This paper shed light from four perspectives on the history of and clarified issues related to the "training" of Kominkan staff, while also touching on the Kominkan Act legislation movement that was launched by the National Kominkan Association, an organization that had been founded in 1951.

1. The Kominkan staff "training" plan as an "unexpected opportunity" （1946-1959）; 2. The criticism of the Social Education Act revision in 1959 and the "concurrent posts" held by social education directors （1959-1971）; 3. The placement of qualified social education directors in Kominkan as a result of the 1971 National Council for Social Education Report and the subsequent decentralization policy （1971-2018）; 4. The confering of the title "social educator" through a revision of the ministerial ordinance in 2018 and Kominkan staff "training" （2018 ~）

The purpose of this treatise is to present an ideal way of training Kominkan staff to enhance the relationship between social educators, Kominkan staff, and social education supervisors through the establishment of a social education supervisors training course in the Kochi University Faculty of Regional Collaboration.

First, I would like to introduce the process that led to the establishment of the Faculty of Regional Collaboration that was carried out as part of the university’s "educational reform."

Second, I will explain the reasons for and what was expected from the establishment of the social education supervisors training course in the Faculty of Regional Collaboration.

Third, I would like to propose a concept for training Kominkan Staff as professional staff, involved in educational practices based on collaborative activities in the region, with a view to a future in which graduates of the Faculty of Regional Collaboration, with their qualifications and titles, will play an active role.

This paper examines, in Chapter 1, efforts to improve the treatment of the labor union movement and the organizations of social education instructors （part-time professional staff） at the Setagaya Ward Board of Education were examined. The paper also looks at the considerable impact these efforts have had on the introduction of a fiscal year appointment system, including the continuation of professional titles and duties and the elimination of limits on the number of times that appointments can be renewed.

In Chapter 2, basic issues in the design and implementation of the fiscal year appointment system are examined.

Chapter 3 points out the need to convert part-time professional staff involved in social education into regular fulltime professionals, as well as non-regular staff, who are not appointed as professionals but are in effect responsible for professional social education tasks, into regular and professional staff, based on what their duties are, without fixed periods of employment.

The purpose of this study is to offer an analysis of the historical institutional factors that were involved in the positioning of Kominkan directors and of the professional specialization that was one of the conditions for the ordinance that established the Kominkan.

A look at the history of Kominkan directors, who play key roles in Kominkan projects, shows that often they were not appointed, or if they were they served in another concurrent post, in an irregular or part-time capacity or as a part-time non-regular employee, and that this has continued unabated since the birth of the Kominkan

The discrepancy between the original proposal to form the Kominkan by Ministry of Education official, Sakuo Teranaka, and the circulars issued by the Ministry are a major reason for this problem. Teranaka placed his emphasis on staff, whereas it cannot be said that the Ministry circular set forth a clear, full-time staffing plan.

There were many local governmental bodies that did not clearly specify the term “Kominkan Director" in their ordinances, but simply referred to them as "directors," even though they hire their own staff. It was an extremely rare case where the term was clearly specified.

In other words, the job title provisions in Kominkan ordinances cannot be used as a guarantee of the appointment of a professional director.

This paper takes under consideration the problems and other issues of staff training through an analysis of the actual training conditions for social education and Kominkan staff in Saga Prefecture.

In the first half, we consider staff training that is related to the social education and lifelong learning programs implemented by Saga Prefecture. First, we analyze the quantitative changes in social education staff in Saga Prefecture. Second, we introduce the 12 years of social education staff training efforts that have been carried out by the Saga Prefectural Lifelong Learning Center, and summarize the characteristics. Third, issues concerning the training of social education staff are raised, including a clarification of who is targeted, an elaboration of the content, and training continuity.

In the second half, we analyze one approach to training, using Saga City as an example. In particular, we consider the progress of the research efforts of the Saga City KOMINKAN Director Group. Based on these considerations, we raise new issues and new possibilities for future Kominkan staff training.

