A Preliminary Study on Evaluation of Interpersonal Relationships

A Preliminary Study on Evaluation of Interpersonal Relationships between
a Child with Severe Multi-handicap and a Teacher in the Teaching Situation
Taeko Teramoto
Tokyo Medical and Dental University

Michiyo Kobayashi
National Institute of Special Education
Abstract：Although the importance of good teacher-child relationships or rapport has been emphasized previously inthe teaching of children with language and communication disorders, little effort has been made to analyze and evaluate
the structure of these relationships. In the present study, a preliminary evaluation of the interpersonal relationshipbetween a child with severe multi-handicap and a teacher in a teaching situation was made.
The relationship was defined as an encoding ("feeling" and "expression") and decoding ("perception" and"interpretation") process in the teacher-child interaction and was based on previous research by Tickle-Degnen and
Rosenthal (1992). In this preliminary study, focus was only on the encoding process and the relationship between theteacher's subjective impression of the teaching interaction with the child (that is, the "feeling" process) and thecorresponding behavioral aspects of teacher and child (that is, the "expression" process).
Teaching sessions analyzed aimed to promote development of the child's motor skills. Teaching interactions between
the teacher and the child in each session were videotaped and classified into three categories ( Positive, Negative andNeutral) according to the teacher's self-reports about impressions of the interaction with the child (that is, the teacher's"feeling" process). The Positive interaction was defined as an interaction in which the teacher felt smoothness(unimpeded/ relaxed/ satisfied) in teaching the child and a good relationship was presumed to have been established.
The Negative interaction, on the other hand, was defined as an interaction in which the teacher had difficulty in teaching
the child and a good relationship was presumed to have not been established.
The behaviors of both the teacher and child in each type of interaction (Positive or Negative) were systematicallyobserved (partial interval recording/ 1 interval = 1 second) and further analyzed by utilizing lag sequential analysis.
Differences in behavioral aspects (that is, the "expression" process) between the Positive and Negative interactions
were found in (1) the content of the behaviors exhibited and their frequencies (expressed as a percentage), (2) the
relationship and direction of behaviors, and (3) the timing of behaviors. The relationship between the "feeling" and"expression" process was discussed taking into consideration these three points.
Key Words：child with severe multi-handicap, interpersonal relationships in the teaching situation, lag sequential
analysis
1990; Bernieri, 1988; Harrigan & Rosenthal, 1986; Koss
& Rosenthal, 1997; Tickle-Degnen & Rosenthal, 1990,
1992), they are difficult to operationalize and may leadto more confusion on the issue. Moreover, assessing
whether or not a relationship is "good" is purely
subjective and the impressions of the teacher, child andobserver may not be the same. Difficulty inoperationalizing these concepts and disagreement insubjective judgment place limits on our understanding of
how to define a "good relationship".
Taking account of the difficulties described above,
building a good relationship in the teaching situation isstill considered to be one of the important factors inteaching success. Consequently, an effort should bemade to evaluate the nature of the relationship.
If this is so, what aspect of the relationship should befocused on? Gelso and Carter (1985) suggested two
perspectives: inside states and outside behaviors. The

1. Introduction
Most therapeutic or teaching researches are concernedwith outcome and tend to demonstrate the effectivenessof teaching techniques or teaching devices. Interpersonal
relationships in the teaching situation, on the other hand,
are rarely explored although their importance iscommonly recognized. Recently, however, researches
about such relationship have focused on the teaching ofchildren with language and communication disorders andthe importance of building a good relationship between
teacher and child has been emphasized (Nagasawa,
1999; Watabe, 1996).
The concept of a "good relationship", which resembles"reliance" or "rapport" indicating a positive emotionalbond between teacher and child, is not completely clear.
Although these concepts are important in teaching or
therapeutic contexts and easy to understand (Altman,-1-

Taeko Teramoto & Michiyo Kobayashi
methods were used: self-reports and systematic
observation. The former was regarded as a relevant
method to clarify the teacher's impression of theinteraction with the child and was used to analyze his"feeling" process. The latter was regarded as a relevant
method for objective measurement of the teacher's
behavior and was used to analyze his "expression"
process. These observed behaviors were examinedsequentially, namely they were examined in temporal
relation to the child's behaviors. For this purpose, lagsequential analysis (Bakeman & Gottman, 1997;
Bakeman & Quera, 1995) was utilized.
As for the child's encoding process, her "expression"
process was analyzed and examined by systematic
observation and lag sequential analysis in the same way
as the teacher's encoding process. The child's "feeling"process, on the other hand, could not be analyzed byutilizing self-reports in which verbal responses wererequired, because the child was at the pre-linguistic
stage. As the only accessible process for the child was"expression", it is suggested that her "expression"
process be analyzed cautiously to compensate for the
failure of analyzing her "feeling" process.
After analyzing and examining each process describedabove, the interpersonal relationship between the teacher
and the child in teaching situations was discussed.

former is defined as feelings that participants in teachingsituations (e.g. child and teacher) have toward one
another, and the latter is defined as the manner in whichthese feelings are expressed.
Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal (1992) pointed outthat the idea proposed by Gelso and Carter (1985) only
referred to an encoding process (that is, "feeling" and"expression"), and lacked mention of a decoding process
in which the "perception" of behavioral cues of eachparticipant and an "interpretation" of these cues would
be included. Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal (1992)
regarded the interpersonal relationship in therapy or inteaching situations as one of interaction between
therapist (or teacher) and client (or child), which was
supposed to involve their decoding process as well as
encoding process. A schematic representation of thismodel was shown in Figure 1.
Based on previous research by Tickle-Degnen and
Rosenthal (1992), the interpersonal relationship inteaching situations was defined as an "encoding anddecoding process in the teacher-child interaction", andrelationship between a girl with severe multi-handicap in
pre-linguistic stage and a male teacher was analyzed in
the present study. A "good relationship" was defined as
one in which positive impressions such as "easy tointeract with a partner" would be gained in the "feeling"process. In this study processes corresponding to thepositive "feeling" process, that is, the case of a "goodrelationship," were examined and evaluation of theteacher-child relationship in teaching situations was
made. Although all processes shown in Figure 1 should
be analyzed to achieve a complete evaluation, only theencoding process, that is, "feeling" and "expression" wasthe focus of this preliminary study.
To analyze the teacher's encoding process, two

2. Purpose
Most children with severe multi-handicaps haveproblems in development of language andcommunication as well. They are at the pre-linguistic
stage in many cases and their non-verbal cues are notclear so that communication with others is difficult. To
establish a good relationship with these children in

TeacherChild【Teacher’s encording process】【Child’s decoding process】

Feels

Expresses

Perceives

Interprets

Interprets

Perceives

Expresses

Feels【Teacher’s decoding process】【Child’s encording process】

Fig. 1 A model of interpersonal relationship in teaching situations( Tickle-Degnen & Rothensal, 1992)-2-

A Preliminary Study on Evaluation of Interpersonal Relationships

Table 1 Result of Enjyoji Developmental Test
Motor skills
Moving
2:09
Manipulating
1:09
Social skills
Daily routines
2:03
Interpersonal relationship 2:00
Language
Utterance
0:10
Understanding
1:09

teaching situations is regarded as one of the mostimportant teaching objectives and the first step is toevaluate and understand the relationship properly.
In the present study, analysis of the interpersonal
relationship between a child with severe multi-handicap
and a teacher in the teaching situations was madeaccording to the theoretical framework outlined in the
Introduction to this paper. That is to evaluate andunderstand the relationship. The purpose of this study
was to clarify the teacher's subjective impressions of theinteraction with the child (i.e. the teacher's "feeling"process), and to illustrate corresponding behavioral
aspects in the teacher-child interaction, that is, their"expression" process.

3-1-2. Teacher
A male teacher with 15 years of experience in the fieldof special education participated in the teaching sessions.
He had been teaching the child for 1 year.
3-2. Procedure
3-2-1. Teaching sessions
Teaching sessions aimed to promote the developmentof the child's motor skills. The teacher attempted totouch and tap the child's arms and legs in time withmusic with the objective of synchronizing the child's
responses. As the child disliked being touched on her
paralyzed left arm, the teacher had to be careful not to
upset her. Each session lasted for about 10 minutes andsessions were conducted several times per week. Whenthe child showed strong refusal to participate in thesession, the teacher stopped the session immediately.

3. Methods
3-1. Subjects
3-1-1. ChildA girl with severe multi-handicap in the second gradeof an elementary school for children with disabilities
participated in the teaching sessions. The child's
intellectual and motor skill development was severely
delayed. She was paralyzed on the left side and had poor
coordinated movement of arms and legs. Her means ofcommunicating was mainly non-verbal (e.g. vocal
expressions, pointing, nods, and touch). Although shesometimes nodded or shook her head indicating "yes" or"no", these responses were not stable. She hit herself orbanged her own head on the wall when her intentions
were not clear to others. She could understand routine
verbal cues (e.g. "sit down on the chair" and "go to thetoilet") and preferred initiating interaction with others.
Results of the Enjyoji Developmental Test for this childcould be seen in Table 1.

3-2-2. Self-report
The teacher made a self-report on relationship with thechild after each session. The self-report was madeaccording to a newly constructed questionnaire for thisstudy and consisted of twelve 5-point rating items (1-Not
at all, 2-Not so much, 3-Neutral, 4-A little, 5-Verymuch) and two open-question items as shown in Table 2.
Results of 5-point rating items were scored from 1 to 5(e.g. 1-Not at all, 5-Very much). High scores were seen

Table 2 Contents of Teacher Self-reports
1
2

Items
I (Teacher) enjoyed interaction with child.
Child seemed to enjoy interaction .

Format5-point rating scales
1 – Not at all

3

Teacher could regulate behaviors according to rhythm and pace of child.

2 – Not so much

4

Teacher could understand intention and feeling of child.

3 – Neutral

56Child seemed to pay attention to surroundings (persons and objects).
Teacher could stimulate child after careful observation .

4 – A little
5 – Very much

7＊
8

Teacher experienced difficulty in communicating with child.
Teacher could wait for child’s initiation of interaction.

9

Teacher frequently talked to child.

10
11

Teacher frequently gave non-verbal cues to child.
Teacher initiated and led interaction in most cases.

12
13
14

Teacher could adjust behavior to child’s by doing same thing.
Condition of child during session?
Did interaction with child proceed smoothly?

Open questions

Note: In Item 7 rating scores were reversed: For example, “Very much” scored 1 point.
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Taeko Teramoto & Michiyo Kobayashi
As for sub-categories of the child's "Vocal cues","Negative vocal cues", "Positive vocal cues", and"Others" were settled. "Approach to" and "Avoidanceof" the teacher and "Others" were specified for"Approach-Avoidance". "Attention" to the teacher and"Others" were specified for sub-categories of the child's"Attention".
As for the teacher's "Verbal cues", two sub-categories
were specified: "Speech" and "Others." Sub-categoriesof the teacher's "Approach-Avoidance" and "Attention"
were specified in the same way as those of the child.
According to the coding categories shown in Table3,
behaviors of both the teacher and child were coded using
partial interval recording (1 interval = 1 second)(Bakeman & Gottman, 1997). Coded data were taken
into further analysis using lag sequential analysis(Bakeman & Gottman, 1997; Bakeman & Quera, 1995).
Lag sequential analysis is commonly regarded as a
useful method to capture the dynamic temporal aspects
of inter-individual interaction. In the present analysis thep value was set at .05 and lag positions were settled from0 to 5, which meant that the temporal gap between
behaviors was examined from 0 to 5 seconds.

as an indication of a good relationship between theteacher and the child (Note that in Item 7, rating scores
were reversed: e.g. 1-Very much and 5-Not at all).
Judging from these rating results and the descriptive
contents of Items 13 and 14, teaching interactions wereclassified into three categories: Positive interactions inwhich a good relationship was presumed to have been
established, Negative interactions in which a good
relationship was not presumed to have been established,
and Neutral.
3-2-3. Video recording
Each teaching session was videotaped (SONY, CCDSC55NTSC) and video recordings were made five times.
From these sessions typical Positive and Negativeinteraction were selected and the first 4 minutes of thesetapes were systematically observed.
3-2-4. Systematic observation and lag sequential
analysis
In setting coding categories, verbal and non-verbal
aspects of behaviors were taken into account and threelevels ("Vocal or Verbal cues", "Approach-Avoidance",and "Attention") were specified. Although suchclassification seemed to be rather simplistic, it wasconsidered to be appropriate for measurement of thechild's primitive behaviors and exploration of therelations between the teacher's and child's behaviors.
Coding categories and their definitions were shown in
Table 3.

4. Results
4-1. Results of self-report
Positive contents of open questions in self-report (Item
13 and 14) (e.g. "the child's condition was good" or"interaction with the child was smooth") were regarded

Table 3 Coding Categories
Categories
Child

Teacher

Vocal cues
Negative vocal cues
Positive vocal cues
OthersApproach-AvoidanceApproach
Avoidance
OthersAttention
Attention
OthersVerbal cues
SpeechOthersApproach-AvoidanceApproach
Avoidance
OthersAttention
Attention
OthersDefinition
Cry or unpleasant vocal expressions
Laugh or pleasant vocal expressions
No vocal expressions
Approach, reach, or touch teacher
Avoid or refuse teacher
OthersPay attention or turn head toward teacher
OthersVerbal expressions directed to childNo verbal expressions
Pull, embrace, or approach child
Avoid or go away from child
OthersPay attention or turn head toward child
Others-4-

A Preliminary Study on Evaluation of Interpersonal Relationships

to the child" (Item 9), and "the teacher's lead ininteraction" (Item 11).

as indicators of the Positive interaction. On the other
hand, negative contents (e.g. "the child's condition was
not so good" or "interaction with the child did not gosmoothly") were regarded as indicators of the Negativeinteraction.
Results of items on the 5-point rating scales (Items 112) were shown in Figure 2. Higher scores (i.e. greaterthan 4) were gained on all items in the Positive
interaction. Lower scores, on the other hand, wereprominent in the Negative interactions, especially on
items concerning "the child's enjoyment in interaction"(Item 2), "difficulty in communicating with the child"(Item 7 in which rating scores were reversed), and"waiting for the child's initiation of interaction" (Item 8).
Items in which the same scores were gained both in
Positive and Negative interactions were concerned with
"understanding of the child's intention" (Item 4), "talking

4-2. Results of systematic observation
As for the coded data, 90% intra-observer agreement
and .65 Cohen's kappa were achieved, so it wassuggested that the data was reliable for this preliminary
study (see Cohen, 1960; Fleiss, 1981; Hartmann, 1982,
1984; Martin & Bateson, 1993).
Observed frequencies and percentages of eachbehavioral category were shown in Table 4. Frequencies
in Table 4 indicated total number of observed intervals
and percentages indicated observed intervals divided bytotal intervals (i.e. 224 intervals). The teacher's"Avoidance" which was not observed at all and "Others"
were omitted from this table.

Positive interaction
Negative interaction

Item 1
Item 12Item 25
4Item 11

Item 33
2
1

Item 10Item 4Item 9Item 5Item 8

Note: Not at all scored 1 point and Verymuch scored 5 points in this rating scale.
In Item 7 ＊ scores were reversed: Verymuch scored 1 point. Contents of each
item are shown in Table 2.

Item 6＊Item 7

Fig. 2. Result of Items for 5-point Rating Scales in Teacher Self-reports.

Table 4 Observed Frequencies and Percentage of Each Behavioral Category
Behavioral categories

Positive interaction

Negative interaction

Frequency

Frequency

Child

(%)

(%)

Negative vocal cues
0(0.00)
206(91.96)
Positive vocal cues
13(5.80)
0(0.00)
Approach14(6.25)
33(14.73)
Avoidance
0(0.00)
52(23.21)
Attention
78(34.82)
17(7.59)
Teacher
Speech52(23.21)40(17.86)
Approach7(3.13)
92(41.07)
Attention
173(77.23)125(55.80)Note: Frequencies indicate total number of observed intervals and percentages indicate observed intervals divided bytotal intervals (224 intervals). Teacher’s “Avoidance” was not observed at all, and “Others” are not included.

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Taeko Teramoto & Michiyo Kobayashi"Attention" and the child's "Attention". In the Negativeinteraction, on the other hand, these relations were seen
between the teacher's "Approach" and the child's"Negative vocal cues" or "Approach" or "Avoidance" or"Attention", and between the teacher's "Attention" andthe child's "Avoidance" or "Attention".
These findings showed that, (1) temporal relations
between behaviors were more prominent in the Negativeinteractions than in the Positive interactions and, (2) theteacher's "Speech" was not related to any behaviors of
the child in either type of interaction.

Specific behaviors of two types of interactions, forexample, the child's "Positive vocal cues" in the Positive
interaction and the child's "Negative vocal cues" and"Avoidance" in the Negative interaction, wereprominent. The child's "Approach" to the teacher in the
Negative interaction and the child's "Attention" to theteacher in the Positive interaction were more frequent.
Although the teacher's "Approach" to the child in the
Negative interaction was more frequent than in the
Positive interaction, the teacher's "Speech" and"Attention" did not differ prominently in frequencies
between two types of interactions.

4-3-2．Directions of behaviors
Arrows in Figure 3 indicated direction of behaviors (p< .05). Dotted arrows to the right indicated unidirectional temporal patterns in which only one-way
behavioral cues from the teacher to the child wereprominent. Dotted arrows to the left, on the other hand,indicated uni-directional patterns from the child to theteacher. Solid arrows indicated bi-directional temporal
patterns in which behavioral cues were mutually
exchanged between the teacher and the child.
Bi-directional temporal patterns were prominent in
the Negative interactions and uni-directional temporal
patterns from the teacher to the child were prominent in

4-3．Results of lag sequential analysis
4-3-1．Relation between behaviors
The results of lag sequential analysis were shown in
Figure 3, in which temporally related behaviors (p < .05)
were connected by solid or dotted arrows (difference
between these arrows were explained below). Numbers
in Figure 3 indicated lag positions with statistic
significance (p < .05), which was also explained below.
In the Positive interaction, temporal relations wereseen between the teacher's "Approach" and the child's"Approach" or "Attention", and between the teacher's

Positive interaction
Teacher

Negative interaction
Child

Teacher

Negative vocal
cues

SpeechChild

SpeechNegative vocal
cues
0,1

Positive vocal
cues

2,3,4,54,5

Positive vocal
cues

0,1,2

Approach

Approach

Approach
4,5

Avoidance

2,3

3

Approach

1,2,3,4,5

Avoidance

2,3,4,5
0,1

1,2,3,4,5
0

Attention

1,2,3

Attention

Attention

0

Attention

Note: Arrows indicate direction of interaction: Solid arrows indicate bi-directional temporal patterns
and dotted arrows indicate uni-directional temporal patterns. Numbers indicate lag positions (p < .05).
Fig. 3. Temporal Relationship of Behaviors Detected by Lag Sequential Analysis.

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A Preliminary Study on Evaluation of Interpersonal Relationships

the Positive interactions. In the Negative interactions,most uni-directional temporal patterns were from thechild to the teacher with the exception of the patternfrom the teacher's "Attention" to the child's "Avoidance".

Negative), but within directional patterns (i.e. unidirectional or bi-directional).

