Background: Maintenance and recovery of mental health of children are related to resiliency, self-esteem, and social support. However, the relationships among consultation, resiliency, and self-esteem in senior elementary school children have not yet been assessed.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among resiliency, self-esteem, and consulting behavior of senior elementary school children. Furthermore, we sought to obtain basic information for educational support to maintain and recover mental health and to promote consulting behavior through them.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey from May to July 2017 with 445 children (212 males, 226 females, seven unidentified gender) in the fifth and sixth grades of four public elementary schools in four prefectures. The contents of the survey were consulting behavior, resiliency, and self-esteem. We collected data on consulting experience and frequency, the main adviser, support received, and the reasons for not consulting, by the type of problem（studies, friendship, personality, feeling depressed）.

Results: The rates of consulting experience and frequency were the highest for problems regarding studies, followed by problems in friendship. They chose “parents” as the main adviser. The support received by children differed by the type of problem. Most children stated the will to solve the problem by themselves as the main reason for not seeking consultation, followed by not having a clear idea on how to consult. The frequency of consultation was positively correlated with resiliency and self-esteem (ρ=.185～.544). A logistic regression analysis revealed that the consulting experience was significantly related to relation-orientation, optimism of resiliency, and denial of self-esteem. Moreover, consulting frequency was significantly related to the self-orientation, relation-orientation, and self-denial.

Conclusion: The consulting experiences differed by the type of problem. However, they were positively related to each other with respect to the type of problem. Experiences of facing a problem and consultation were related to resiliency and self-esteem. Increasing resiliency and self-esteem are suggested to promote consultation, while children’s will to address the problem by themselves should be respected.

Background: Children’s relative poverty rate has increased in Japan since the mid-1990s. Finding solutions for this social problem has become a pressing issue. Nevertheless, the state of children living in poverty are not fully understood at school.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the state of children living in poverty at school and how teachers should care for them and support them from a Yogo teacher’s narrative viewpoint.

Methods: Relevant data was obtained from interviews of nine elementary school’s Yogo teachers who had previously cared for children living in poverty and categorized based on their narrative. The interviewees addressed the following statements: “What are recognizable signs that children living in poverty show at school？” “How do teachers care for and support the children？” and lastly “What is difficulty about caring for and supporting the children？” The data was categorized.

Results: Children’s poverty from a Yogo teacher’s narrative viewpoint was categorized into three core categories: “ living situation,” “health” and “psycho-social problems.”

The “living situation” comprised four categories: “insufficient daily necessities,” “cleanliness,” “poor diet” and “poor quality of school life.” “Health” comprised three categories: “unhealthy condition,” “lack of medical care” and “payment of medical expenses and procedures.” “Psycho-social problems” comprised three categories: “lack of emotional expressions,” “instability of the spiritual aspect” and “trouble with relationships.”

Regarding Regarding educational support, the teachers provided support and preparation for children’s future independence. The teacher’s care and support included “support for life and personal appearance,” “care for children’s mental health,” and “advice for independence.” The teachers supported the children and parents to avoid children’s isolation. To support the children and parents, the following supportive categories were made: “approaching the parents,” “cooperation with welfare,” “children’s pride,” and “team support.”

When providing support to the children and parents, the troubles teachers often experience were the following: “ difficulty in recognizing poverty,” “difficulty with parent-teacher relationships,” “lack of awareness and interest from parents,” “lack of parents’feelings,” “parent with illness or obstacles,” and “difficulty with cooperation.”

Conclusion: The results suggest that teachers must be able to recognize signs related to children’s poverty and need to share ways to support children living in poverty.