2019 Volume 11 Pages 41-51
In this study, we performed a questionnaire survey regarding community cooperation activities by 230 nursery schools and other day-care facilities in Chiba City in June and July 2018, aiming to clarify the features and issues of the community cooperation activities conducted by nursery schools. The results showed that the activities mainly comprised intergenerational exchange, read-aloud volunteer, watching plays and listening to music concerts, while people in the community were not very involved in adjusting the environment inside or outside nursery schools or assisting with sports festivals or concerts. The nursery schools with more than 20 years of history since their establishment carried out a larger number of activities, while the nursery schools with a shorter history carried out a smaller number of activities. The frequency of the activities differed depending on the content of the activities themselves; however, the people involved in the activities at the nursery schools reported being highly satisfied. The reasons given by many nursery schools for conducting activities were that children could learn many things, and there were many people to socialize with in the neighborhood. However, many nursery schools that did not conduct such activities regarded these activities as burdens on their employees and people in the community. With regard to the content of the activities, some were carried out because there were many people to socialize with in the neighborhood, and the others were carried out because there were people available who had excellent skills, even though they did not live in the neighborhood.