4-3-3．Timing of behaviors
Temporal patterns shown in Figure3 were re-examinedin terms of lag positions, that is, timing of behaviors(Table 5).
Arrows in Table5 indicated the direction ofinteractions. Filled-in circles indicated bi-directional
temporal patterns and open circles indicated unidirectional interactions (p < .05).
Most bi-directional temporal patterns expressed withfilled circles in both types of interaction were seen inlower lag positions from 0 to 2, except the pattern
between the child's "Attention" and the teacher's"Approach" in the Negative interactions. This finding
showed that the timing of most bi-directional temporal
patterns was fast.
Most uni-directional temporal patterns expressed with
open circles in both types of interaction, on the other
hand, were seen in relatively higher lag positions (i.e.
greater than 2), with the exception of the pattern fromthe teacher's "Attention" to the child's "Attention" in the
Positive interactions, the pattern from the child's"Avoidance" to the teacher's "Approach" and from theteacher's "Attention" to the child's "Avoidance" in the
Negative interactions. This finding showed that timing ofmost uni-directional temporal patterns was delayed.
In conclusion, significant trends in lag positions were
not observed within types of interaction (Positive or

From results of this study the differences in behavioral
aspects (the "expression" process), between types ofinteraction (Positive and Negative), classified according
to the teacher's subjective impression ("feeling" process)were found in (1) the content of behaviors and theirfrequencies (or percentages), (2) relations and directionof behaviors, and (3) timing of behaviors. The
relationship between the "feeling" and "expression"
process was discussed taking these three points into
consideration.

5. Discussion

5-1．Content of behaviors and percentages
Differences in behavioral aspects between the two
types of interaction were found in the behavioral
contents and their percentages (Table 4).
Generallyfrequencies and percentages are familiar information
about behavioral aspects of interaction. For example thechild's "Positive vocal cues" in the Positive interaction,or "Negative vocal cues" or "Avoidance" in the Negativeinteraction were direct indicators of each type ofinteraction and seemed to be understandable cues for theteacher. Such information about frequencies, however,
only showed times of occurrence and did not refer to therelationship between the teacher's and child's behaviors.
Moreover, frequent behaviors were not always
influential in the relationship with others. Therefore,
efforts to evaluate and understand the interpersonal

Table 5 Temporal Patterns of Behaviors and Lag Positions
Temporal patterns of behaviors
Positiveinteraction

Negativeinteraction

Bi-directional
Uni-directional

Bi-directional

Uni-directional

C’s Attention ⇔ T’s Approach
T’s Approach ⇒ C’s Approach
T’s Approach ⇒ C’s Attention
T’s Attention ⇒ C’s Attention
C’s N vocal cues ⇔ T’s Approach
C’s Approach ⇔ T’s Approach
C’s Avoidance ⇔ T’s Attention
C’s Attention ⇔ T’s Approach
C’s Attention ⇔ T’s Attention
C’s N vocal cues ⇒ T’s Approach
C’s Approach ⇒ T’s Approach
C’s Avoidance ⇒ T’s Approach
C’s Attention ⇒ T’s Approach
T’s Attention ⇒ C’s Avoidance

0
●

●
●
●

Lag positions
1 2 3
●
○
○ ○
●
● ●

○
○

4

5

○ ○
○ ○

● ●
●
○ ○
○
○ ○ ○
○ ○

○

○ ○
○ ○
○ ○
○ ○

Note: ‘C’ indicates the child and ‘T’ indicates the teacher. Arrows indicate direction of the interaction.
Filled circles indicate bi-directional temporal patterns and open circles indicate uni-directional temporal
patterns (p < .05).

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Taeko Teramoto & Michiyo Kobayashi
are regarded as indicators of good interpersonal
relationship (Tickle-Degnen & Rosenthal, 1990). To
respond immediately to others is one example of these
indicators. Such responding patterns in fast tempo were
found in bi-directional temporal patterns in this study.
Bi-directional temporal patterns were immediate patterns
in terms of timing of the interaction and both patterns
were regarded as indicators of a good interpersonal
relationship. These patterns, however, were found in the
Negative interactions in this study, which also implied
one of gaps between the subjective impressions (the"feeling" process), and behavioral aspects (the"expression" process) of interaction. The need tointerpret the nature of these gaps with care was againemphasized here.

relationship between teacher and child should not bedone only from frequencies of their behaviors. Following
further analysis about relation between the teacher's
behaviors and the child's would be appropriate andnecessary.
5-2．Relationships and direction of behaviors
The relationship between the teacher's and the child's
behaviors was observed and differences in the directionof the interaction were found between two types ofinteraction (see Figure 3). The direction of interaction
was either bi-directional or uni-directional. The former
patterns were prominent in the Negative interactions,which seemed to indicate that the teacher-childinteraction was more reciprocal, active, and web-related
in this type of interaction.
As for the latter, patterns from the teacher to the childwere prominent in the Positive interactions and thereversed pattern, that is, patterns from the child to theteacher were prominent in the Negative interactions.
These findings suggested that teacher-initiated patterns,
in which the teacher initiated the interaction andsmoothly influenced the child, were prominent in the
Positive interactions. The reversed pattern, that is, childinitiated patterns, on the other hand, seemed to develop
in the Negative interactions and the teacher appeared tofollow the child.
Although bi-directional interaction and child-initiative
patterns are commonly considered to be preferable inteaching situations, these patterns were seen in the
Negative interactions in the present study. Commonly
preferable patterns could be found in negativeinterpersonal relationships, which seemed to be one
example of the gap between subjective impressions (the"feeling" process) and behavioral aspects (the"expression" process) of interaction. Therefore, thesegaps should be taken into account and treated cautiously
in evaluating interpersonal relationships in teachingsituations.

6. Conclusion
From results of the present preliminary evaluation ofinterpersonal relationships in teaching situations
according to the theoretical framework proposed byTickle-Degnen and Rosenthal (1992), implications about
the relation between components of the encoding
process, that is, "feeling" and the "expression" process
were gained.
Although only the encoding process of interpersonal
relationships was investigated in this preliminary study,
considering that the only accessible process to the childat the pre-linguistic stage is her "expression", theteacher's high-developed ability to "perceive" and"interpret", that is, high decoding ability of the child's"expression" was required. Therefore, to promote better
understanding of interpersonal relationship in teachingsituations, further analysis of the decoding process aswell as encoding process is necessary.
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5-3．Timing of behaviors
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Using observers to study behavior:Newdirections for methodology of social andbehavioral science (pp.51-65). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
10) Hartmann, D. P. (1984). Assessment strategies. In D.
H. Barlow & M. Harsen (Eds.), Single caseexperimental designs (2nd. ed.) (pp.107-139).
New York: Pergamon Press.
11) Koss, T., & Rosenthal, R. (1997). Interactional
synchrony, positivity, and patient satisfaction in
the physician-patient relationship. Medical Care,35, 1158-1163.

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Tetsuro Takeda

Self-Efficacy, Coping Behavior, and the Health Locus of Control
in Junior High School Students with Renal Disease
Tetsuro Takeda
Department of Education for Children with Health Impairments
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between perceived self-efficacy, coping
behavior, response to stress, and the health locus of control (HLC). Subjects were 44 junior high school students who
were hospitalized for renal disease and 61 healthy students as controls. The results of the analysis were as follows:
1. There was no significant difference in self-efficacy, coping behavior, responses to stress, and HLC between
students with renal disease and healthy students.
2. There was a positive correlation between self-efficacy and active coping as well as a negative correlation between
self-efficacy and passive coping in the renal disease group. There was a significant positive difference in active coping
between subjects with high scores and those with low scores in self-efficacy, and a significant negative difference
between the two groups in passive coping.
3. A negative correlation was found between self-efficacy and response to stress (irritation and anger) in the renal
disease group. A positive correlation was found between self-efficacy and response to stress (cognition and learned
helplessness in the renal disease group). The ratings of stress response of subjects with high self-efficacy weresignificantly lower than subjects with low self-efficacy in the renal disease group.
4. A positive correlation was found between self-efficacy and HLC in the renal disease group. The HLC rating of
subjects with high self-efficacy was significantly higher than those of subjects in the low self-efficacy group.
Based on these results, the effect of self-efficacy on the coping behavior and responses to stress in students with renal
disease was discussed. The relationship between self-efficacy and HLC was also discussed.
Key Words: Renal disease, self-efficacy, coping behavior, responses to stress, health locus of control
After students leave hospital and return to their ordinary
school, however, many of them end up being rehospitalized due to weak self-management of exercise
and eating. For students with renal disease to develop
self-management ability, it is necessary to provide themwith appropriate guidance which is tailored to thepsychological characteristics of individual students
during school periods such as educational therapeutic
activities.
Bandura 2) coined the word ‘self-efficacy’** torepresent the individual’s belief as to how successfully
he or she can perform a course of behavior needed to
produce certain results. He also named the level atwhich an individual becomes aware of their acquired
self-efficacy as “perceived self-efficacy.” In short,
perceived self-efficacy means the sense of possible
accomplishment perceived by an individual before he or
she initiates a certain behavior. It is a sense of
expectation felt by an individual about attaining certain
results. It is also a kind of confidence, which develops
when an individual becomes aware of such an
expectation. It is said that high self-efficacy promotes
appropriate behavior for maintaining and improving an
individual’s health.3) There are also reports that in the
stress management process, high self-efficacy promotes
active coping behavior and eases the responses to

I. Introduction
Students with renal disease make up 8% of thosereceiving education for the children with healthimpairments. 23) Renal disease requires strong selfcontrol and self-management over a long period of time.
It also requires a similar regime of drug treatment suchas the use of steroids and its concomitant side effects,
daily living habits such as eating and exercise
restrictions, and cares to prevent relapse and infection. 9)
Students with renal disease are susceptible to a variety ofproblems, for example, problems in school such as slow
academic progress due to hospitalization, or going tohospital for treatment. They are also susceptible topsychological problems such as anxiety regarding side
effects, inferiority complexes about their self-image oflow height and obesity, and frustration caused bypervasive restrictions in their daily lives like eating andexercise. 9) Therefore, medicine and education should
support these students in a cooperative manner.
Education for students with health impairments, incooperation with medical staff such as physicians,
includes teaching how to develop self-management
ability mainly during “educational therapeutic activities,*” with the aim of obtaining an understanding of thedisease and the appropriate psychological adaptation.

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Self-Efficacy, Coping Behavior, and the Health Locus of Control
stress.6) 14) Regarding the relationship between selfefficacy and HLC, it was reported that students withchronic disease who had high self-efficacy expectancy
had a higher internal locus of control than those who had
low self-efficacy expectancy. 16)
HLC is a cognitive factor, which predicts healthbehavior. Rotter 12) proposed a concept of “locus ofcontrol,” as a variable representing a personality that
relates to how an individual recognizes the relationshipbetween results are controlled by the behavior andreinforcement. The concept is divided; one is an internal
locus of control, the idea being that results arecontrollable by the behavior of an individual, and theother is an external locus of control in which theenvironment and other people, regardless of one’s own
behaviors. HLC is this concept of locus of control
applied to health behavior. In other words, those with astrong internal locus of control believe that health can beattained by their own efforts while those with a strong
external locus of control believe that proper health canbe attained through dependence on medical careproviders, or by sheer luck. That is, they feel that proper
health is a consequence of their environment, or otherpeople, independent of their own behavior. To evaluate
HLC is to conduct a cognitive evaluation on whetherstudents with renal disease are trying to manage theirlives on their own initiative or tend to depend on others.
This kind of information will be important for supporting
their self-management. If their HLC is rated objectively,
it is possible to provide guidance to meet their cognitive
characteristics attitudes toward their disease, serving as asignificant source of information when providing
guidance. There exist only a few studies of therelationships among self-efficacy, coping behavior, and
HLC in students with chronic disease. There have beenno such studies for students with renal disease.
This study investigates the circumstances of students
with renal disease with the objective of supporting theirself-management. Investigation was done to ascertain
what kind of awareness of the disease the students had in
their daily lives, what was the biggest problems they
faced in their daily lives, and what kind of coping
behavior they used. At the same time, we examined theeffects of self-efficacy expectancy on coping behavior
against the disease and the related stress, as well as its
relationship with HLC.

schools for the health impaired while underhospitalization in seven hospitals, including national
sanitariums, and 61 healthy students (28 males and 33
females) at ordinary public junior high schools. The
study was conducted in June and July 1999. Of the 44
students with renal disease, 21 students had chronic
nephritis, 13 students had nephritic syndrome, 5 students
had IgA nephropathy, and 5 students had purpura
nephritis. The mean/average length of hospitalization at
the time of the questionnaire was 16.00 months (thestandard deviation was 16.99 months). The number ofstudents rehospitalized for relapses was 28 (63.6%).
2. Methodology[1] Survey of the Consciousness of Renal Disease
To investigate what kind of consciousness students
with renal disease have of their own disease, we adapted
part of a questionnaire on kidney disease utilizing special
items in the KDQOLTM (Kidney-disease-targetedmeasures of quality of life questionnaire). 5) The items
were:
1. Renal disease is a big obstacle in my life.
2. Renal disease takes up too much of my time.
3. I am irritated by renal disease.
4. I feel that I am a burden on my family.
Students were asked to select the response that best
matched their feelings from the five responses “Istrongly agree,” “I somewhat agree,” “I cannot sayeither,” “I somewhat disagree,” and “I strongly
disagree.”[2] Causes of Stress and Coping Methods
We asked the students with renal disease to write
freely what was their biggest problem while hospitalized
and how they were trying to solve that problem.
[3] Rating of Self-Efficacy Expectancy
We used the self-efficacy expectancy rating system
proposed by Shimada 14). That is, a general self-efficacy
expectancy rating scale consisting of 12 items.
Questions include, “If I try hard, I will be good at a
subject I am currently weak at,” and “No matter how
hard I try, I don’t think I will be able to lead the life that
I wish to lead.” We asked students to choose a response
from the four options available which best represented
their opinion, namely, “I strongly agree,” “I somewhat
agree,” “I somewhat disagree,” and “I strongly
disagree.” We used Shimada’s rating scale, providing 4
points for the highest level of self-efficacy to 1 for thelowest.

II. Subjects and Methodology
1. Subjects
We conducted a questionnaire-based study of 44
junior high school students with renal disease (24 males
and 20 females) who were receiving education at special- 11 -

Tetsuro Takeda[4] Rating of Coping Behavior
We used the rating scale of coping behavior designed
by Sakano, Miura, and Shimada 13). Coping behaviors,
which individuals take against a stressor, have been
noted as one of factors, which is effective in minimizing
the damage caused by the stressor and lessening the
response to stress. Sakano and others induced two
factors, active and passive coping behaviors, from theresults of factor analysis. Items such as, “to make efforts
to change it,” “to make efforts to change myself,” “tofind causes,” and “to come up with a countermeasure,”
are listed as active coping, while items such as, “toaccept it as bad luck,” and “to try not to think about it,”are listed as passive coping. The rating consists of fourlevels with 16 items. Following the rating method by
Sakano et al., we used the four levels method (from “Do
often,” to “Don’t do at all”), and gave points between 4
and 1 from the highest frequency downwards.

Table 1. “Renal disease is a big obstacle in my life.”
Response“Applies exactly to my case.”“Applies to my case by and large.”“Cannot say either.”“Hardly applies to my case.”“Does not apply to my case at all.”No. of students (%)
17 （38.6）
9 （20.5）
7 （15.9）2 （ 4.5）
9 （20.5）

Table 2. “Renal disease takes up too much of mytime.”
Response“Applies exactly to my case.”“Applies to my case by and large.”“Cannot say either.”“Hardly applies to my case.”“Does not apply to my case at all.”[5] Rating of Stress Response
We used the stress response rating scale for juniorhigh school students developed by Okayasu and others
11). This rating scale consists of four factors (46 items):
viz. 7 items regarding irritation and anger, 19 items
regarding physical responses, 8 items regarding
depression and anxiety, and 12 items regarding cognition
and thoughts of helplessness. Regarding their state ofhealth and mind, we asked respondents to choose thebest-fit response from, “does not apply to my case atall,” (1 point) “applies a little to my case,” (2 points)“applies well to my case,” (3 points) and “applies quite
well to my case,” (4 points) using the assessment
measure devised by Okayasu and others.

No. of students (%)
15 (34.1)
11 (25.0)
4 ( 9.1)
5 (11.4)
9 (20.5)

Table 3. “I am irritated by renal disease.”
Response“Applies exactly to my case.”“Applies to my case by and large.”“Cannot say either.”“Hardly applies to my case.”“Does not apply to my case at all.”No. of students (%)
11 (25.0)
4 ( 9.1)
7 (15.9)
13 (29.5)
9 (20.5)

Table 4. “I feel that I am a burden to my family.”
Response“Applies exactly to my case.”“Applies to my case by and large.”“Cannot say either.”“Hardly applies to my case.”“Does not apply to my case at all.”[6] Rating of HLC
We used the rating scale of the Health Locus ofControl developed by Watanabe 20), with minor
simplifications of Chinese characters into hiragana(Japanese phonetic syllables), so that junior high school
students would not have trouble understanding thequestions. Regarding health issues, we asked students tochoose the response that best fitted their opinion from, “I
agree,” “I agree a little,” “I disagree a little,” and “Idisagree.” We allocated 4, 3, 2, and 1 point from thehighest to lowest internal locus of control. Question
items included, “When you get sick, do you tend to think
you are responsible for causing it?” “Do you think you
cannot avoid getting sick even though you try?” and “Do
you think you can lead a healthy life if you take anappropriate course of action?”

No. of students (%)
21 (47.7)
9 (20.5)
9 (20.5)
3 ( 6.8)
2 ( 4.5)

III. Results
1. Investigation of consciousness of Renal Disease
Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 presented the responses ininvestigation of consciousness of renal disease with fourquestion items listed below:
1. Renal disease is a big obstacle in my life.
2. Renal disease takes up too much of my time.
3. I am irritated by renal disease.
4. I feel that I am a burden to my family.

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Self-Efficacy, Coping Behavior, and the Health Locus of Control
2. Cause of Stress and Coping Method
We asked the students to respond to a question on the
biggest current problems in their lives, that is, the sourceof stress, and we classified into four categories thecontents of freely written answers using the KJ Method,
namely, “Regarding disease,” “Regarding hospitalliving,” “Regarding personal relations,” and “Regarding
studies.” (see Table 5). At the same time, we present
students’ comments on ways to solve such stressors in
Table 6.

Table 5. Biggest Stress Perceived by Students with
Renal Disease
Regarding the disease
Restrictions for eating and exercise
Taking drugs
Regarding hospital life
Strict observance of time
Inability to go out freely
Inability to do what students like to do
Living with people students don’t like
Regarding personal relations(Within a limited environment of the hospital)
Worrying about relationships with hospitalroommates and school friends
Getting along with hospital staff
Getting along with people students don’t like
Regarding studies
Getting behind the study for an entrance
examination
Getting behind other students in learning due
to a long absence from school

3. Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Coping
Behavior as well as between Self-Efficacy and StressResponse[1] Comparisons between Students with Renal Disease
and Healthy Students
We formed two clusters of students with renal disease
and healthy students and conducted a one-factor analysis
of variance with points obtained from ratings of selfefficacy, coping behavior (active coping and passive
coping), and stress response (irritation and anger,
physical response, depression and anxiety, and cognition
and thoughts of helplessness), as a dependent variable.
There was no significant difference between students
with renal disease and healthy students. In other words,
no difference was found between students with renal
disease and healthy students in terms of points obtainedon ratings of self-efficacy, coping behavior, and stressresponse.

Table 6. Coping Methods of Students with Renal
Disease against Stressors- Try to sleep well.
- Do not think about it because nothing can be done
anyway.
- Try to forget everything.
- Pretend nothing is happening.
- Do not think about a problem much.
- Do not think about a problem too deeply.
- Seek advice from family members and others because I
don’t know what to do.
- Avoid people and stay alone because I can’t solve it
anyway.
- Let things develop how they may, but want to run awayfrom it.
- Try to be careful as to what I say in front of people.
- Express how I feel to my friends, or family.
- Seek advice from doctors, or nurses as to how to solve
the problem.
- Try to find something else good because worrying
about it doesn’t help.
- Solve it by actively encouraging a discussion on myown initiative.
- Blame myself because I am responsible for it.
- Try not to exhibit my own feelings.

