Initiatives for Exchange Activities Between Elementary School Students and International Students

Abstract

This paper examines how the school, which has maintained exchanges with international students for approximately ten years, perceives and implements these activities based on interviews. Analysis revealed that these exchange activities significantly influence the overall school culture. Perspectives on the activities spanned four categories: educational philosophy and objectives, practical implementation, changes observed in students, and continuity and institutionalization. Under the strategy of establishing exchange activities as a distinctive feature of the school, the concept of “institutionalization without over-institutionalization” emerged as a key factor for sustaining the activities.