiences of exclusion based on nationality in education was reported to result in identity tearing. This suggests that social studies education for second-generation Korean immigrants should aim at hybrid identity formation and emphasizes the importance of overcoming social stereotypes. Second, it was suggested that this goal could be achieved by implementing a practice wherein Japanese and Korean-heritage students discuss historical perceptions of colonialism and post-war responsibility.
Future research should verify which design would make dialog on historical awareness most effective, investigate a larger number of cases to enable the generalization of these findings uniquely to secondgeneration Korean immigrants, make comparisons with Korean education in Japan, and examine individual case studies of people of different ethnicities.