[2] Relationship between Self-Efficacy and Coping
Behavior as well as between Self-Efficacy and StressResponse(1) Correlation between Self-Efficacy and Coping
Behavior as well as between Self-Efficacy andStress Response
Table 7 shows a correlation between self-efficacy andcoping behavior as well as between self-efficacy andstress response in students with renal disease and healthy
students. In case of students with renal disease, there
was a positive correlation between self-efficacy andactive coping while there were negative correlations
between self-efficacy and passive coping as well as
between self-efficacy and stress response (irritation andanger, physical response and cognition and thoughts of
helplessness).
In the case of healthy students, there was a positive
correlation between self-efficacy and active coping and anegative correlation between self-efficacy and stressresponse (irritation and anger, physical response,
cognition and thoughts of helplessness).

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Tetsuro Takeda
four subordinate categories of stress response (irritation
Table 7. Pearson correlation between Self-Efficacy and Coping Behavior as well as between Self-Efficacy andStress Response
Coping behavior

Stress response

Variable
Active coping

Students with renal disease
Self-efficacy
Healthy students

Passive coping

Irritation & anger

Physical response

Cognition &Depression &thoughts ofanxiety

helplessness.605**-.532**-.349*-.148n.s-.162n.s-.551**.432**-.204n.s-.478-.558**-.237n.s-.547*** p<.05 , ** p<.01
Table 8. Mean, Standard Deviation, and F Value of Coping Behavior and Stress Response among the High and
Low Self-Efficacy Groups
Students with renal disease
VariableHigh group

Low group(N=24)(N=20)

25.00

20.15

(5.78)(4.40)

Healthy students
F value

Variable

Coping behavior
Active coping
Passive coping
Stress response
Irritation & anger
Physical response
Depression & anxiety
Cognition & thoughtsof helplessness

High group

Low group(N=36)(N=25)

26.86

20.04

(5.71)(5.35)

F value

Coping behavior

12.61

15.5

(3.93)(3.43)

14.65

17.60

(5.53)(6.40)

34.13

36.05

(9.19)(9.50)

14.39

15.55

(5.08)(5.91)

22.39

27.65

(7.46)(7.51)

9.36**

Active coping

6.52*

Passive coping

2.63 n.sStress response

0.45 n.s
0.48 n.s
5.27*

Irritation & anger
Physical response
Depression & anxiety
Cognition & thoughtsof helplessness

12.69

14.04

(3.93)(3.43)

13.64

18.72

(5.18)(6.91)

33.39

45.44

(10.08)(13.61)

14.36

16.40

(4.35)(6.60)

24.17

31.56

(6.82)(8.60)

22.17**
2.29 n.s

10.79 **
15.79**
2.12 n.s
13.99*** p<.05 , ** p<.01(2) Comparison between High and Low Self-efficacy
GroupsBased upon the self-efficacy mean (36 points) ofstudents with renal disease and healthy students, weassigned students into four groups; students with renal
disease with high or low self-efficacy and healthy
students with high or low self-efficacy.
Those in highself-efficacy groups totaled 24 students with renal
disease and 36 healthy students. Those in low selfefficacy groups numbered 20 students with renal disease
and 25 healthy students. We conducted a one-factor
analysis of variance using high and low self-efficacy
groups separately among students with renal disease andhealthy students, with two subordinate categories of
coping behavior (active and passive coping ) as well as

and anger, physical response, depression and anxiety,and cognition and thoughts of helplessness) as adependent variable. Results are shown in Table 8.
Among students with renal disease, there was asignificant difference between high vs. low self-efficacy
groups in active and passive behaviors. That is, the highself-efficacy group earned significantly higher points for
active coping than the low self-efficacy group while
earning significantly lower points for passive coping
than the low self-efficacy group. In the stress response,
there was a significant difference in, “cognition andthoughts of helplessness.” That is, the low self-efficacy
group scored significantly higher than the high selfefficacy group in terms of, “cognition and thoughts of
helplessness.”- 14 -

Self-Efficacy, Coping Behavior, and the Health Locus of Control
score higher than boys in active coping. Similarly, girls
tended to score higher than boys in depression andanxiety in stress response. Among healthy students,
there were significant differences in self-efficacy (F[1,59] = 12.19, p<. 01), active coping (F [1,59] = 6.35,
p<. 05), and HLC (F [1,59] = 6.86, p<. 05). Girls scoredsignificantly higher than boys in self-efficacy, active
coping, and internal locus of control.
We also analyzed the relationships between
hospitalization length and scores obtained from ratingsof self-efficacy, coping behavior, stress response, and
HLC, but no correlations were found.

Among healthy students, there was a significant
difference in positive coping between high and low selfefficacy groups. That is, the high self-efficacy group
scored significantly higher than the low counterparts inactive coping. In the stress response, there weresignificant differences in, “irritation and anger,”“physical response,” and “cognition and thoughts of
helplessness.” That is, the low self-efficacy group
scored significantly higher than the high counterparts in,“irritation and anger,” “physical response,” and“cognition and thoughts of helplessness.”
4. Relationship between Self-Efficacy and HLC
In HLC, there was no difference between students
with renal disease and healthy students. Table 9 shows
the correlation between self-efficacy and HLC among
students with renal disease and healthy students. There
was a positive correlation both among students withrenal disease and healthy students.

IV. Discussion
1. Opinions on Renal Disease
Disease diagnosed by a physician refers to abiological state, or an objective state where there isdamage in the whole, or a part of the living body as wellas in physical or mental function. Twaddle 18), however,states that an illness is something a person recognizes
subjectively with three symptoms. First sensuouschanges that some serious pain or fatigue is occurring,
second, an inability to perform ordinary actions, andfinally, major physical changes and symptoms which can
influence future activities.
That is, the judgment
criterion for “an illness,” is not only symptoms, but also
the level of influence of a disease over ordinary life.
When we examined the survey results from thisperspective, in three question items omitting the item, “I
am irritated by renal disease,” we found 60 to 70% of thestudents have self-awareness that they have an ‘illness’and experience various restrictions in daily life
subjectively (Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4). Thus, it is importantfor education personnel dealing with/catering to theneeds of the health impaired, as well as medical staff, tounderstand what students are going through and provide
emotional and practical support. Education personnel
for the health impaired in particular need to support
students. This includes using activities such as
educational therapeutic activities so that they canunderstand their illness and treatment, as well as the

Table 9. Pearson correlation between Self-Efficacy
and Health Locus of Control
Variable
Health Locus of Control
Students with renal disease.581**

Healthy students.585**

Self-efficacy* p<.05 , ** p<.01
When the high and low self-efficacy groups arecompared, the high score groups both among students
with renal disease and healthy students exhibited ahigher internal locus of control as shown in Table 10.
We then grouped by gender and conducted a onefactor analysis of variance with points obtained from and
HLC as a dependent variable. As a result, among
students with renal disease, we found either a significant
difference, or a different tendency in self-efficacy (F[1,42] = 5.35, p<. 05), active coping (F [1,41] =3.14, .05<p<. 10), and depression and anxiety (F [1,41] =3.06, .05<p<. 10). That is, girls scored significantly
higher than boys in self-efficacy and girls tended toTable 10. Mean, Standard Deviation, and F Value of Health Locus of Control in the High and Low SelfEfficacy Groups

ariableStudents with renal disease

Healthy students

High group Low group Fvalue

High group Low group Fvalue

Health Locus of Control(N=24)(N=20)

42.29

36.70

(5.16)(7.51)

8.50**

Health Locus of Control* p<.05 , ** p<.01- 15 -(N=36)(N=25)

44.39

36.24

(4.27)(4.75)

42.94**

Tetsuro Takeda
In this study, there were no comments regarding, “asearch for meaning,” such as, “I tried to find a newconviction or an important fact,” or “tried to rediscover
the meaning of life.”

required life style and develop a self-management ability
to establish desirable life habits in order to get alongwith their own “illness” in daily living.
2. The Biggest Problem in Daily Life and Coping
MethodWe classified the causes of stress into four categories:
Those regarding, (1) disease, (2) hospital life, (3)personal relations, and (4) school studies. There weremany comments particularly regarding hospital living
and personal relations.
We classified the free response comments on how tocope with stress using the eight coping factors proposedby Aldwin and Revenson 1) as follows:
A. Escape from Reality- Sleep well.
- Avoid people and stay alone because of theinability to solve problems.
- Let things develop how they may, but run
away from the results.
B. Cautious Behavior- Try to be careful as to what to say in front ofpeople.
C. Taking an Action toward a Solution- Solve problems by actively encouraging
discussions on my own initiative
D. Minimization of a Problem- Do not think about a problem too deeply.
- Do not think about a problem much.
- Try not to exhibit my own feelings.
- Try to forget everything.
E. Mobilization of Support- Express how I feel to my friends or family.
- Seek advice from doctors or nurses as to how
to solve a problem.
F. Self-Criticism- Blame myself because I am responsible.
G. Negotiation- Try to find something else good to think aboutbecause worrying about (the problem)
doesn’t help.
H. Search for Meaning
There were no applicable comments.

3. Comparisons between Students with Renal Disease
and Healthy Students
There were no significant difference in self-efficacy,
coping behavior, stress response, and HLC between
students with renal disease and healthy students.
In a study comparing students with renal disease andhealthy students, Nakamura and others 8) found thatstudents with renal disease received significantly higher
stress scores than healthy students on three stress items,
namely, “I was forced to quit what I started to do,” “I
had to do things I didn’t like or I disliked,” and “I didn’t
understand what was happening around me.” Nakamura
and others, however, did not find a significant differencein these the items, “I had too many things to do,” “I
couldn’t do what I really wanted to do,” “I was troubled
about my outlook (face and figure),” “I was troubled
with my grades in school,” “I couldn’t get along with ateacher in school,” and “I get into a quarrel with myparents more frequently.” Regarding the three stressitems with significantly high scores, Nakamura andothers emphasized the possibility that students were
stressed by restrictions in daily life caused by theirdisease, treatment and examination schedule, and thatthey were not well-informed about their disease andtreatment. Even among healthy students, stress such as
worrying about outlook and school grades are high stressitems at similar levels to students with renal disease. We
believe that no significant difference was found between
the two student groups because this study did not include
question items on daily life restrictions caused bydisease. Stress ratings of students with renal disease
whose daily regime includes daily restrictions related tothe disease needs to be developed in the future. At thesame time, ratings of self-efficacy and coping behavior
should be made more suitable to patients with renal
disease. Finally, it is necessary to understand therecognizable characteristics of students with renal
disease more accurately.

Among the eight coping factors, “minimization of aproblem.” “escape from reality,” and “negotiation,”
received most comments. These can be categorized as
responses relating to so-called passive coping. It isthought that disease, hospitalization, and personal
relations in an isolated hospital environment areperceived as difficult problems for students to solve by
themselves.

4. Relationships between Self-Efficacy and Coping
Behavior as well as between Self-efficacy and StressResponse
Coping behavior refers to attempts to solve, prevent,or avoid a certain problematic situation. Therefore,
coping behavior implies efforts to eliminate, or minimize
the influence of a stressor by actively taking
countermeasures. In the case of a disease perceived by apatient that is not easily resolved, the patient often does

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Self-Efficacy, Coping Behavior, and the Health Locus of Control

Coping behavior
Behavioral response
Stressor → Cognitive evaluation → Emotion

Psychological response
Physical response

Social Support
Fig 1.Stress Evaluation Model (Nomura, 1998)
social support rather than coping behavior plays a largerrole in lessening stress response. Takeda 15) investigated
the relationship between response to stress and perceived
social support to the support source such as families,
friends, and hospital staff. He found a relationshipamong the four responses to stress. For example, thehigher the support expectation from a mother, siblings,
friends, and hospital staff was, a decrease in the stressresponse of, “irritation and anger,” resulted. At the sametime, the higher the support expectation for hospital
staff, the less a stress response of, “physical response,”
resulted.

not necessarily use active coping behavior, but rather
takes passive coping behavior. Coping behaviors which
students with renal disease wrote about in their free stylecomments included many different descriptions ofpassive coping such as escape from reality andminimization of a problem. Coping behavior is repeateduntil influence of a stressor is lessened or disappears.
This study found that relationships between selfefficacy and coping behavior and between self-efficacy
and response to stress among students with renal disease
exist, and that self-efficacy has influence over coping
behaviors (active coping and passive coping). Thosewith high self-efficacy tended to handle the causes ofstress in a more active manner and not to use passive
methods. They also tended to have low response tostress toward, “cognition and thoughts of helplessness.”Among healthy students, we found relationships
between self-efficacy and coping behavior as well as
between self-efficacy and response to stress, and that
self-efficacy influences coping behavior (active coping).
Those with high self-efficacy tended to handle causes ofstress in a more active manner, and to have low responseto stress toward the three subordinate categories,“irritation and anger,” “physical response,” and“cognition and thoughts of helplessness.”Among students with renal disease, however, eventhose with high self-efficacy who cope actively against astressor were not found to lessen their response to stressof “irritation and anger,” and “physical response,” unlike
healthy students.
From these results, we can conclude that active coping
by students does not necessarily lead to lessening of the
response to stress on, “irritation and anger,” and physicalresponse.” This was especially true in response tostressors, which were all difficult to resolve by thestudents themselves such as disease, hospitalization, or
personal relationships in an isolated environment.
Nomura 10) presented the stress evaluation model shownin Chart 1 and concluded that coping behavior and social
support are important in minimizing stress.
When a stressor such as a disease or hospitalization isserious and cannot be avoided, there are cases where

5. Relationship between Self-Efficacy and HLC
We found a positive correlation between self-efficacy
and HLC both among students with renal disease andhealthy students. Similarly, in both groups, the highself-efficacy group was found to have a tendency towarda strong inner locus of control in comparison with theirlower self-efficacy counterparts. This supports researchfindings by Takeda and Hara. 16) Those with a strong
inner locus of control have a strong awareness that theirhealth is a result of their own effort. They exhibited
active, independent self-care behavior toward their own
health. In contrast, those with a strong external locus ofcontrol sought an external manager such as medical
staff, drugs, or tended to rely on sheer luck. They alsotended not to undertake independent self-care behavior
and to depend on medical staff, or family members.
Therefore, those with a high inner health locus ofcontrol can improve their self-management skills so that
medical and education staff around students in hospitalshould cater to teaching the students the knowledge andskills for self-management while at the same time
respecting their independence to maintain their own
health. 21) In contrast, for those with a strong external
locus of control, support from people around them suchas families and medical staff is important. Junior highschool students are still in the middle of growing up andin some cases, they may have to live with renal disease
throughout their long lives. It is crucial for them to raise
their inner health locus of control as well as self- 17 -

Tetsuro Takeda
purpura nephritis), so therefore, we need to continue thestudy to obtain valis results.
We believe we need to conduct a study on
relationships between the convalescence of renal disease
and HLC, between disease condition and self-efficacy,
and between disease condition and HLC. At this pointof time, self-efficacy ratings for cancer and diabetic
patients 17)22) as well as HLC for asthma patients 4) havebeen developed, but there are almost none have beendeveloped for children. In addition, no rating system has
been developed for patients for renal disease. We would
like to continue this study to develop a self-efficacy
rating and HLC for children with renal disease and toprovide guidance, which meets their cognitive
characteristics.

management skills during this period of development.
As Ueda 19) states, a high self-management ability meansa higher quality of life (QOL) at several different levels;
First, life in terms of existence level, second, living at anindividual level, third, lifetime at a social level, andfinally, leading to quality of life as experience from asubjective perspective.
According to Bandura 2), self-efficacy is not
something, which develops naturally. It is improved
through information in four areas, that is,accomplishment of targeted behaviors, substituteexperience, oral persuasion, and biological andemotional states. Accomplishment of targeted behaviors
as information to raise self-efficacy means accumulationof successful experiences in which action is taken andtasks are accomplished by oneself. Bandura 2)3) statesthat the accomplishment of targeted behaviors is
information that can increase self-efficacy most.
Substitute experience means to learn a problem solving
method through listening to the successful experiencesof people in the same circumstances and with the same
goals. Oral persuasion means to be praised or evaluatedby people with expert knowledge or charm. Biologicaland emotional states mean to become aware of
biologically and mentally favorable responses raised
when a goal is accomplished. Bandura 2) states it isimportant to integrate the above mentioned four
information
sources(“integrationofefficacy
information”).
We also grouped students in this study by category of
renal disease (chronic nephritis, nephritic syndrome, IgA
nephropathy, and purpura nephritis) and conducted a
one-factor analysis of variance with data obtained fromself-efficacy, coping behavior, stress response, and HLC
as a dependent variable. There was, however, nosignificant difference. Takeda and Hara 16), however,found that depending upon disease type, the HLC level
differs. For example, students with obesity scoredsignificantly higher than students with asthma in inner
locus of control. It is obvious that disease type may
influence HLC because some diseases are controllable
more easily than others. Yet, despite our prediction that
HLC was higher among those with nephritic syndrome
who tend to have more efficacious convalescence thanstudents with chronic nephritis, we did not find asignificant difference between them. This is because
students with nephritic syndrome still have to follow
eating and exercise restrictions and individual
differences exist in how the disease will evolve in the
future. Also this study unfortunately had only a few
subjects in most renal disease categories (13 withnephritic syndrome, 5 with IgA nephropathy, and 5 with

Special thanks to: Teachers and students at special
schools for the health impaired for their cooperation withthis study.
References
1) Aldwin, C. M. & Revenson, T. A. (1987). “Dose
Coping Help? A Reexamination of the Relation
between Coping and Mental Health.” Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 53 (2), 337-348.
(Translation in Japanese: Kim Donsu, trans. and
Sonoda, Kyoichi & Kawada, Chieko, eds. (1995).
“Trends and Methodology of Studies on Stress
Coping.” Transformation of the Health View, 213-228,
Tokyo University Publishing.)
2) Bandura, A. (1977). “Self-Efficacy: Toward a
Unifying
Theoryof
Behavioral
Change.”Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.
3) Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exerciseof Control. Freeman.
4) Fiona, D., & Nick, H., & Lynn, F., & Duncan, C.,& Peter, G. (1996).
“Validation of a New
Multidimentional Health Locus of Control Scale (formC) in Asthma Research.” Psychology and Health,493-504.
5)Joseph, G (1999). “Disease Specific Ratings and
KDQOLTM.” Kidney and Dialysis, 46 (3), 341-344.
(In Japanese)
6) Kim, Toshuku & Shimada, Hironori & Sakano,Yuji (1996). “Relationships between Self-Efficacy andStress Response regarding the Health Behavior ofPatients with Chronic Disease.” Mental and Physical
Medicine, 36 (6), 500-505. (In Japanese)7) Miura, Masae & Shimada, Hironori & Sakano,Yuji (1995). “Influence of Social Support over Coping- 18 -

Self-Efficacy, Coping Behavior, and the Health Locus of Control
16) Takeda, Tetsuro & Hara, Hitoshi (1997). “A
Study on Self-Efficacy of Children Hospitalized for
Chronic Disease.” Pedatric Psychiatry and Neorology
Japan, 37 (1), 71-78. (In Japanese)

Behavior.” Stress Science Studies, 10, 13-24. (InJapanese)8) Nakamura, Nobue & Kanematsu, Yuriko &Others (1996). “Stress of Children with Chronic
Disease.” The Journal of Child Health, 55-60. (InJapanese)17) Tsukamoto, Naoko (1998). “An Attempt toDevelop a Self-Efficacy Rating for Cancer Patients.”
Nursing Studies, 31 (3), 198-206. (In Japanese)

9) Nishima, Sankei & Nishimuta, Toshiyuki &Toyoshima, Kyoichiro & Yamazaki, Munehiro &Others (1995). “Psychological Problems of Children
under Long-term Hospitalization: Prevention andTreatment Manual.” A Study on Prevention andTreatment of Infantile Mental and Physical Disability.
Mental and Physical Disability Studies of Ministry of
Health and Welfare. (In Japanese)18) Twaddle, A. (1969). “Health Decisions and SickRole Variations: An Exploration.” Journal of Healthand Social Behavior, 10, 105-114.
19) Ueda, Satoshi & Ookawa, Yayoi (1996).
“Rehabilitation and QOL.” Science of the Human
Body, 188, 51-57. (In Japanese)10) Nomura, Shinobu (1998). “Evaluation and
Coping with Stress: From a Clinical Perspective.”
Psychology World 1, 15-18. (In Japanese)

20) Watanabe, Masaki (1986). “An Attempt to
Predict Health Behavior by Health Locus of Control.”Bulletin of the Education Department of Tokyo
University, 25, 299-307. (In Japanese)11) Okayasu, Takahiro & Shimada, Hironori &Sakano, Yuji (1992). “A Trial to Develop a StressResponse Rating for Junior High School Students.”
Human Science Studies, 5, 23-29. (In Japanese)21) Yasukata, Fumiko, ed. (1996).
Patient
Education and Health Education for Nurses. Igaku
Shoin.