I have been working as a social education expert and employee of Nagano Prefecture for 5 years. From this position, I have observed and surveyed efforts to solve regional problems throughout the prefecture and the work and other activities of those who support these efforts from the perspective of social education activities and social education labor.

The subjects who were observed and surveyed were staff of the M Village Kominkan, staff of the Nagano Prefecture Longevity Social Development Center, and staff of the E City Council of Social Welfare. Although these organizations do not fall within the realm of public social education institutions and social education labor, interviews and analysis revealed that these activities also had elements of social education activities and social education labor.

Amidst the corona pandemic which has reached historic proportions, various problems in Japanese society have come to light. The purpose of this paper is to consider the value of social education activities and the labor these entail as a basis for creating sustainable regions and societies under these social conditions. At the same time, the purpose is also to consider the role of social educators, whose position has been institutionalized since 2020, in the lives of the people they serve.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought much suffering to all of us. Kominkan have suffered as well. The coronavirus has caused many Kominkan projects and other activities to be suspended or brought to a near halt.

It was at this juncture that I noticed something. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the Kominkan project flow was never slow. However, the rapidity of this flow had brought with it a hectic and routinized environment. The Coronavirus gave Kominkan staff and other connected persons some breathing room, a space where they could step back and validate Kominkan programs based on their effectiveness and necessity. In other words, the coronavirus has not just blocked Kominkan projects, but brought on a new era as well.

Therefore, I would like to continue work, begun in the midst of the pandemic, on these experimental projects and program planning even after the pandemic ends. This, I believe, will lead to a happier and more buoyant society.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the autonomous activities and self-governance of local residents have been negatively impacted by the spread of COVID-19 and to consider the roles that Kominkan and their staff can play in restoring this autonomy.

In Matsumoto City, the spread of COVID-19 forced the cancellation of activities at the Kominkan. As a result, the number of people in charge of the autonomous activities of residents has been reduced, while the number of people with negative feelings toward these activities has increased. On the other hand, the spread of COVID-19 has also triggered the emergence of new practices by residents to solve every day issues in their locale.

Therefore, it is important to utilize the functions that Kominkan have performed （the series of "learning and self-governance" actions） that enable people with diverse attributes to connect with the community. Furthermore, Kominkan staff need to have a comprehensive understanding of the local community, not just the "space of the Kominkan," and be able to work with residents to build up Kominkan programs and practices.

This study seeks to clarify the status of learning activities of groups using community learning centers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to the spread of COVID-19, many community learning centers in Japan temporarily closed for extended periods beginning in the spring of 2020. Given this situation, this study explores the actions taken by users of community learning centers. Additionally, this paper explores the types of difficulties experienced by users and the steps taken to develop learning activities. This paper explores the new image of the community learning centers in the eyes of its users following their closure. These centers were spaces used daily by the community.

To answer the above questions, we conducted exhaustive mail surveys for all groups of community learning centers and sampling interview surveys targeting groups who could not restart activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result of the survey, the following three points were clarified. First, users were at risk of infection from the virus, and they resumed and suspended learning activities so as not to lose sight of their purpose. Second, few of the groups using community learning centers introduced online activities during the COVID-19 crisis. However, once facilities reopened, there were requests for support to aquire online skills. Third, although users recommenced their everyday lives at community learning centers, during the corona disaster, they perceived learning with peers and the sustainability of connections to be a challenge.

This article discusses the details of the support that was provided to Fukuoka City Kominkan in order for them to utilize online tools and the process by which these were put into practice from the perspective of a non-profit organization (NPO) that was involved in the training of community center staff during the corona pandemic.

Historically, Kominkan have operated on the premise of in-person gatherings, where citizens who live in same area have engaged in dialogue and gathered and studied together. It has been through activities such as these that community identities have been formed.

However, due to the temporary closings and restrictions placed on Kominkan activities, new resident needs and new community challenges have arisen. These circumstances, it can be said, have led to the unavoidable use of online tools.

