This paper analyzes the results of the “Questionnaire on Kominkan Work,” a survey conducted in 2023 by the “Kominkan Services for the Support of Daily Lives” project of the Japan Society for the Study of Kominkan. 372 valid responses to the survey were received from staff working at Kominkan and Kominkan-related facilities in 13 prefectures.
An analysis of the results revealed the following three points. First, it was found that staff held structural or institutional views of Kominkan services. Second, the findings suggested that having acquired the necessary qualifications to become a social education director or the number of years of on-the-job experience of Kominkan staff influenced the perspectives of the respondents. Third, it became clear that there were differences in how staff at those Kominkan that were managed directly and those that had adopted a designated-manager system perceived Kominkan operations.
Some issues were left unanswered by the survey. For example, it was not possible to analyze how the perceptions of individual staff members changed over time. Nor did it allow for a sufficient comparative framework to analyze different regions or municipalities. In the future, efforts will be needed to provide feedback to the Kominkan themselves in order to reach a common understanding of how Kominkan projects work.