12) Rotter, J. B. (1966). “Generalized Expectancies
for Internal vs. External Control of Reinforcement.”
Psychological Monographs, 80, 1-28.

22) Yasukata, Fumiko (1997).
“Education of
Diabetic Patients and Self-Efficacy.” Nursing Studies,30 (6), 473-480. (In Japanese)

13) Sakano, Yuji & Miura, Masae & Shimada,
Hironori (1994). “Influence of Cognitive Evaluation
on Psychological Stressors over Coping Behavior
among Junior High School Students.” Human Science,
17, 5-13. (In Japanese)23) National Federation for Studies on Education for
the Health Impaired (1997). National Directory of
Educational Institutions for the Health Impaired andNational Disease Investigation Chart. (In Japanese)

14) Shimada, Hironori & Miura, Masae & Sakano,Yuji & Kamisato, Ichiro (1995). “Self-Efficacy Effects
on Stress Process of Students.” Proceedings of the 8th
Meeting of the Japan Association of Health
Psychology,100 -101. (In Japanese)

Footnotes* Educational therapeutic activities; provide"educational therapeutic activities" for the children to
improve and overcome their activities limitation(disabilities).
**Self-efficacy; As defined by Bandura (1977), selfefficacy expectancy is the individual's belief that he or
she can successfully perform a course of behavior in agiven situation. Individuals with weak self-efficacy
beliefs would be expected to coping efforts, whereas
individuals with strong self-efficacy would persist in
the face of obstacle.

15) Takeda, Tetsuro (1996). “ Social Support
Percieved by Student with Renal Disease and theirStress Response.” Proceedings of the 9th Meeting of
the Japan Association of Health Psychology, 92-93.
(In Japanese)- 19 -

Michiyo Kobayashi & Shigeki Kuboyama

The Role of Resource Rooms in Educational Counseling ofChildren with Special Needs
Michiyo Kobayashi and Shigeki Kuboyama
Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicap
Abstract: This paper aims to examine the roles resource rooms for the speech impaired can play in terms ofcommunity-based educational counseling for preschool children. To understand the current situation, surveys wereconducted on whether or not resource rooms offer services to preschool children and what expectations parents haveof them. We found more than half of the resource rooms surveyed offered services to preschool children. At thesame time, based on the findings of a study on parental requests as well as a literature review of recent trends
regarding parents of infants and toddlers with special needs, it was found that resource rooms play a primary role,
not only in child guidance, but also in serving the needs of their parents.
For resource rooms to effectively conduct educational counseling for young children, the following is recommended
the : The resource room should inform related institutions of the requirement in local communities for preschool
service provision. All related institutions already providing services in the community, such as early intervention
systems, the mother-child health care system, and other educational institutions should communicate with each other.
The separate roles each institution will play should also be clarified.
Key Words: Educational counseling for young children, resource rooms (for the speech impaired), early intervention
system, parents, preschool children

comments of staff when they were told of their child's
disability. 6) 10) It is necessary for communities to offer aplace parents can visit for consultations without
hesitation when they have a worry about their child'sdevelopment, or notice developmental delays.
Depending upon community circumstances and typeof disability, the process and methods for earlyintervention vary. Some communities possess a central
early intervention center which parents concerned about
their children can visit for consultation without
wondering whether or not it is an appropriate place forinquiring about their concerns. In communities withouta center, however, parents have to search around for aplace to consult with while internalizing their worries.
Recently many communities have established a variety
of institutions offering child-care support for parents,
such as health centers, child consultation centers, andchild-care support centers.
The initial report published by the Conference of
Researchers and Collaborators for the Improvement ofSpecial Education18) stated, "In order to increase thefrequency of educational counseling in a community, it
is desirable that a 'resource rooms' (for the speech
impaired) established within a local elementary or lower
secondary school offers such service." Examples ofservices offered to preschoolers in resource rooms havebeen reported on previously, 17) 19) 22) and in such
communities, resource rooms are considered to be partof the early intervention system. We are currently in the

1.Introduction
It has been long since the call for early disability
detection and intervention was voiced in Japan. The
initial report published by the Conference of Researchers
and Collaborators for the Improvement of Special
Education18) listed the following as significant reasonsfor early educational counseling: (1) To support parents
in the acceptance of their child's disability, (2) to develop
favorable parent-child relationships, (3) to promote
development during infancy and early childhood, (4) toimprove the conditions regarding a disability, and (5) tohelp parents understand special education. Ikeda andKanno2) also listed the following four points as
significant reasons for early education: "(1) To help
parents accept their child's behavior, (2) to help prevent
secondary disabilities from arising, (3) to reduce future
cost in educating children with disabilities, and (4) tooffer parents necessary support through early education."
While systems and technologies to detect disability
are advancing, it is also necessary to consider thenegative aspects of early detection, setting aside thepositive aspects mentioned above.
When and whoshould check for a disability and how should the finding
be communicated to parents? Furthermore, how should
the detection of disability lead to intervention andeducation? It is necessary to examine such issues from avariety of perspectives. We have already reported inearlier research that many parents felt hurt by the- 20 -

The Role of Resource Rooms in Educational Counseling

midst of a rising demand for community-based earlyeducation (intervention) and each community needs tothink how to utilize its own resources and how tointegrate these resources.
The following issues need to be clarified before
resource rooms can take on the role of a communitybased educational counseling center for preschool
children. Providing services to preschoolers as acommunity institution implies being part of an earlyintervention system which is already functioning in thecommunity. Therefore, initially, the early intervention
system already in place in a community needs to beclarified. The next issue concerns, that is, who actuallydeals with preschool children. It is problematic whether
or not a teacher in a resource room will assume
responsibility for preschoolers in addition to school
children, or whether or not a staff member specifically incharge of preschoolers will be provided. Finally, it isnecessary to know what kind of expectations parents ofchildren with special needs have.
To find solutions to the issues listed above, it isimportant to learn how the resource rooms have been
dealing with educational counseling for preschoolers in
the community, what kind of problems the staff arehaving, and what kind of improvements parents ofchildren attending resource rooms wish for desire. In
this paper, we will examine the roles resource rooms
could play in educational counseling for preschoolers in
the community and what kind of care should actually be
implemented, taking into account the results of: (1)Study 1 in which staff members of resource rooms weresurveyed regarding educational counseling services forpreschoolers as well as the merits and demerits ofoffering such services, and (2) Study 2 in which parentsof students attending resource rooms in elementary
schools were surveyed.

1) Subjects
The subjects were teachers who had participated inseminars for resource room staff members offered at the
National Institute of Special Education (71 teachers inJuly 1998, 108 in August 1998, and 70 in July 1999).
2) Procedure
A written questionnaire was used. The questionnaire
was distributed to participants of the three seminars
listed above after explaining the purpose of the study.
The completed survey was collected during the seminar.
3) Questionnaire Outline
The questionnaire consisted of 5 topics: (1)implementation of educational counseling and guidancefor preschoolers, (2) the age at which preschoolers
commenced educational counseling and guidance, (3)the location of the resource room in the communitybased early intervention structure, (4) the merits anddemerits of educational counseling and guidance forpreschoolers, and (5) staff opinion on dealing withpreschool children.
4) Results[1] Overview of Answers
The response rates were 62.0% (44 out of 71) for the
July 1998 seminar, 52.8% (57 out of 108) for the August
1998 seminar, and 67.1% (47 out of 70) for the July
1999 seminar. The overall response rate was 59.4%(148 out of 249). The regional breakdown is shown in
Table 1.
To understand the current situation of communitybased educational counseling for preschoolers offered byresource rooms and the issues faced by staff members ofresource rooms, we will summarize the results of,"implementation of educational counseling and guidancefor preschoolers" and "the merits and demerits ofeducational counseling and guidance for preschoolers."

2. Study 1:Educational Counseling and Guidancefor Preschool Children[2] Implementation of Educational Counseling andGuidance for Preschool Children
In the questionnaire, we first asked, "Does yourresource room currently offer educational counseling or
guidance for preschoolers?" To those who answered

We surveyed resource rooms staff members about
whether or not resource rooms in their schools offerededucational counseling for preschoolers and what werethe characteristics of the services offered.

Table 1． Regional Breakdown of Respondents
RegionYear

Hokkaido/
Tohoku

Kanto

Chubu

Kinki

Chugoku/
Shikoku

Kyusyu/Okinawa

Total

1998

17

25

20

11

16

12

101

1999

7

9

9

12

4

6

47

34（22%）

29（20%）

23（16%）

18（12%）

148（100%）

Total

24（16%）- 21 -

20（14%）

Michiyo Kobayashi & Shigeki Kuboyama"Yes" to that question, we asked what kind of job
classification the staff members offering such services
possessed (the possible replies were 'elementary school
teacher', 'kindergarten teacher', 'nursery teacher', 'speechtherapist', and 'Other'). The results were as follows.
Educational counseling for preschoolers was being
offered by 64.9% of the resource rooms (n=96) incomparison 35.1% (n=52) not offering such services.
Among those offering counseling, staff backgrounds
included'elementary
schoolteacher'(n=76),'kindergarten teacher' (n=14), 'nursery teacher' (n=3),'speech therapist' (n=3), and 'Others' (n=7). Resource
rooms offering services can be divided into those where
elementary school teachers also deal with preschoolers
in comparison to those where additional staffs areallocated to handle preschoolers.
Based on the above results, we can classify resource
rooms into three groups based on whether or notcounseling services are offered, and whether or not staff
members specifically in charge of preschoolers areallocated.
Group A: Educational counseling and guidance
provided by staff specifically in charge of preschoolers.
Group B: Educational counseling and guidance
provided by elementary school teacher without any
additional staff.
Group C: Educational counseling and guidance notprovided.
The distribution of replies was 18.9% (n=28) forGroup A, 46.0% (n=68) for Group B, and 35.1% (n=52)
for Group C (See Fig.1).
Approximately 65% of resource rooms (Groups A and
B) offer services for preschoolers, but in many of them,elementary school teachers without any additional staff
are dealing with preschoolers in a manner that does notinterfere with their main job handling schoolchildren.
[3] Characteristics of Educational Counseling andGuidance for Preschool Children
We asked in Question 4, 'Please give your opinions on
the merits and demerits of offering educationalcounseling and guidance for preschool children.'We
classified the freely written answers and examined thedifferences among answers according to whether or not
additional staffs were present (Group A vs. Group B).
(1) The Merits of Educational Counseling andGuidance for Preschool Children
The answers regarding the merits of educationalcounseling were classified into four categories: 'earlyintervention', 'preparation for schooling', 'regarding
parents', and 'other.' The following are the majoranswers in each category.
The answer category 'early intervention' includes
answers such as 'early improvement or quick recovery'

19%
Group AGroup Ｂ
Group Ｃ35%

46%

Fig 1: Implementation of Educational Counseling andGuidance for Preschool Children
and 'effective if started early'.
The answer category 'preparation for schooling' also
implies 'the ability to offer consistent guidance'. Actual
answers include, 'can continue to receive services after
entering a school', 'can continue the same guidance
policies', 'can cater to the needs of a child via aclassroom teacher since the school had known the childbefore starting school.' There are also answers such as,'can obtain information for deciding upon a school for achild', and 'can plan the number of children who willattend resource room for a next year.'Among the merits for parents mentioned by the staff
include, 'can consult how to deal with a child', 'canconsult regarding child rearing', 'can receive information
on disabilities', and 'can receive detailed guidance inchoosing a school.'
The 'other' category answers include, 'can meetvarious types of children and their parents', 'can learn
about developmental psychology', and 'can coordinate
efforts with other local institutions.'
Regarding the merits of school counseling, there wasno significant difference in replies according to whether
or not additional staffs were present (Group A vs. GroupB); both groups gave similar replies.
(2) The Demerits of Educational Counseling andGuidance for Preschool Children
Answers regarding the demerits of school counselingwere classified into three categories in order of
frequency mentioned: 'job descriptions and clericalproblems', 'guidance content for preschool children', and'other.'The category 'job descriptions and clerical problems'
includes answers such as 'preschoolers are not officiallycounted as students who can receive services', 'busy','Unable to receive support from school staff (that is,preschool counseling not part of their job description)',and 'budgetary problems.'- 22 -

The Role of Resource Rooms in Educational Counseling(2) With a Dedicated Staff Member at a Preschool
Division Established in an Elementary School
In this case, the service is officially located in thepreschool division of the resource rooms and usually has
a name like "Preschool Division of the 'Resource room'
in Elementary School A." The staff are kindergarten
teachers, or those with professional qualifications sent by
the Board of Education.
(3) With a Dedicated Staff Member at a Kindergarten
adjacent to an Elementary School
In this case, the class is placed in a kindergarten andthe service has a name such as 'Resource Room ofKindergarten A'. In some cases, a kindergarten teacher
is sent to an elementary school with a resource rooms
where it is named 'Resource Room of Kindergarten A' .
In other cases, services are offered at a kindergarten next
to the elementary school with a resource room. In bothcases, close communication is kept between the two
resource rooms and the staffs are kindergarten teachers.
(4) With a Dedicated Staff Member in a 'Special Class'conducted by a Municipality
In this case, there are two types. The first type is a
'special class' conducted by a municipality, or a parent
association and is established in an elementary schoolwith a resource room. In the second type, an elementary
school teacher is sent to the 'special class' of amunicipality located outside of the school and he or she
provides guidance with the staff for preschoolers. The
staffs in both cases are nursery teachers, or municipal
employees.

The category 'guidance content for preschool children'
also includes anxieties and problems such as 'have
worries regarding guidance content and the evaluation ofpreschoolers', and'am not a preschool children
specialist.'
The 'other' category includes 'school placement isdifficult if one already knows the parents', 'no need tocome to the resource room once preschool training iscomplete', and 'how to deal with children with a variety
of disabilities or marginally handicapped children.'
When the demerits listed are examined according towhether or not dedicated counseling staff are present(Group A vs. Group B), Group A mentioned 'guidancecontent for preschoolers' often while only one
commented 'job descriptions and clerical problems.' Incontrast, Group B mentioned 'job descriptions andclerical problems' more frequently while only a few
responded with 'guidance content for preschoolers', or'other'. In response to the question on demerits, 64% ofGroup A (18 out of 28) wrote nothing while only 32% ofGroup B (22 out of 68) did so.
5) Analysis and Conclusion of Study 1[1] Implementation of Educational Counseling andGuidance for Preschool Children
The implementation of educational counseling andguidance in resource rooms of elementary schools
revealed that only few offer educational counseling andguidance with a staff specifically in charge ofpreschoolers and more than half offer educationalcounseling and guidance for preschoolers by resource
rooms teachers in the elementary school within thelimitations allowed by their main role. This indicatesthat a major portion of the educational counseling andguidance for preschoolers in resource rooms are offeredbecause of direct pleas from parents, without a staff
specifically in charge of preschoolers being allocated.
After the questionnaires were collected, weinterviewed the respondents of Group A (the group witha staff member specifically in charge of preschoolers) on
the realities of resource rooms to learn in detail about
educational counseling and guidance for preschoolers inresource rooms. As a result, we were able to categorize
resource rooms with a dedicated staff member forpreschoolers into four types according to the jobclassification of the staff and the location of counselingand guidance sites.
(1) With a Dedicated Staff Member in the Elementary
School Classroom
In this case, the service is not presented officially as'for preschool children', but services are offered by ateacher dedicated to teaching preschoolers. The staffs
are teachers of public nurseries, or municipal employees.

[2] Characteristics of Educational Counseling andGuidance for Preschool Children
For the resource room of an elementary school to offer
educational counseling and services for preschoolers
means that it provides children, parents, and the staff
with a variety of benefits such as early intervention,
consistent guidance, information on disabilities, andchild-care advice.
The staff listed as demerits in such teaching situations,job descriptions and clerical problems and the content of
guidance for preschoolers. Regarding the question
requesting comments on the demerits of resource rooms,
64% of Group A and 32% of Group B wrote nocomments. If we interpret the lack of comments as 'noapparent demerits', regarding educational counseling andguidance for preschoolers 'no apparent demerits' areperceived more by Group B than Group A staff. Thisimplies that Group B staff are conducting educationalcounseling and guidance, but under more difficult
circumstances.
Group B where resource rooms do not have a staff
member dedicated to preschoolers have a variety of- 23 -

Michiyo Kobayashi & Shigeki Kuboyama
Most replies expressed the parents' state of mind,
conveying a sense of gratitude such as 'thanks', 'muchappreciated', 'helpful', 'satisfied', and 'reliable.'In
contrast, some replies reflected complaints such as'anxiety' and 'tiresome report writing' (probably referring
to writing the daily communication notebook).
Many parents listed reasons why they felt gratitude
toward the resource room: They used expressions suchas 'looking forward to', 'joyfully', 'free and easy' indescribing the behavior of their children.
The parents' detailed comments could be classified
into four categories according to their content: 'forparents', 'for children', 'cooperation', and 'information'.
The actual answers are detailed below.
(1) For Parents
First, there are comments mentioning the value ofparents getting to know each other: 'It's good to know
other mothers with whom one can share problems','Discussion with other mothers is quite good', 'Meetingother parents is helpful', 'I enjoy talking with mothersfrom other schools too', 'We have get-togethers withother parents frequently and we don't have to feel alone
with our problems', and 'It's good to exchange
information.' In contrast, there were comments longing
for exchanges with other parents: 'It's sad that we don't
have get-togethers with other mothers and fathers any
more', 'It's regrettable that we mothers don't talk muchwith each other' and 'It's unfortunate that the mothers
class was cancelled.'
There were comments indicating that mothers seek
advice from resource room teachers regarding issues
other than their child's disability: 'Teachers listen to myother problems', 'I consult with teachers about myproblems’, 'I seek advice for child care problems otherthan disability-related issues', 'Teachers listen to themental side of problems also', 'I seek advice for a variety
of issues', 'Parents receive mental health care also', 'It isreassuring that I feel I can consult with teachers when aproblem arises', 'Since teachers calmly listen and advise
me, I feel relieved', and 'Teachers treat my problem as if
it were their own.' At the same time, there werecomments such as, 'It would be better if teachers had
more time to listen to our problems more deeply.'
Comments such as these reflect an unfulfilled desire forresource rooms to play a consultation function.
Some comments described the resource room as aplace in which they could feel secure, or obtain relief:'Teachers keep kindly eyes on Child', 'It's a reliable place
not only for my child, but also for myself', 'We can befrank there and teachers accept our problems with awarm heart', 'They are a dependable source of support',
and 'They are a psychological tranquilizer for my childand myself.'

problems: The teacher is over-worked and under stressand there are inadequate teaching resources due to thelack of a separate budget for preschoolers. Yet, we see
the reality of those resource rooms offering a service in
response to requests from children and parents in thecommunity.
3. Study 2: Requests Made of Resource Rooms by
Parents
In Study 1, we clarified how resource rooms offer
educational counseling and guidance to preschoolers andwhat kind of problems they face. In Study 2, we will
clarify what kind of opinions parents of students
attending resource rooms in elementary schools haveregarding the class. Based on their opinions, we will
guess what parents of preschool children expect fromresource rooms.
This paper will report on a part of the survey wedirected toward parents of students attending resource
rooms ("Survey on education and intervention during thepreschool period"7)) regarding opinions on their resource
rooms and examine their requests made of their resource
rooms.
1) Subjects
Respondents were parents of 'resource room' children(speech impairment and hearing impairment) at sevenelementary schools. A regional breakdown is two
schools in Tohoku, three in Kanto, one in Chubu, andone in Chugoku.
2) Procedure
The survey used a written questionnaire.
Thequestionnaire was distributed to parents via 'resource
room' staff. Parents mailed their questionnaires to theauthors.
3) Period
The questionnaire was distributed in November 1998
and collected by the end of January 1999.
4) Questionnaire Outline
All six questions of the questionnaire asked
respondents for free-form answers. This paper will
examine their answers to Question 6, 'Please write what
you are thinking about the resource rooms that yourchild is currently attending.'
5) Results
The response rate was 47.0% (n=117). We classified
parents' answers according to their contents.