For this purpose, we have designed training seminars for Fukuoka City Kominkan that take each of their circumstances into consideration. With this is mind, we utilize "transfer of training" tools to determine if the knowledge and skills learned during the training are actually put into practice in the workplace.

I will then explore, based on a discussion of the collaboration that occurred between the government and the NPO, the actual processes that led to NPO involvement and support for the use of online tools as well as their future potential. In addition, specific efforts to support the use of online tools in Fukuoka City Kominkan will be discussed.

Article 23 of the Social Education Act prohibits Kominkan from undertaking profit-making activities and from supporting specific political parties and religions.

Some Kominkan chief coordinators and social education staff apply Article 23 to citizens’ learning activities. In many of these cases, it does not appear that they understand the legislative spirit of the article when they make these decisions. The subject of this study is to clarify how they come to these judgments. The paper examines how Article 23 is discussed in social education textbooks.　

Three interpretations of Article 23 in textbooks are considered:

Type 1: Article 23 is applied to Article 22, “Kominkan Activities,” with an emphasis on the penalties that can be levied when these are violated.

Type 2: The same application of Article 23 is seen, but without the emphasis on penalties.

Type 3: The application of Article 23 is limited to Kominkan-sponsored programs, with no emphasis on penalties.

If Kominkan chief coordinators or social education staff have doubts as to whether or not Article 23 is applicable, consultations with the Kominkan Advisory Committee should be taken up in combination with considerations of these cases by Kominkan and social education groups. Enhancing the functions of this Committee is a subject for further Kominkan study and research.

The aim of this paper is to clarify how learning opportunities and the ensuring of the safe lives of the country’s citizenry during the COVID-19 pandemic are being sustained by Swedish popular education （folkbildning） organizations. In this study, 10 study associations （statsbidragsberättigade studieförbund） that organize study circles in Sweden were examined to see how the role of popular education has developed and has been maintained. These study associations are a type of “association （förening）;” förening is sometimes expressed as being a “school of democracy” that supports various citizens’ activities in local communities. This paper describes how Swedish democracy is being supported by these study associations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information relating to COVID-19 was accessed from the websites of these associations and analyzed in order to review their activities and the new challenges they have faced. Three main categories of activities that these associations have either initiated or created themselves to enable the citizens they serve to avoid the isolation brought on by the pandemic were identified. These include online activities, various ways to share information, and outreach. For example, the functions of IBASHO and information sharing are provided through online activities or sometimes through phone contact, whereas lifestyle support functions such as activities for health promotion have been continued out of doors. In the end, it could be said that keeping the “functions” of these facilities going is more important than considering how to reopen them.

This article presents an overview of the process by which adult education and lifelong learning developed in Macau, beginning with a brief historical outline followed by a focus on institutionalization after 1990. The purpose is to clarify the continuity and changes in the characteristics of adult and continuing education before and after the handover of the colony.

In Macau, with its long colonial history under the colonial government's laissez-faire policy, adult education was developed by the people themselves、 from literary education in the 1950s to vocational training in the 1970s. After the 1980s, however, the colonial government started to take a more active role in the development of education, resulting in the institutionalization of vocational training and recurrent education. Since the handover in 1999, in addition to recurrent education and vocational training, the content has been expanded to include community-based liberal arts and cultural education, and a multi-level adult education system has been formed with the goal of building a lifelong-learning society. Due to the fact that it is closely connected to the livelihoods of the people, which was the original purpose of adult education, it can be said that it has continued in a consistent manner since before the handover through to the present.

Public participation is another typical characteristic of adult education in Macau. Starting from its voluntary organizational basis in the early days, it has expanded and diversified since the government has begun to offer active support. Even though the Macau government has started to play an active role, especially from the early 2000s, a continuing education model of private initiative and government collaboration has been established, based on market principles and individual freedom of choice.