- 24 -

The Role of Resource Rooms in Educational Counselingbeen proven academically', and 'I want to know where
we can get our child examined.

(2) For Children (Comments by parents)
Many commented on guidance, particularly on what achild is involved in during the resource room period.
Most expressed an understanding of the guidance offeredat school: 'Teachers introduce what my child needs at theappropriate point in time for his learning', 'Guidance torelax a child's mind through play is helpful', 'My child's
pronunciation has improved', 'Teachers develop acurriculum for each child', and 'They teach through whatchildren are interested in.' In contrast, other comments
indicated that guidance policies are not wellcommunicated to parents: 'The contents are the same as
an ordinary class', 'I felt certain things werequestionable', 'It seems that the children are just playing','The teaching contents need improvement', 'I want to see
the actual training by myself', and 'I feel a little uneasy
because the children seem to be just playing.'
Furthermore, there were comments regarding the ways
in which staff make contact with children: 'Teachers arepatient in listening to what my child is saying', 'I feelencouraged by the teachers' attitude of solving problems
one by one together with my child', 'My child canconfide anything to the teacher because he can talk to heralone and he trusts her', 'The teacher talks to children
from their perspective and deals with them with all her
ability', 'In the class, the teacher respects the will of achild', 'The teacher should consider what children want',
and 'The teacher needs to capture a child's heart whentalking to him.'(3) Cooperation
Some parents mentioned the utility of having resource
rooms as part of the school organization: 'The resource
room teacher always lets me know what she asked theordinary classroom teacher to do for my child', 'The
resource rooms teacher plays a strong communicationrole between the school and me', 'I feel more relaxedwith the resource room because it's not a hospital', and'The classroom teacher, the resource rooms teacher, andmyself can openly discuss my child's problems in his
ordinary classroom.' In contrast, other parents pointedout the lack of communication between the classroom
teacher and the resource room' teacher: 'I want theresource room teacher and the classroom teacher tocommunicate more closely', and 'I want the classroom
teacher to understand the circumstances of my child.'(4) Information
Some comments revealed that parents see the resource
room as a place for them to obtain knowledge on
disabilities: 'Teachers can give me their professional
opinions', 'I understood how to accept stuttering', and 'I
learn a lot at parent meetings where I can listen totechnical talk.' In contrast, some parents expressed their
desire for such information: 'I want to listen to what has6) Analysis and Conclusion of Study 2[1] Roles Parents Expect the Resource Room to PlayThe question we asked respondents was, 'Pleasewrite what you are thinking regarding the resource
room your child attends.'
After answers wereanalyzed, it became clear what kind of roles parents
expect their resource rooms to play.
As Figure .2 illustrates, the content of parents'
expectations can be classified roughly into 4 areas; 1) for
parents ('get-together of parents,' 'an advisory site fordisabilities as well as for a variety of issues', and 'a
secure place'), 2) for children ('guidance' and 'appropriate
assistance'), 3) cooperation ('located within a school'),and 4) information ('offering professional knowledge').
In other words, parents expect the resource room to playthese roles.
[2] The Resource Room from the Perspective of Parents
with Preschool Children
Respondents of Study 2 are parents of school-age
children and similar findings are expected from parents
with preschool children as well. When we consider thecontents of Figure 2 from the perspective of parents withpreschool children, requests for a meeting site forparents, a consultation site for various issues in addition
to disabilities, a place of security, a guidance place forchildren, and a site for appropriate handling are allappropriate. Regarding cooperation, since the children
are preschoolers, it is necessary for the resource room
staff to maintain close communication with nurseries andkindergartens, medical institutions, early intervention
centers, and child consultation centers.
As forinformation, parents with preschoolers need information
on, not only disabilities, but also on welfare programs, or
general child care, more than parents with school age
children. The roles for the resource room which parents
with preschoolers seek converge roughly into the same
four areas with the roles parents with school-age children
seek seen in Figure 2.
4. Overall Analysis
Study 1 clarified issues involving resource rooms
offering educational counseling to preschoolers, while
Study 2 examined what parents expect from resource
rooms. Based on results of the two studies, we willconsider from the following perspectives what kind ofplace the resource room should be as a community-based
educational counseling site for young children. First, we
will examine the issues and roles of resource rooms- 25 -

Michiyo Kobayashi & Shigeki Kuboyama

For parents

For children-

Get-together site for parents-

Advisory site for disabilities as well as various issues-

A secure place-

A place to receive guidance
A place to receive appropriate handling/assistance-

Located within a school-

Offering professional knowledge

Resource rooms
Cooperation

Information

Fig 2: Expectations of the Resource Roomwhich accept preschoolers. Second, we will examine
how resource rooms should act in consideration of therealities of the local early intervention system andmother-child health care system. Then, we will consider
what kind of 'community-based counseling center role',
each educational institution should play and how
educational counseling for young children in resource
rooms should be carried-out.

for parents. Investigated recent research literature on thecare of parents whose children are toddlers 9) and felt theneed to actually duplicate their findings, and toemphasize the importance in providing care for parents.
By lowering the age for children to attend the resource
rooms, elementary school teachers teaching in resource
rooms without personnel specifically assigned forpreschoolers will be most likely overburdened. As
Study 1 found, elementary schoolteachers are uneasy
about guidance and evaluation of preschoolers since they
do not have expertise in teaching young children. Yet,they are still required to offer such services. Even withadditional staff assigned to preschoolers, resource rooms
are expected to face more difficult requests and ademand regarding the professional qualifications of theirstaff as resource rooms becomes counseling sites for avariety of disabilities as well as topics not limited todisabilities.
Study 2 also found that parents seek professional
knowledge and information from personnel in the
resource room. With the inclusion of preschoolers inresource rooms, in addition to school-age children,
resource rooms teachers need to expand theirinformation and institutional networking to include childcare support. A variety of child care support systems are
currently being established as Japanese society
undergoes major changes, such as a declining birthrate,
the trend toward nuclear families, or the increasing
number of working mothers. Teachers need to obtainrelevant information and offer it to parents.

1) Increase of Children Requiring Service
When we consider issues and roles of the resource
room when it accepts preschoolers, there are threeperspectives; 'parents', 'children', and 'local community.'
Study 2 found that the resource rooms play the role ofan exchange site for parents. Many previous studies
have pointed-out the importance of get-togethers ofparents who have children with disabilities.16) By
widening the range of children attending the resource
rooms, get-togethers for parents will have greater
significance. Parents of school age children may
remember their past and talk about their experiences
while parents of preschool children will use suchdiscourse as a reference point for predicting the future of
their own children. The resource room will assume an
important place as a location for parents with children ofdifferent ages to get together.
Parents also see the resource room as a counselingsite, not only for disabilities, but also a wider range of
topics - as well as a site of security. In Study 1, the staff
listed the benefits for parents in that they could discuss
how to handle their children, or they could seek advice
about bringing-up in general because the staffs havebeen involved with the same children since they werepreschoolers. Thus, the wider the age range of children
attending resource rooms, the more important is the care

2) Early Intervention System in a Community andthe Resource Room
We use the phrase "community-based", but it is
impossible to make general recommendations because- 26 -

The Role of Resource Rooms in Educational Counselingrooms in Hokkaido belonged to Group A. The report,"Realities and Issues of the Iwamizawa 'Resource Room'for the speech impaired "13), describes the role theresource room plays as a part of the child care support
system.
Ohtsu1) and Kita-Kyushu Cities15) are currently
carrying-out early intervention programs.
As forresource rooms offering counseling services topreschoolers, programs have been reported in Kobe
City21), Shizuoka Prefecture23), and Iwaki City5). These
resource rooms are engaged in community-based
educational counseling for young children.
As mentioned previously, educational counseling foryoung children requires not only taking care of thechildren but also dealing with their families. It is
desirable to establish a system where children withdisabilities and their families do not hesitate to ask forcounseling and prepare an environment in which they
can lead active lives in the community. It is important
for the primary institution in particular to offer extensive
and flexible services that accept all parents expressing
anxiety regarding disabilities or child care, disregarding
the boundaries of the current legal framework as well as
the vertical administrative system.

the realities of each community differ. Establishment
and practice of an early intervention program in
Hokkaido can be used as a point of reference when we
think about how to understand a community and how tobuild a system in that community.20)
A unit of an early intervention system is not an
administrative, bureaucratic unit, but is a concept
constantly changing due to various factors such asavailability of social resources, size, distribution anddensity of the population, accessibility, and theconditions of residential districts. The objectives ofcommunity intervention programs are achieved by,"making the best of a layered structure of primary,secondary, and tertiary tiered institutions as well as aflexible approach with respect to related institutions."(Hokkaido Association for the Study of Early
Intervention Programs, ed., 1999) 20) The primary
institutions are characterized by their proximity tolocations where services are offered, speed in handlingrequests, and daily routine, which all are common or
shared with services to the general public. Secondary
institutions are intermediate technical institutions for
professional checkups, diagnosis, continued guidance,and drug administration. They play the role of guidanceand support for primary institutions. Tertiary institutions
are characterized by advanced and integrated check-up,
diagnosis, and test facilities as well as information center
capability.
Itoh et al.3) state that the early intervention system in
Hokkaido was developed to fit the realities of thecommunity due to the sheer vastness of the area. They
wrote:For example, in communities where the resource
rooms are firmly rooted, they play the role of 'a
jack-of-all-trades', handling everything fromcounseling for a variety of issues to earlyintervention programs for preschoolers. In anothercase, an institution, which originally started as a
training center for polio victims, changed its
functions over time to treat children suffering from
Down syndrome, mental retardation, and autism.
When building an early intervention system in
Hokkaido, actual practice was given priority. Thisis based on the belief that these practices, however
insignificant when seen from an idealistic
perspective, were needed as long as they wererooted in the community and it was necessary toconsider them as centers when trying to develop an
early intervention system.
Based on such beliefs, it can be concluded that resource
rooms have been playing the role of a primary
institution, that is, an institution firmly rooted in thecommunity. In Study 1, we also found that resource3) Mother-Child Health Care System
When integrating the resource room into an earlyintervention system, it is necessary to consider
relationships with existing mother-child health careprograms. Figure 3 shows the mother-child health caresystem from pregnancy to the start of school and thissystem plays the role of a bridge to the early intervention
system. Even before the birth of a child, public healthnurses at a health center will start forming relationships
with parents on occasions such as parental classes. Afterbirth, the relationship with the health center willcontinue to strengthen through newborn home visits,
infant check-ups, 1.5 yearly check-ups, three year checkups, and in some communities, dental check-ups. At thesame time, parents begin a relationship with a medical
institution via pregnancy check-ups, delivery, infant
health advice, and vaccinations. Then, at appropriate
times, parents are introduced to a child-care support
center, an early intervention center, or another guidance
center for counseling and guidance.
Shimada12) in introducing the early intervention
system in Zushi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, wrote:
It is necessary to systematically coordinate theresponses of related institutions to respond to thevariety of needs that children with disabilities andtheir families have.
In Japan, a verticallyadministrated bureaucracy produces harmful effects- 27 -

Michiyo Kobayashi & Shigeki Kuboyama

Pregnancy Report

Medical institutions

Mother and Child Health Handbook issued (Health center)
Prenatal class for parents(Health center / Medical institution)

Health center
Child care support group

Birth Report

Child consultation center

Birth Newborn home visit (Health center)1 month check-up (Medical institution)
4 month check-up (Health center)6 month check-up ~Health counseling (Medical institution)

Welfare officeRehabilitation center
Early intervention center
Facilities for children with
Special needs

18 month check-up (Health center)(2 year dental check-up (Health center))
3 year check-up (Health center)(Special) education center
Nursery Center4 year
5 yearCheck-up before starting school

Kindergarten
Elementary school

Special classresource rooms

Special school

Fig 3: Child's Age and Related Institutions
Note:
Based upon a nationally established system, Mother and Child Health Handbook is issued to a woman who reports apregnancy. The book is organized to record not only the pregnancy and delivery, but also child care in a consistentmanner. It contains not only entries for medical records of a mother during pregnancy and of the child's vaccinationand check-up profile, but also instructional materials on child care. The book is widely used.
- Article 16 of the Maternal and Child Health Law- Latest revision date in April 2002
- Municipalities became the issuing body from September 2000.
and many communities suffer from a lack of
coordination among related institutions. For suchinstitutions to be actively coordinated in theiractivities, a central person who can act as a key
manager should be appointed and a treatmentcommittee consisting of members from related
institutions should be established.

system is, a resource room starting educationalcounseling for preschoolers independently may give rise
to confusion in some communities. The most importantcriteria when a resource room offers educationalcounseling for preschoolers is that the staff fully
understand the existing mother-child health care system
as well as the welfare system, and that they clarify therole divisions with other institutions and maintain
coordinating efforts.

When a community has many institutions, it is difficultfor individual parents to effectively use a variety of
institutions and the existence of a key person playing therole of coordinator is important. In Zushi City, publichealth nurses work as key persons. Since public nurses
start a relationship with parents even before a birth of thechild, it would appear to be appropriate for them to playthat role.
When the resource room opens its door to preschool
children, it will enter the realm of an already establishedsystem for the mother-child health care. However
insufficient the current status of the early intervention4) Coordination with Other Educational
Institutions
The Course of Study for kindergarten, elementary, andsecondary departments of special schools all state thatspecial schools should "play the role of a special
education counseling center in a community."At the same time, kindergartens are sought to play therole of a preschool education center in the community.
The Course of Study for Kindergarten, which wasenacted in April 2000, prescribes that, "Kindergartens- 28 -

The Role of Resource Rooms in Educational Counselingunderstand what kind of functions existing various
institutions in a community play in counseling andguidance for preschoolers. Resource rooms should
increase their networking with other institutions in thecommunity by making the best of their strengths as apart of a school and steadily increasing the range ofchildren for whom they offer counseling services.
Simply, an increase in available institutions andprograms will only confuse parents, which will not help
them in the final analysis.

should make efforts to play the role of a preschool
education center in a community." For example, their
management should open its facilities and functions tocommunity residents for child-care support and respondto inquiries on preschool education.
Further, the Course of Guidance for Nurseries which
was modified in October 1999 states, "Nurseries should
offer counseling and advice on infant and toddler care
actively as the child welfare institution most closely
rooted in a community with child care experts, to theextent that daily tasks are not effected." It further wrote
regarding care of children with disabilities:
Nurseries should coordinate their activities with othereducational institutions in the community, which accept
children with disabilities and offer educationalcounseling and advice and seek out opportunities fornormal children to have contact with children withdisabilities. In addition, nursery teachers should advise
other children and their parents to obtain a correctunderstanding of disabilities. Furthermore, when a childwith a disability in a nursery needs to attend an earlyintervention program, the nursery should make theappropriate arrangements with a center offering such a
program.
Educational institutions for toddlers such as
kindergarten and nurseries are expected to play acounseling role for toddlers in the community. There
has also been a report of a case where an educational
center under the control of a local school board isconducting educational counseling for preschoolers.8)
As described earlier, educational counseling forpreschoolers is being sought and is starting at a variety
of institutions. Study 1 also found that more than half ofthe resource rooms offer educational counseling andguidance for preschoolers and that many of them aredoing so without staff specializing in toddlers. Such
resource rooms, however, are facing a variety ofproblems although they started offering these services in
response to the needs of children with disabilities and therequests of their parents. Their problems should be andwill be solved by establishing a community-based earlyintervention and education system. It is important toclarify the local need for educational counseling andguidance for preschoolers in resource rooms, to build asystem which a community can afford, and to establish
human, financial, and physical resources for resource
rooms.
Study 1 also found that early educational counseling atresource rooms is possible when a variety of resources
are available, as is the case for Group A. As yet, wecannot recommend that resource rooms start earlyeducational counseling out of the context of theircommunity. As we discussed earlier, it is necessary to

5. Conclusion
This paper examined the roles of the resource room as
a community-based educational counseling site forpreschoolers, in consideration of previous researchfindings on how resource rooms conduct educationalcounseling and guidance for preschoolers and what kindof expectations parents have of resource rooms.
In our investigation, we found that resource rooms
when starting early educational counseling should
communicate local needs to related institutions as well as
maintain close contact with health, medical, welfare, andeducational institutions in their communities. This isbecause parents will merely be confused if there is no
consistency in guidance among related institutions. Witha lack of coordination between resource rooms and otherexisting counseling institutions for preschoolers, it ispossible that parents will end-up going from institution
to institution. It is not necessarily true that a community
with many counseling sites can offer effective services,or appropriate support.
Consistent handling ofindividual children and clear role divisions among thevarious institutions are issues requiring future
investigation.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank seminar
participants and parents who made contributions to ourstudy as well as collaborators to the 1999 Speech
Impairment Research Group who asked parents toparticipate in our study, distributed questionnaires, andgave advice.
References
1) Asazuma,N.(1981).A Medical Examination for
Developmental Problems in Early Infant at Otsu City.
The Bulletin of the Japanese Association for the
Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency. 2(4),33-48.(InJapanese)2) Ikeda,Y.& Kanno,A.(1986).Early Educational
Intervention for Children with Mental Retardation. The
Journal of Special education.23(4).(In Japanese)- 29 -

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Specific Class for Speech and Hearing Handicapped
Children,94-97.(In Japanese)
14) Shiratori,K.,Ryu,Y.& Mukai,M.(1999).Support
for Preschool Children with Speech and Hearing
handicap. Report of the 28 th Annual Meeting of
Teachers Conference of Specific Class for Speech andHearing Handicapped Children,98-101.(In Japanese)
15) Takamatsu,T.(1990).What is RYOUIKU(Early
Intervention)? Budo-sha.(In Japanese)16) Tada,N.(1998).Supporting Parents. Report of
Current Research “Educational Support for Children
with Communicative Needs”, The National Institute ofSpecial Education,18-20.(In Japanese)17) Tanaka,T.(1998).Roles to Early Education andIntervention: Significance of Preschool Division in“Resource rooms”.Report of Current Research“Educational Support for Children with Communicative
Needs”, The National Institute of Special Education,2122.(In Japanese)18) The Conference of Researchers and Collaborators
for the Improvement of Special Education (1997). For
the Improvement of Special Education (Primary Report).
Special Education Division, Elementary and Secondary
Education Bureau, Ministry of Education. (In Japanese)19) Tomaru,K.(1999). The road to
Resource
room , closing to Children and their Speech. Report ofthe 28 th Annual Meeting of Teachers Conference ofSpecific Class for Speech and Hearing Handicapped
Children,24-27.(In Japanese)
20) Hokkaido Association for the Study of Early
Intervention Programs,ed.(1999). Early Intervenntion
Programs: Building the Hokkaido System and Practices.
Koreru-sya.(In Japanese)21) Hotta,S.(1997). The Current Situation and
Problems of “Resource rooms” in Kobe City. The 35 th
Conference of the Japanese Association of Special
Education.388-389.(In Japanese)22) Matsubara, Y. (1998). Early Education in“Resource rooms”. Report of the 27th Annual Meetingof Teachers Conference of Specific Class for Speech andHearing Handicapped Children,38-41.(In Japanese)23) Yamada,M.&Oguri,S(1998). The Current
Situation and Problems of Specific Room for
Preschoolers with Communicative Needs in Shizuoka
Prefecture. Report of the 27 th Annual Meeting of
Teachers Conference of Specific Class for Speech andHearing Handicapped Children,42-45.(In Japanese)

3)Ito,N.,Kondo,H.,Sasaki,A. & Minakawa,T.(1991).
Attempts to Build a Community-Based Early
Intervention System. The Bulletin of the Japanese
Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency.
13(1),34-41.(In Japanese)
4) Gushiken,K.(1997). Intervention for Preschoolers
with Communicative Needs in Okinawa Prefecture.
Report of the 26th Annual Meeting of Teachers
Conference of Specific Class for Speech and Hearing
Handicapped Children,59-64.(In Japanese)5) Kunitama,Y.(2000). Current Situation and Issues ofSpecial classroom for Preschoolers with Communicative
Needs in Iwaki City. Report of the 29th Annual Meetingof Teachers Conference of Specific Class for Speech andHearing Handicapped Children,84-85.(In Japanese)
6) Kuboyama,S.,Kobayashi,M.& Sugawara,H.(1999).
An Investigation of Intervention for Parents in Early
Childhood. The 37th Conference of the Japanese
Association of Special Education.327.(In Japanese)
7) Kuboyama,S.& Kobayashi,M.(2000). Parental
Intervention in Educational Counselling of Children with
Special Needs in Early Childhood. Bulletin of the
National Institute of Special Education,27,23-33. (InJapanese)8) Kosugi,S.(1999).A Case Study of Early Education
for Children with Speech Retardation. The 37th
Conference of the Japanese Association of Special
Education.152.(In Japanese)
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Support in Early Intervention Intervention Programs forChildren with Special Needs. Bulletin of the National
Institute of Special Education.26,111-118. (In Japanese)10) Kobayashi,M., Kuboyama,S., & Sugawara,H.
(1999). An Investigation of Intervention for Parents in
Early Childhood. The 37th Conference of the Japanese
Association of Special Education.328 (In Japanese)
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Shigeno,S.(1997).How
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and thier Families. The Bulletin of the Japanese
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An Evaluation of Presentation Methods in Multimedia Applications

An Evaluation of Presentation Methods in Multimedia Applications Designed to Help
Teachers of Special Education Choose Appropriate Software Programs1
Munekata Tetsuya
Department of Educational Technology 2
Abstract: The purpose of the present study was to discover a more effective presentation method for making
multimedia applications designed to help special education teachers choose appropriate software programs. Two easyto-evaluate software programs and two different presentation methods such as 1) text + still image, and 2) text + movie+ captions were used. Subjects were 22 teachers of special education who had either developed software programs
themselves, or had used software programs in their teaching. Each subject scored the two software programs under two
conditions. The amount of time required to view the presentations, install the software program, and to complete
evaluation form of it, as well as the evaluation scores and comments made on the programs were analysed. It was foundthat in terms of time taken, Condition 1 was less than Condition 2 (t =3.21, p< .01), in net scoring time (t= 2.58,
p< .05), and there was no significant difference between the scores of two conditions. In terms of time efficiency,
findings indicate that text + still image was more efficient than text + movie + caption. However, these findings arelimited to restricted conditions of easy-to-evaluate software programs and the subjects were all computer literate.
Despite this, most software programs now used in special education are simple to use and the overall level of computer
literacy amongst teachers has been increasing. It is hoped that the results of the present study will help enhance the useof computers in special education.
Key Words: Multimedia, presentation methods, evaluation study, DHTML, SAMI, special education
Choosing suitable software programs is a timeconsuming task for teachers of special education and isforced to use trial and error to find a program suitable
for the needs of the children they teach.
In 1997 Munetaka and Takuma developed andevaluated an HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language)
module introducing 74 educational software programswith movies and text to teachers, but they had not
examined the effects of method of presentation. In recent
years, media technology has made rapid advances withthe emerging technologies. At the present time,
Synchronised Accessible Media Interchange Format(SAMI)3 is available which enables users to use
text/audio data synchronised with video, and Dynamic
HTML, or DHTML4, an extension version of HTMLenabling either the executing of user programs on web
pages, or the addition of multimedia functions to thepage. Using SAMI, a format developed by Microsoft
Corporation in 1998, various independently developed
media such as movies, still images, sound, and text data

can be presented in synchrony. At present, although
SAM1 runs only Microsoft’s Media Player 5.0 or later
versions, it can be used on a Web page implemented by
DHML so the user can integrate various media,
including text, movies, audio narrations, and open
captions. Microsoft Corporation suggests that thistechnology can be effective for the disabled, forexample, the adding of explanatory narration to ordinary
video programs for people who are blind andrepresenting open captions on the screen of ordinary
video programs. In Japan, Takemura (1999) developed amultimedia software program with on-screen captions
using SAMI technology for the learning of mathematics
at a school for the deaf.
It is suggested that adding text data to visual
information is effective, not only for the learning ofchildren with hearing loss, but also it can be useful in avariety of ways for non-disabled children. For example,
non-disabled children can use this technology to

1

Part of this research paper was presented to the 6th Joint Conference on Educational Technology. The paper was delivered under
the title of ‘A Comparison of Two Multimedia Applications Aimed at Helping Teachers of Special education in Selecting Software
Programs.’
2
The name of the department was changed to ‘Educational and Information Technology’ in April 1, 2001. This paper was originallypublished in Japanese in February of 2001.
3
There e is another similar specification to SAMI called SMIL (Synchronised Multimedia Integration Language), composed by
W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), This has been operated in RealPlayer of RealNetworks Inc., as the software program fordelivering and playing movie files on the Internet.
4
DHTML is used for either executing user programs on a web page or adding some multimedia functions to the page. It was
proposed jointly by Microsoft Corporation and the World Wide Web Consortium and utilized on Internet Explore.

- 31 -

Tetsuya Munekata

available software, ` and a nil response for, `I needsomeone who could help me with using computers. `augment or render more precise information access insettings such as noisy environments, or if theinformation is difficult to access in the auditory mode.

Materials
All subjects were mailed, 1) a letter inviting them toparticipate in the study, 2) an outline of how the study
would be conducted, 3) a sample completed evaluation
form, 4) two evaluation forms (one for each program),and 5) a CD-ROM containing introductory programs
made using DHML and HTML, movies, text data, andtwo software programs.

While on the one hand, these new technologies are
expected to be used in application programs for teacher
education, on the other, they require a large number ofdata files as well as human resources to develop. For thedevelopment and effective dissemination of multimedia
applications aimed at helping teachers of special
education with selecting suitable software programs,
there is an urgent need to identify the practicality ofmultimedia applications using these new technologies.

a) The software programs to be evaluated were Software
Program 1, What colour is this part? and Software
Program 2. The same colour. Both programs were newly
written with the expectation that they could be evaluatedin a short period of time. They were interactive andcontained voice data about colors and were focussed on
use in special education.

PurposeThe purpose of the present study was to discover amore effective presentation method aimed at helping
teachers of special education choose appropriate
software programs. Specifically, the purpose was todevelop two introductory programs based on different
presentation methods, viz. text + movie + narrations +open captions and text + still images, and to
experimentally test the effectiveness of these programswith teachers of special education.

b) The introductory programs were based on different
presentation methods. Two types of multimedia
applications introducing software programs weredeveloped. The first contained text, movie clip(s) withnarration and caption for the narration (movie) by meansof DHTML (Dynamic HTML) and SAMI, The second
program written in HTML contained text andstill imagery (still image), and are described below.

MethodSubjects
The subjects were teachers of special education who
had either developed software programs themselves, or
had used software programs in their teaching. The
subjects were mainly selected for a list of teachers who
had completed Educational Technology in-service
training courses at the National Institute of Special
Education and had Windows 95 or 98 with Internet
access installed in their computers at school or home. 34
teachers were invited to participate in the study, but only
22 responded (male = 20, female = 2). One subject wasaged 20 to 29, 14 were aged 30 to 39, and seven wereaged 40 to 49.
12 worked in schools for theintellectually disabled, six in schools for the physicallydisabled, two in schools for the health impaired, threeworked for education of children with emotional
disturbance, one in a school for the visually disabled,
one in a special class in an ordinary school, a school
counsellor, and one teacher teaching disabled children ingeneral.14 subjects had training in the teaching of theintellectually disabled, four in the field of physicaldisability, three in health impairment, two in emotional
disturbance, two in visual disability, and one in multiple
disabilities. In terms of computer literacy of subjects,
nearly 60% (n = 13) responded that, `I can makesoftware programs by myself, ` and rest of all (n = 9)
responded, ` I have no problems in using commercially- 32 -i)

Still image program written in HTML: An
introductory program contained text or
explanation, and the still image was developed
using HTML. (see Figure 1) Still image shows acomputer screen that runs one of the learning
programs, text data provides information about
goals, characteristics, how to use, equipment
required and the authors names. Text dataprepared for software data programs 1 and 2(see Tables 1 and 2), and Still image shows astart screen. And were written in HTML so thatthey could be used by any browser software on
the Internet.

ii)

Movie program written in DHTML and SAMI:
An introductory program using DHTML and
SAMI and containing text or explanation,
movies, narration, and open captions was thedeveloped. (see Figure 2) Although the movie
screen was similar to the still program, theintroduction to the movie started by clicking
mouse on the picture. There were two movie
files each of 72 seconds duration for Software
Program 1 and 69 seconds for Software

An Evaluation of Presentation Methods in Multimedia Applications

SAMI format using OTEGARU SAMI, a SAMI file
generator program. (Takemura, 1998) This allowed users
to choose text colour and display timing. In the present
study, different colours were used for different speakers
so that it was easier to distinguish who is talking then.
DHTML-page designer of Visual Basic 6.0 was used tocreate DHML files.

Program 2. In addition, the introduction
program for Software program 1 contained a
19-second movie segment about the actual useof the program. The introductory programs
were written in DHTML so the Internet
Explorer 4.0 or later versions were required.
Movie and narrations were prepared using RTE-2800,
a real time MPEG encoder unit produced by SONY. The
narrations were typed to text format and changed toc) The evaluation instrument consisted of four sections(see Table 3), namely, 1) time taken to score (related
items I-1, I-2, I-3), 2) Face sheet (related items II-1to II7), 3) evaluation items (related items III-1 & III-11), and4) comments.
A previous study by Takuma, Narita, Nakamura and
Munetaka (1995) establishing levels of computer literacyof subjects was used as the basis for the form. The level,`I have never used computers, ` however, was deleted
from the inventory. The number of criteria for scoring
software programs (e.g. III-1 to III-6, and III-10 was
based on the research literature (see Gakujo-ken, 1992).
The objective statements by subjects (viz. items III-7 to
III-9, and III-11 were used because it was believed thatthese items reflected the actual decision making
processes used by teachers in selecting software
programs. The objective of the comments section was tonot only obtaining evaluation data, but to develop orrevise the programs in the future.

Figure 1. Screen shot of the introduction programfor “text + still image”

Procedure
Each subject was asked to separately evaluate two
software programs after examining the introductory
program of either the still image version, or the movie
version. Each subject was asked to complete theevaluation form after finishing using the learning
software. Subjects were randomly divided into two
Table 1. Text data prepared for software program 1:"What color is this part?"
Purpose: To learn the names of colors using favourite pictures or photos.
Description： Display a favorite picture, or photo on the screen, verbalize the name of the color
as you locate it with the mouse. Three pictures are prepared in default setting and byclicking outside the picture area and the picture are alternated. By clicking on the filemenu you can select any picture on the computer.
How to use：Simply move the cursor on the screen. The computer will verbalize any color you
choose. If you click outside the picture area, the picture/photo will change, and if you
click on the file menu, you can choose any picture on the computer (a teacher can help
you do this, if required).
Results(trial)： A child used the mouse and listened to the computerized vocalizations andenjoyed it very much. Using a digital camera, photos were taken of the child’s favourite
fruit and people with whom she was familiar.
Equipments：Microsoft Windows, PC with sound card, speakers. Visual Basic ver. 6.0 (forprogramming language).
Developer：MUNEKATA Tetsuya & OOMAKI Mariko
Contact Address：NISE, 5-1-1, Nobi, Yokosuka. Phone :+81(468)48-4121- 33 -

Tetsuya Munekata

Figure 2. Screen shot of the introduction
program for “text + movie + captions”

Table 2. Text data prepared for software program 2:" Same Color"

Purpose: To learn names of colors and develop eye-hand coordination through the activity that fillingtree squares on the screen in the same color.
Description： Designed to motivate the learners. For example, the color of a square on the screenchanging randomly and teacher’s voice read aloud the name of the color repeatedly. Backgroundcolor of the screen set in black so that the squares are highlighted
How to use：Simply touch or click on your mouse at one of the three squares on the screen. Do it until
all the three boxes became the same color. If you touch the start button located upper left side of
the screen, you can start the program again (A teacher can help doing this part, if needed.)
Results(trial)： A child touched the panel and listen to the voices and enjoyed seeing changing colors
on the screen. He liked the voice “Good job! Very good!” as a knowledge of results very much andsaid “I did it!, I did it!” with satisfaction, further more, he said “Yes !” replying to computer’s
voice “Let’s do it again!”.
Equipments：Microsoft Windows, PC with sound card, touch panel, and speakers. Visual Basic ver.
6.0 (for programming language).
Developer：original MS-DOS program made by UOZUMI Takashi and revised windows version madeby MUNEKATA Tetsuya
Contact Address：NISE, 5-1-1, Nobi, Yokosuka. Phone:+81(468) 48-4121- 34 -

An Evaluation of Presentation Methods in Multimedia Applications

software program 0 to 100, ` (n1 = 11, n2 = 11, T1 =153.5, U1 = 33.5, p<0.1). There were also no significant
differences between the two conditions on the total of 22
items of the scale. Differences between the scored data
under the two presentation methods are listed in Table 4.

groups, Group A and Group B, to experimentally
evaluate the two learning software programs using two
different presentation methods.
On the one hand, each subject In-Group A was
required to evaluate Software Program 2 by using themovie format and Software Program 1 in still image. On
the other hand, each member of Group B was required toevaluate Software Program 1 by using the movie format
and Software Program 2 in still image.
Although it was felt desirable to conduct each evaluation
task in the same setting (e.g. an equipment room, etc.),
because it was impractical to gather all 22 subjects
together in the same location, all required materials were
forwarded to subjects by mail to complete in their own
time. Statistical tests used in this study were based on
Iwahara(1965) and the computer program EXCEL by
Microsoft.

Comments`It was easy to understand,``It was nice to see alearning example,` `The example may help me withknowing how to use the software program in theclassroom,` `It might be a good hint for the user,` and`It was good because it was colourful and simple touse by clicking the mouse,` for the movie version.
‘It was simple to read,` `too simple compared withanother one (movie version),` `It will be better if you
can put movies of the actual scene or use targetedchildren,` `It will be better if you can put an
explanation of the programs directly on to the image,``You need to put arrows if you want to explain
something,` `There are not very many people to readthe text carefully, and impact and fun should be
added’ for the still image version.

Results
Subjects were randomly assigned to two groups,
Group A and Group B. There was no significant
difference between groups on level of computer literacy(n1 = 11, N2 = 11, T1 = 132, U1 = 55), and on age level(n1 = 11, n2 = 11, T1 = 117.5, U1 = 69.5). The sex
ratio of the groups was the same.

There are comments common to the two programs
as follows. `There are some difficulties inunderstanding terms if the user is a novice, either inthe use of computers or in special education,` `Hints
for instructions are needed,` `It would be better if you
put in many more example lessons,` `You should
describe the needs of the targeted children moreclearly,` `Descriptions of needed equipment require
additional information,` `Please inform available
graphic formats for the program,` `You should add
game-like features to the introductory program itself,``Titles should be more visible,` and `Please add
information about the location of servers for graphic
data.` Even though subjects were asked to commenton only the introductory programs, eight subjects
commented on the learning programs.

Scoring time
There were two parts to analysis of scoring time, 1)
net scoring time, and 2) overall scoring time. Net scoringtime was defined as the time required to evaluate thesoftware program under the run setting, Before theevaluation, each subject viewed either text + movie +captions, or text + still image applications. The overallscoring time was viewing time plus net scoring time.
Net scoring time (M = 649, SD = 547) for text + still
image, and for text + movie + captions (M = 794, SD =668). Net scoring time of text + still image was lessthan net scoring time of text + movie + captions(t=2.58, .1<p<.05). The actual difference ranged from –300 seconds to +900 seconds (M = 145, SD = 263).
Overall the scoring time of text + still image was lessthan text + movie + captions (t=3.21, p<. 01).

In summary, there were more positive comments
about the movie version comapred with the still image
version. However there is no indication that this result
is reflected in the scores of the programs.

ScoresEach subject was asked to complete a Likert scale foreach of the first 10 items followed by scoring thesoftware program from 0 to 100 points. Software
Programs 1 and 2 were analyzed separately between two
conditions, text + movie + captions, and text + still
image. There was no significant difference between two
items in Software Program 2; viz. `(N)eeded operation
for the learner was appropriate? ` (n 1 = 11, n2 = 11, T1= 153, U1 = 34, p<0.1), and `Please make rating theDiscussion
This study examined the differences between two
presentation methods, movie and still image,
implemented by multimedia applications aimed at
helping teachers of special education choose
appropriate software programs. In terms of time
efficiency and needed scoring time, the maxim is `the- 35 -

Tetsuya Munekata

Table 3. Evaluation Form

Name of Software Program: “Same Color Ver. 1.0A”
Ⅰ-1 Starting time for introduction part｛｝:｛｝; Completing time ｛｝:｛｝Ⅰ-2 Starting time for installation ｛
｝:｛
｝;
｝:｛
｝
Completing time ｛Ⅰ-3 Starting time for learning part｛｝:｛｝; Completing time｛｝:｛｝Ⅱ-1 Male｛ ｝ Female｛ ｝
Ⅱ-2 Age level 20-29 ｛ ｝; 30-39｛ ｝; 40-49｛ ｝; 50-59｛ ｝; 60-69｛ ｝
Ⅱ-3 Disability field of your school ｛｝Ⅱ-4 Disability field of your profession｛｝Ⅱ-5｛ ｝ I can make software programs by myself.
Ⅱ-6｛ ｝ I have no problems in using commercially available software.
Ⅱ-7｛ ｝ I need someone to help me with using computers.
Ⅲ-１．Do you understand the purpose/goal of the software?
Yes, very well |―|―|―0―|―|―|No, nearly not at all
Ⅲ-２．Do you understand the special features of the software?
No, nearly not at all |―|―|―0―|―|―| Yes, very well
Ⅲ-３．Do you understand how to use the software?
No, nearly not at all |―|―|―0―|―|―| Yes, very well
Ⅲ-４．Are the operations need to use this software appropriate for your learners?
Yes, indeed|―|―|―0―|―|―|No, not at all
Ⅲ-5 Is it easy to understand the graphic representation/audio representation?
Yes, indeed |―|―|―0―|―|―|No, not at all
Ⅲ-６．Is the feedback given to the learners effective?
Strongly agree|―|―|―0―|―|―|Strongly disagree
Ⅲ-７．Do you think the software is effective for learning?
Yes, indeed |―|―|―0―|―|―| No, not at all
Ⅲ-８．Do you wish to use the software programs in your classroom?
No, not at all|―|―|―0―|―|―|Yes, indeed
Ⅲ-９．Would you recommend this software to your colleagues?
Yes, very much |―|―|―0―|―|―|No, never.
Ⅲ-１０．Is it easy for you to install the software?
It was very difficult|―|―|―0―|―|―|It was very easy
Ⅲ-11 Please score the effectiveness of this program on a scale of 100 points. It’s「Finally, please write your comments on the introduction program.
Positive points of the introduction program:
Needed improvements:

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

- 36 -」.

An Evaluation of Presentation Methods in Multimedia Applications

overall scoring time plus amount of time of movie
clips of its counter presentation. Even so, the net
scoring time of the still image was significantly lessthan that of the movie. There could be some possible
answer for it, such as effects of some kinds of emotion
related issues, redundant activities or cognitive
process, and recalling or comparing process of themovie viewed just before. Further research studies areneeded for this part.
For overall, because of the fact that still image wasmore effective in time efficiency and there were no
significant differences in scores between theconditions, it can be assumed that the still image wasmore efficient than the movie.

shorter the better, ` if only there was no significant
difference in scores between the conditions. As seen in
the comments, the movie was the preferred option ofsome subjects. However, these positive reactions
towards multimedia applications did not influence thescoring of the software programs itself.
As the movie contained a 91 second segment in
Software Program 1 and a 69 second segment in
Software Program 2, the duration of viewing time forthis type was, as would be expected, longer than that of
the still image. The still image had a slight advantage(viz. 69 sec. and 91 sec.). Raw data indicated that thetime difference between movie and still image was 142
seconds in mean value. This is still longer than 91
seconds. However, from the statistical point of view, foroverall scoring time, there was no significant difference
between them using data as follows. Movie: overallscoring time vs. still image:
Table 4.
Items

Differences between the scored data under the two presentation methods
Software program 1:"What color is this part?"

Software program 2:"Same Color ""still image""movie""still image""movie"Mdn[quartile]

Mdn[quartile]

Mdn[quartile]

Mdn[quartile]

U valuelevel ofsgnificanceU value

Ⅲ-１．Do you
understand the purpose/
goal of the software?

6[6, 7]

6[6, 7]

61.5

6[6, 6.5]

6[6, 6.75]

58.5

Ⅲ-２．Do you
understand special
features of the software?

6[6, 6.75]

6[6, 7]

67.5

6[5, 6]

6[5, 6.5]

58

Ⅲ-３．Do you
understand how to use
the software?

6[5, 6]

6[5, 7]81

6[6, 7]

7[6.25, 7]

43.5

6[5.75, 6]

5[3.5, 6]34

6[5, 6]5.5[5, 6]

57.5

5[4, 6]3[2.5, 6]

41.5

3[2, 5]

6[3.25, 6.5]

41

Ⅲ-６．Is the feedback
given to the learners
effective?

5[3.25, 5.5]

4[3, 5.5]

57.5

5[3.5, 6]

5[3, 5.5]

52.5

Ⅲ-７．Do you think thesoftware is effective forthe learning?

6[4.5, 6.5]

5[3.5, 6]45

6[4, 6]6[5.75, 6]

48

Ⅲ-８．Do you wish to
use the software
programs in yourclassroom?

6[5.5, 7]

5[3, 6.5]42

6[5, 6.5]

7[5.25, 7]

49.5

Ⅲ-９．Would you
recommend this software
to your colleagues?

5[4.5, 7]

5[3, 6.5]

46

6[5.5, 6]

6[4.75, 7]

54

Ⅲ-１０．Is it easy for
you to install thesoftware?

6[5, 6]

5[4, 6.5]

57

4[3, 6]

5[4, 6.25]

46.5

Ⅲ-11 Please score theeffectiveness of thisprogram on a scale of
100 points.

80[73, 85]

60[55, 80]

33.5

70[65, 80]

75[70, 88]

43

Ⅲ-４．Are theoperations need to use
this software appropriate
for your learners?
Ⅲ-5 Is it easy tounderstand the graphic
representation / audio
representation?

- 37 -

p<.10

p<.10

level ofsgnificanceTetsuya Munekata

Nationwide Survey on Computers and Related
Issues in Schools in Japan],Monbusho,1999.
5) Munekata Tetsuya, Nakamura Hitoshi, Takuma
Shimpei:
Shogai-ji
gakushu-yo
konpyuta
sofutouea no jyoho teiji yoshiki no bunseki[Special Education Programs in Japan]. Kokuritu
tokusyu kyoiku sogo kenkyu-sho kenkyu
kiyo,Vol. 23, pp. 37-45, 1996.
6) Munekata Tetsuya,Takuma Simpei: Tokushu
kyoiku ni okeru konpyuta riyo wo daizai ni shitakyoshi-kyoiku-yo no maruchimedia kyozai no
kaihatu [Development and Evaluation ofMultimedia Teaching Modules Using Educational
Computing in Special Education]. Kokuritu
tokusyu kyoiku sogo kenkyu-sho kenkyu kiyo,
Vol. 24,pp. 51-58,1997.
7) Nakamura Hitoshi, Komago Yasuhira, Munekata
Tetsuya, Katsuma Yutaka, Okita Yoshimitsu,
Takuma Shimpei: Tokushu kyoiku ni okeru
kyoiku kogaku ni kansuru chosa kenkyu (VII)[Special Education Teachers` Perceptions of
Educational Technology VII.]. Kokuritu tokusyu
kyoiku sogo kenkyu-sho kenkyu kiyo, Vol. 25,pp.
15-25,1998.
8) Takemura Shuichi: Chokaku-shogai kyoiku ni yuko
na konpyuta
sofutouea ni kansuru kenkyu[Effective Computer Software Programs in
Education for Children with Hearing Loss]. Heisei
10 nendo kokuritu tokushu kyoiku sogo kenkyusho choki kenshu hokokusho, 1999.
9) Takemura Shuichi: Otegaru sami -SAMI failsakusei-yo sofutouea- [ A SAMI File Generator
Program], 1998.
10) Takuma Shimpei, Narita Sigeru, Nakamura
Hitoshi, Munekata Tetuya: Tokushu kyoiku ni
okeru kyoiku kogaku ni kansuru chosakenkyu(VI)[
Special
Education
Teachers`
Perceptions of Educational Technology VI].
Kokuritu tokusyu kyoiku sogo kenkyu-sho kenkyu
kiyo, Vol. 22,pp. 37-46,1995.
11) Tanaka Sachiko: Eigo gakushu-yo maruchimedia
sofuto no hyoka risuto no ichi teian [AnEvaluation Checklist for Multimedia Software in
the Learning of English]. Nihon kyoiku kogaku
kai-shi/ Nihon kyoiku kogaku zasshi,vol.
21(Suppl.), pp. 93-96,1997.
12) Uozumi Takashi: Iro no benbetsu gakushu sono
2 -onaji iro-[ A Computer Program on the
Learning of Color Discrimination]. gakusyu
sofutouea[a computer software program], 1997.

Conclusion
The presentation method using text + still image isbetter than text + movie + narration only if we takeaccount of the limited conditions such as easy-toevaluate software assessed by computer literateteachers, and so on. In special education, on the other
hand, most software programs are simple and thecomputer literacy of teachers is on the rise. The resultsof the present study, therefore, should have an impact
on increasing the use of computers in this field.
According to Monbusho(2000), 59.9% of all special
schools were connected to the Internet, but it has beenplaned by government that before 2005 this proportion
will have risen to 100%. While expectations are highat present, the use of movies on the Internet still has
limitations. Based on the findings of the present study,
it is still reasonable to use still images in preference tomovies over the Internet. It is hoped that these results
can be used as practical criteria for the development ofprograms similar to those presented here.
Future Research Issues
Arising from the results of this study there areseveral issues that require further investigation. First,
why the net scoring time of the still image wassignificantly shorter than the movie, and second, is it
still appropriate to use still image for evaluating more
complex software programs? Third, is movie format
still ineffective for novices (in computer use)teachers?
Acknowledgement
The participation of all teachers in this study isgratefully acknowledged.
References
1) Gakushu sofutouea joho kenkyu senta(Gakujoken): Gakushu sofutouea no hyoka no arikata[Howshould educators evaluate software programs forlearning?]. Heisei 3 nendo monbusho itaku-jigyo"Gakushu sofutouea no kaizen kaihatsu-to kenkyu
hokokusyo", 1992.
2) Iwahara Sinkuro: Kyoiku to sinri no tame no suikei
gaku -shin tei ban-[ Statistical Analysis for
Education and Psychology],Nippon bunka
kagakusya,1965.
3) Synchronized Accessible Media Inter-Exchange
Caption and Audio Description.
http:www.microsoft.com/japan/enable/products/
multimedia.htm.1999.
4) Monbusho shoto-chuto-kyoiku-kyoku chuggako-ka
joho kyoiku shitsu:Gakko ni okeru joho kyoiku no
jittai-to ni kansuru cyosa-kekka [Results of a

- 38 -

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities
Aiming at the Construction of a Support System
for Deafblind Education in Japan
Megue Nakazawa
Department of Education for Children with Multiple Disabilities
Abstract: Due to the rare incidence of deafblindness, education for children with deafblindness is an area in which
information, knowledge and skills are insufficient at both the local and prefectural levels. The National Institute ofSpecial Education, being the sole national center of special education in Japan, is expected to provide various services
and conduct research activities to support deafblind education. Aiming at the construction of comprehensive support
system for deafblind education, the author (10,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19) has been promoting over the past decade needs-driven
research projects, educational consultation services, information services, networking among parents as well as
developing international ties concerning deafblindness. Details of these research-linked service activities oriented
toward establishing comprehensive support systems based at NISE are described and future perspectives are discussed.
Key Words：Deafblind education,

support system,

NISE,

Japan

II Current situation of deafblind education and changes
in social context of deafblind persons

I Introduction
Since its establishment in 1971, The National Institute ofSpecial Education (NISE) has taken a central role in Japan
concerning practical and comprehensive research on
special education, advanced in-service training for teachers,
consultation to parents of children with disabilities referredto the Clinical Center for Children with Special Needs,
overseas research exchanges and the dissemination of theseresearch results through various means.
The 30th
anniversaryin 2001 marked a fresh start for NISE being
reorganized as an independent administrative agency
instead of an institute directly affiliated to the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT). As the national center of special education in
Japan, greater demands are now being made on NISE tofurther tackle issues needing research at the national level
and to pursue practical research and service activities
accountable to the needs of society.
NISE is the only institute in Japan to carry out researchon deafblind education. Consequently, it is expected tomake a major contribution to the field of deafblindness withthe dissemination of its research findings, the developmentof in-service teacher training programs and in the provisionof educational consultation services for parents and related
people.
This report provides an overview of the current status of
deafblind education in Japan, the changes in social context
over the past decade, the details of research and service
activities of NISE that the author has been developing andthe perspectives of future development of these activities tomeet the expectations made of NISE described above.

Several industrialized nations recognize deafblindness as
a distinct disability category, such as the United States andNorway (1,6,12,18,25).
However, as deafblindness was
included into the category of "multiple disability" in Japan
without any mention of its special needs, no system of
support was developed. As a result, no pre- nor in-service
training program for teachers of deafblind education had
been developed. NISE had been the only institute in Japanto have provided consultation services on deafblindness.
Currently, there are three researchers in the Department of
Education for Children with Multiple Disabilities at NISE,
including the author, who are engaged in deafblind
education research.
1 A Population of deafblind students and children
The first survey on deafblind education was carried out
in the 1993-94 school year by the Department of Education
for Children with Multiple Disabilities (11). The survey wasdone through questionnaires sent to all schools for theblind, schools for the deaf and day centers for preschool
children with visual or hearing impairment. Three othertypes of special schools were not included in the firstsurvey. The second survey carried out five years later in the
1998-99 school year covered all types of special schools
and day centers for pre school children with visual or
hearing impairment (22).
The two surveys defined
deafblindness as a concomitant impairment of vision andhearing, with the following criteria for visual and hearing
impairment: 1) "corrected visual acuity of less than 0.3" or"not measurable” and 2) "hearing threshold level of more

- 39 -

Megue Nakazawa
visual impairment.
One reason accounting for the identification of more
deafblind population in the first survey might be theconscientious awareness raising done on schools for theblind and for the deaf during the survey throughdissemination of information concerning deafblindness.
As there is no disability category of "deafblindness" inJapan, hard of hearing is easily overlooked in schools forthe blind as well as low vision in schools for the deaf,
particularly such progressive visual impairment caused byUsher syndrome. Usher syndrome is thought to be
responsible for about half the adult deafblind population in
Japan.
To get reliable results through surveys, awareness raisingon deafblindness in all schools is needed. Accurate data on
the deafblind population in schools provide the basis andorientation to research and service activities. For the time
being, the analysis of referrals on deafblindness made to
NISE and visits by researchers to schools where deafblindchildren are enrolled are necessary to supplement the dataobtained through the survey.
Another method to make a reasonable calculation on the
deafblind population Japan embraces is to apply the figuresof other nations, which have had a long history of deafblind
education. The federal definition of deafblindness, which is
not medical but functional, in the United States is asfollows.
"Deaf-blindness means concomitant hearing and visual
impairments, the combination of which causes such severe
communication and other developmental and educational
needs that they cannot be accommodated in special
education programs solely for children with deafness orchildren with blindness (6). "than 30dB" or "not measurable." For children and students
identified as "not measurable," the result of the checklist on
visual and auditory behavior was noted to determine
eligibility. The criterion of "impairment in visual field andnight blindness" was also added to screen progressive
visual impairment such as retinitis pigmentosa. Those withsevere problem with these two indices were included in the
count even when they had visual acuity of more than 0.3,
not only because they face potential deterioration of vision
but also these two types of visual impairment themselvescause substantial problems in learning and social
interaction as well. The number of children and students
with deafblindness identified in the two surveys is shownon Table 1. The percentage of deafblind children andstudents in respective school types is also shown.
In these two surveys, the deafblind population in special
education may not yet be fully ascertained. For example,
there was a drastic fall in the deafblind population inschools for the deaf in the 1998 survey in comparison with
1993. As this result was not analyzed in the second survey,
the author is not in the position to tell what caused thisdrastic decrease. However, as schools for the deaf in Japan
have been increasingly adopting total communication andenrolling more children with multiple disabilities anddeafblindness, it is difficult to find a reasonable cause
within schools for the deaf that brought about this drastic
fall.
There is a day center for hearing impairedpreschoolers in Japan which carries out an annual
ophthalmological screening test (3). Each annual result
since 1998 revealed visual problems in more than 25% of
the children. Even though many of the children in this day
center have additional disabilities which may partly
contribute to the high prevalence, it is difficult to believethat only 0.8% of the students in schools for the deaf has
Table 1

Survey of deafblind students in school years 1993 and 1998

TYPE OF SPECIAL SCOOLSDEAFBLIND CHILDEN in 1993/
TOTAL ENROLLMENT* = %DEAFBLIND CHILDEN in 1998/
TOTAL ENROLLMENT** = %BLIND

138 / 4,773 = 2.9%

96 / 4,199 = 2.3%

DEAF

128 / 7,842 = 1.6%

54 / 6,836 = 0.8%

INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Not surveyed

64 / 53,561 = 0.9%

PHYSICAL DISABILITY

Not surveyed

59 / 18,464 = 0.3%

HEALTH IMPAIRMENT

Not surveyed

39 / 4,395 = 0.9%

25 / data unavailable

22 / data unavailable

291
(10)

353
(15)

DAY CENTER for VISUALLY or
for HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDRENTOTAL NUMBER(DOUBLE ENROLLMENT)* Ministry of Education. (1994). Special Education Statistics, School Year 1993.
** Ministry of Education. (1999). Special Education Statistics, School Year 1998.

- 40 -

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities

The system and the contents of education for children
with severe and multiple disabilities steadily developed by
the early 1990's. It was a time when social context ofdeafblind adults was undergoing rapid change, stimulating
the awareness of the parents with deafblind children. It wasalso a time when the author began investigating overseas
practices and the delivery of education services to deafblindchildren (9,10,18). The situation regarding deafblind researchand service activities began to take on a new phase in thefollowing. The first survey of deafblind education that was
carried out in 1993 was one such manifestation of the newphase.

The number of deafblind children differs greatly
between the federal count and the census done by the state
and the multi-state deafblind program. The former adopts a
far more conservative figure. The number of deafblind
students aged 6 to 21 in school year 1996-97 submitted to
the Congress by the federal government was 1,453 (34). As
the population of Japan is about half that of the UnitedStates, we may roughly estimate about 700 deafblind
students in Japan if the United States federal definition isapplied.
Although the age group it covers does not overlap
completely, this figure, however conservative it may be in
the United States, is twice the number identified in thesecond survey in Japan. We would not be too short of thetarget if we assume a deafblind population of somewhere
between 350 and 700 for whom "particular considerations
on the disability conditions are needed for instruction (2)."In the future, it is important to include regular schools toaccurately determine the deafblind school population.

3 Changes in the social context of deafblind adults
The year 1983 saw the first deafblind person accepted
into a university in Japan. He is adventitiously deafblindand has now been working as an associate professor at auniversity since 1997. Support service programs intended
for deafblind consumers, such as interpreter-guide services,were all but nonexistant in both the public and private
sectors at the time of his matriculation. A group of
volunteers gradually gathered around him to support him in
his studies and daily life. The number of volunteers grew
and their activities began to draw other deafblind persons
who were hitherto isolated in their homes. More and more
deafblind persons were identified, the needs ofdeafblindness clarified and concrete support services were
worked out by the volunteers.
In 1991, the volunteer group which had been supporting
him served as the parent body to establish the Japan
Deafblind Association (JDBA). It is a social welfare
corporation dedicated to promoting independence andsocial participation of deafblind persons, and is run bygovernment subsidies and private contributions. In thesame year, parallel to this development, local deafblindclubs were organized in two major cities in Japan, Tokyo
and Osaka, and these clubs now act as a focal point for thedevelopment of needs-related activities for deafblind
persons. Big changes have taken place in the last decadeconcerning deafblind persons in Japan. At the time of its
establishment, JDBA had identified only some tens ofdeafblind persons. However, as of March 2001, there were
560 deafblind persons registered with the JDBA.
Interpreter-guide services which are essential in promoting
the independence and social participation of deafblind
persons expanded rapidly. The interpreter dispatching
project which JDBA started with a minimal number ofinterpreters now numbers 1700 registered interpreters withan annual delivery load of more than 7000 calls (5).
Local deafblind clubs are also spreading steadily, and 31
of 47 prefectures in Japan, that is, two third of theprefectures, now have a deafblind club. Parents ofdeafblind children, who could not hitherto identify

2 A brief history of deafblind education in Japan
Deafblind education in Japan started in 1949 at the
Yamanashi Prefectural School for the Blind with two
totally deafblind children (7,33). This pioneering program
continued for 20 years, and the Ministry of Education
supported it in the last ten years through the Grant to
Schools with Experimental Practices (7). This successful
long-term program laid the foundation for deafblind
education in Japan as well as giving a lasting influence on
the research approach concerning deafblind education.
When NISE was established in 1971, one of the manyroles it was expected to play was the promotion of research
on and the development of in-service training programs for
deafblindness(7). Nevertheless, when compulsory education
system finally encompassed all school-age children in
1979, the School Education Act included deafblindness inthe category of multiply disability. It was a time when abig population of children with severe and multiple
disabilities who had been exempted from school education
until that time flooded schools which had had little or no
experience with such a population. To cope, the researchand in-service training programs at NISE gave a priority to
severe and multiple disabilities that far outnumbereddeafblindness in population itself.
Research on deafblindness was barely sustained by the
Department of Education for Children with Multiple
Disabilities at NISE. Due to the practical influence of the
Yamanashi Prefectural School for the Blind, research
centered on case studies of a relatively small number of
deafblind children who made periodic visits to NISE,
employing methods used in schools for the blind. This
tradition has been passed down to succeeding researchersand still exists to date.

- 41 -

Megue Nakazawa

3 MAJOR WORKS REQUIRED OF ALL RESEARCHERS
INTERNATIONALEXCHANGE

three activities interrelated

SURVEY &RESEARCH

INFORMATIONDISSEMINATIONEDUCATIONALCONSULTATIONSERVICE

cooperation with other researchers arranged

IN-SERVICETRAINING
FOR TEACHERS

in the same & other departments as needed

AUTHOR

VISUAL
IMPAIREMENTSHEARING &SPEECHDISABILITIESINTELLECTUALDISABILITIESEMOTIONALDISTURBANCEPHYSICAL &MOTORDISABILITIESHEALTHIMPAIRMENTS

MULTIPLE
DISABILITIESEDUCATIONAL& INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYEIGHT RESEARCH DEPARTMENTS OF NISE
Fig.1 The eight research departments and the activities of NISE

themselves with other disability groups, gradually came tojoin local deafblind clubs to meet deafblind persons andother families in the same prefecture. Unlike many othercountries with separate organizations for deafblind adults
and for parents, the two parties in Japan collaborate closely
to promote welfare and education for the deafblind.
As a result of continued lobbying, the national
government included interpreter training services in 1998
and the interpreter dispatching services in 2000 to its list of
subsidies to prefectural governments. As of 2001, 23
prefectural governments are subsidizing interpreter-training
services and 11 provide interpreter-dispatching services.
An increase in the prefectural governments initiating these
services is anticipated, and all prefectures in Japan would
most probably be providing these two services in about fiveto ten years (5).
Currently, "deafblindness" is not legally recognized as adisability category in the welfare system of Japan.
However, in 1999, the Ministry of Welfare and Labor
entrusted the Research Institute of National Rehabilitation
Center for the Disabled to launch a 3-year research projecton "How Disability Policies Should be for Deafblind
Persons (23,24)." The result of this project will be used toorient welfare policies specifically geared toward deafblind
persons in the near future.

There has not been a census on deafblind population in
Japan. Calculated from statistics on overseas deafblind
populations, it is estimated that Japan has a deafblind
population of somewhere between 13,000 and 20,000 (4) .
Deafblind people are a diverse population, the diversity
resulting from the combination of the differences in the
degree of sensory impairments, the difference in the onset
of impairment, the presence of additional disability and thequality of education provided. The majority of thedeafblind population is adventitious, with Usher syndrome
assumed to be the etiology accounting for the deafblindnessof about half the population.
II The system of NISE and the support needs ofdeafblind education
In view of the drastic changes taking place in Japanesesociety as mentioned above, in early 1990's the author
began to recognize the need to reevaluate the traditional
research approach on deafblind research hitherto
undertaken at the Department of Education for Children
with Multiple Disabilities. Before going into details, an
overview will be presented on the functions of NISE andthe identification of support needs for deafblind education.

- 42 -

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities

1 An overview of research and service system at NISE
NISE comprises of nine departments, eight of which are
dedicated to research and one to administration. Seven of
the eight research departments correspond with thedisability categories used in Japan and one is specialized in
educational information technology (Fig. 1).
The three major activities carried out at NISE are
research, in-service training for special education teachersand consultation services for parents and other related
persons.
The research projects at NISE can be divided into three
types in accordance with the type of budget and project
involved: 1) intra-departmental projects funded on a regularbasis, 2) inter-departmental projects on themes ofimportance and urgency funded by an ad-hoc budget where
researchers from multiple departments collaborate and 3)
projects funded by grants researcher(s) obtain from outside
NISE. Research projects on deafblindness have belonged
to the first and the third types.
In-service training programs are offered for teachers
throughout Japan who are expected to assume leadershiproles in each locality after the program. There are 1-year
and 2-month courses and a number of short-term programs
lasting from one to four weeks. Each trainee on the 1-year
course is assigned to a research department related to
his/her interest and a program is tailored to each trainee
under the supervision of a researcher. There are eight 2month mainly lecture-based courses for visual impairment,
hearing impairment, speech impairment, intellectual
disability, emotional disability, health impairment, multiple
disabilities and educational technology. Deafblindness is
included minimally in the 2-month course for multiple
disabilities, namely, half-a-day lecture and one-day
workshop on simulation experience of deafblindness
offered by the author.
Consultation services are provided by the Clinical Centerfor Children with Special Needs upon requests fromparents of children with disabilities. The Center assigns
each case to the most appropriate research department(s).
Educational consultation services were long restricted only
to parents who could come to NISE in person, however, in2001 NISE expanded the service to accept requests fromboth parents and teachers via e-mail, the telephone and thepost, other than a direct visit.
There are currently 51 researchers at NISE, and each one
is required to be actively involved in all three functions
NISE; namely, research, in-service training and educational
consultation. One unique aspect of NISE is that it has asystem that enables the formation of a dynamic interrelationship between these three functions. Another asset isthat experts from different disability categories are allhoused under the same roof, and multi-disciplinary
cooperation may be formed easily if a researcher finds it

necessary. In this regard, the author has maintained close
cooperation with experts on visual impairment and hearing
impairment. Figure 1 illustrates the eight departments andthe major functions of NISE as well as how a researcher isrelated to these functions, using the author as an example.
The results of these three activities are disseminatedthrough various means. International research exchanges
are also actively encouraged at NISE. All researchers takepart in these two activities as well.
Under such circumstances, the author sought
contributions one researcher could make in research andservice provision in response to the needs identified indeafblind education.
2 Needs of research and service provisions in deafblind
education
The results of the surveys of deafblind education
mentioned earlier identified support needs from theperspective of teachers (11,22). On the other hand, theanalysis of requests for consultation to Clinical Center anddirect contacts to the author through correspondence
regarding deafblindness from across the country (16) helped
identify the support needs from the perspective of parents.
The variety of needs for support of teachers and parents
found from these two sources of information were summed
up in the following five areas to strategically address themin the research and service provision plan:
1) Consultation to parents concerning the raising of adeafblind child, adopting a total view of the life.
2) Consultation to teachers according to the type of
deafblindness and the child`s needs.
3) Parental needs to meet with other parents.
4) The need of parents and teachers for a variety of
information about deafblindness.
5) Scarcity of information on deafblindness in Japan
leading to the need for international investigation andinformation exchange.
In addition to the above-mentioned areas, the following
points also were considered necessary in developing
research and service plans.
(1) Need to solve the problem of distance.
As deafblind children are widely spread across thecountry, the consultation service must not be restricted to acenter-based system, but should include such means ascorrespondence, visits by researchers, a live-in workshop at
NISE, and others.
(2) Need to work with schools for the deaf as well as
schools for the blind.
As mentioned earlier, the Department of Education forChildren with Multiple Disabilities has traditionally had
close ties with schools for the blind, but has had limited ties
with schools for the deaf. The result of the first survey (11)identified almost the same number of deafblind students in- 43 -

Megue Nakazawa
with high cognitive capacity, with progressive vision
deterioration or infants with deafblindness have not been
included in the research projects. However, parents andteachers have distinct needs in accordance with thedifferent sub-groups. The following seven sub-groups
were selected and research was planned in combination
with consultation services to these groups.
(I) Those with congenital rubella syndrome(ii) Those with CHARGE association * and various
medical needs(iii) Those with Usher syndrome and other progressive
deafblindness(iv) Those with complexities due to premature birth(v) Those with severe motor and intellectual disabilities(vi) Families with deafblind infants and toddlers(vii) Those with high cognitive capacity(4) Need to link "education plan" with "total personal
plan."The perspectives of teachers' needs and parents' needs
differ greatly. Teachers' are usually restricted to tasks and aschools for the deaf and schools for the blind.
Communication methods chosen by the teachers in two
different types of schools differ greatly, particularly as
regards sign language. Research and services should beplanned with due regard to the difference in culture ofdifferent school types, thus promoting them to support eachother to widen the communication opportunities for
deafblind children. Naturally, special schools for otherdisabilities which usually lack expertise in both vision andhearing should also be considered.
(3) Need to cope with a variety of sub-groups ofdeafblind children.
Deafblindness is a rare disability which has it uniqueneeds common to all deafblind children. However, as there
is also a great diversity within this small population,
research should be made to clarify the needs and support
measures for a number of major sub-groups. The
Department of Education for Children with Multiple
Disabilities has traditionally focused on congenitally
deafblind children with additional disabilities. Children
TRADITIONAL APPROACH

NEED- DRIVEN APPROACH

Institute‑based
Requests for consultation accepted only if the childand the parent could come to the institute

Correspondence and visiting service also available
Requests accepted even if the child and the parent
could not come to the institute due to distanceInstitute used mainly for multi-disciplinary
assessment and consultation (including live-in
workshop)Case description confined to playroom activity
With stress on one to one child-adult communicationin the early stage

Case description with total life in view
With every activity stressing communication
Peer interaction stressed whenever possible

Uni‑disciplinary approach
One or two researchers with the same professional
background deal with the child

Multi‑disciplinary approach
One key researcher on communication who
coordinates staff on vision, hearing, feeding,deafblind role model and others as needs arise

Cases restricted to congenital deafblindness
With additional disabilities

Cases unrestricted, open to any type of deafblindness
Congenital, adventitious, progressive, multiply
disabled, high functioning, etc.

Traditionally has close ties with blind schools
Minimal contact developed with deaf schools

Traditionally has close ties with blind schools
Ties sought and developed closely with deaf schools

Tendency in selecting communication media
Media used in blind schools dominantly adopted
Limited use of gestures and sign langauage

Tendency in selecting communication media
Total communication
Ready to use or learn any media thedeafblind child uses or would benefit from it

Minimal contact with non‑educational organizations

Close contact with non ‑ educational organizations
When necessary, such as Japan Deafblind
Association, local deafblind clubs, parent groups,
Interepeter-guides, rehabilitation sectors, etc.

Fig.2 Two approaches for research/support services for deafblindness- 44 -

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities

activities at school whereas parents have the entire life of
the child in view - before and after school, during weekends
and vacations as well as life in the community. When bothdistant senses of a child are impaired, leisure activities, forinstance, may be extremely limited, leading him/her easily
into self-stimulatory behavior when left alone. Incidental
learning through distant senses that takes place without
effort in most children is also extremely limited in a
deafblind child, and unless a practical and feasible
intervention is planned for all the waking hours (6), thedevelopment of a deafblind child could easily be hampered.
The education plan should be dynamically linked with thepersonal plan and priorities carefully selected to be of
benefit to the deafblind child. For teachers and families
who have difficulty understanding this special need of
deafblindness, a training program to promote empathetic
understanding of deafblindness should be developed aswell.
(5) Need for multi-disciplinary teamwork andcollaboration with different organizations
The needs of a deafblind child covers a wide span functional assessment of vision and hearing, selection ofcommunication system, adjustment of environment,orientation and mobility, medical needs if any, eating,establishment of regular patterns in sleep and meals,
toileting, development of enjoyable leisure activities,
formation of sibling and peer relationships, participation incommunity activities and many more. To cope with theseneeds in the community, the consultation services provided
by schools for the blind and for the deaf, such as support ofa multi-disciplinary team at special education centers andwelfare organizations in the prefecture or at NISE, contacts
with deafblind organizations and parent groups, support ofinterpreter-guides and volunteers, and other relevant
resources must be identified and coordinated. The
Department of Education for Children with Multiple
Disabilities has traditionally been promoting case studies
with uni-disciplinary researcher(s), but the large variety ofneeds found in deafblind children requires a variety ofservices to be coordinated by a key person.

III Strategic development of research and service
activities from 1993 to 2001
Based on the five major areas of needs identified in theprevious section, and utilizing the resources at NISE to thefull, the author strategically developed various researchlinked service activities.
1 Responding to the needs of consultation throughvarious methods
Through consultation at NISE, by telephone, fax, e-mail(after 1997), receiving videos from parents and teachers,
home and school visits and others, the author made contact
with approximately 160 deafblind cases spread throughout
Japan since 1993. About one sixth of these cases werecatered for in live-in consultation workshops held at NISE
for a period of 3-4 days. A combination of assessment,
consultation, guidance and in-service training are carriedout in the workshops. Each workshop is coordinated insuch a way so that a group of 2-5 children with similarneeds were invited together with their parents, siblings,
teachers and other related staff. The number and the typesof participants over the past decade is shown on Table 2.
Researchers from the Departments of Education forChildren with Multiple Disabilities, with Visual
Impairments, and with Speech and Hearing Disabilities
worked closely during the workshop. Ad hoc collaborators
to meet the various needs of the children were invited tojoin the workshop, such as teachers of the National
Kurihama School for Children with Disabilities involved
with deafblind education (the school is adjacent to NISE).
Figure 3 illustrates a multi-disciplinary team organized fora certain workshop.
These workshops were one method of educational
consultation service provided for deafblind referrals, butthey were also directly linked to research to deepen
understanding of the seven sub-groups and to clarify theneeds and necessary support for these groups (12,13,17,20).
At the same time, these workshops provided
opportunities for parents to meet other parents sharing
similar needs and anxieties who had often been isolated in
the locality. The encouragement and relief gained by thefamilies through these encounters constituted one of themost important aspects of the workshop. As for teachers,
the workshop served as an on-site training program
covering the total life activities of the child. Also, theencounter with other teachers working with similar children
in different types of special schools (particularly schools forthe blind and for the deaf) gave them the chance to sharerespective experiences and to have insight into theadvantages and disadvantages each school culture
possesses regarding deafblind education.

3 Change in the approach to research and service
activities
The case studies focusing on communication
development of congenitally deafblind children based on
traditional approach has been actively promoted todate (21,26,27,28,29,30,31,32). However, the reevaluation of the
traditional approach and recognition of the vast range ofneeds in deafblind education that are left unattended has
driven the author to adopt a different strategic approach to
tackle them. The differences in the two approaches areillustrated in Figure 2.

- 45 -

Megue Nakazawa

Tabel 2. Live‑in workshops between 1993 and 2001
*CRS: congenital rubella syndrome
year

target sub-group, number of children
sex, age or school dept., type of school

who came with the child1993

usher syndrome, 2boys, elementary dept.,
blind school & deaf school

mother, father, siblings of
1child, 4 teachers

1994

CRS*, 2girls, elementary dept., blind school& deaf school

mother, siblings of 1 child,
4 teachers

1995

usher syndrome, 3boys, elementary & lower
secondary dept., blind school & deaf school

mothers, siblings of 1boy,
7teachers and 2 dorm staff

CRS*, 5boys, pre-schools & elementary dept.,
1996 blind school, deaf school, day center forhearing impaired

mothers, siblings of 2 boy,
6 teachers,
1 day center director

1997

premature birth, 2girls & 1boy lower & upper
secondary dept., blind school & deaf school

father, 2 parent
surrogates, 3 teachers

1998

high congnitive function, 2boys, elementary
dept., deaf school

mothers, 3 teachers

CHARGE, 3girls, 2-year ord, elementary &1999 lower secondary dept., deaf school &consultation at blind school

mothers, sibling of one girl,4 teachers

severe multiple disabilities, 3boys, cockayne,
cerebral palsy & premature birth, pre-school
2000& elementary dept., school for physicallydisabled

mother, father, sibling of
one boy, 5 teachers

early intervention, 1girl & 1boy, prematurebirth &etiology unknown, 2year-old & 3yearold, regular nursery school & blind school
kindergaten
2001 high cognitive function, 3boys, elementary
dept., deaf school
CHARGE, 1boy & 1girl, 3year-ord & 4yearold, regular kindergaten & day center fordisabled children

mothers, 3 teachers

mothers, fathers, 8 teachers

mothers, fathers

Furthermore, when families andteachers live together a few days with thedeafblind children in focus, the needs ofeach deafblind child over the total life
scene and the hardships of the families
involved were more easily shared by theteachers, leading to a better cooperative
relationship between the two parties.
Shared understanding of deafblindchildren by families and teachers were
further enhanced by the simulation
experience of deafblindness to be
described in the following section. The
insight of families and teachers into theneeds of deafblindness around the clock
facilitatedthelinkageofthe"educational" and the "total personal"
plans.
2 Research on simulation experienceand its use in a training program
As a method of promoting empathetic
understanding of deafblindness and low
vision in teachers working with deafblindchildren, the author collaborated with the
Department of Education for Children
with Visual Impairment between 1993-95
to develop a program of simulation
experiences in a research project. Fourday workshops to deepen the

Other deafblind children
with similar needs,
Families & Teachers

Specialist on vision

Specialist on hearing

Specialist on
orientation & mobility

Deafblind adulta role model and a researcher
on communication

Deafblind Child
his/her Family& Teachers

Interpreter‑guide
gives insights to the

Other staff with expertisein communicating with
deafblind children

basic manners andinformation a deafblind
Volunteers

Researcher on Communication / CoordinatorFig. 3 Example of a multi‑disciplinary team at a live‑in consultation workshop- 46 -

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities

parents and teachers. Each publication also includes
information from other countries concerning the theme.

understanding of low vision and deafblindness were held
six times between 1994 and 1996. A total of 223 teachers,
welfare and medical staff from around the country
participated in the workshops (8). After the workshop,
many of these participants carried out simulation
experience sessions in their locality when necessary. The
simulation experience kits were lent to them upon request.
Simulation experience of deafblindness and low vision
are now effectively used in live-in consultation workshops
and in-service training programs at NISE, training
programs for interpreter-guides for deafblind persons and,Naturally, in schools where deafblind children are enrolled.

4 Service activities for the formation of parental
networks
In addition to arranging encounters for a limited numberof families in live-in consultation workshops, the author
started a bulletin board on the web site to promote parental
networking. The bulletin board was set up in April 1999,
and there have been approximately 2,000 postings byparents, teachers, volunteers, interpreters, deafblind persons
and many others. The majority are postings of parents andthey came from 26 of the 47 prefectures in Japan.
The author also participates whenever possible in theannual convention of local deafblind clubs or multiprefectural deafblind clubs in which workshops on
deafblind children are sometimes organized by parents.
The author shares the information with parents living invarious areas of Japan as well as encouraging these parental
initiatives.
The parent group of the CHARGE association wasorganized through the initiative of a parent a few years ago
and its membership now is 25. Exchange of information inthis group is very active. The publication of the coming‘Deafblind Education and Research’ focusing on CHARGE
association includes a large section dedicated to the firstparental get-together held in 2001 and case reports written
by two parents. It is hoped that this publication will not
only provide information on the CHARGE association to
those who need it, but in addition offer an opportunity toparents who did not know of this group.

3 Research and service activities on information
provision
Requests for various information on deafblindness havebeen coming from parents, teachers, welfare and medical
staff. However, no library or any researcher in Japan has
collected enough literature on deafblindness to cope withthese various requests. The author has been providing
whatever information possible on deafblindness uponrequest from parents and teachers on an individual basis.
In 1997, the author received an outside grant to collectinformation on deafblindness. Between 1997 and 1999, theauthor collected a little more than 700 books, manuals,
periodical, proceedings of deafblind conferences, academic
papers, videos and other materials on deafblindness inJapan and from overseas, made a database and started tobuild up the "Deafblind Library" in response to the needfor information. The list of titles of the literature andvideos collected are given on the web site.
The web site "Deafblind Information Network in Japan"
was set up in 1999 to provide information on various sites
related to deafblindness in Japan, on some etiologies ofdeafblindness, introducing international sites on
deafblindness and reports of international conferences
attended. Hits between May 2000 and December 2001
numbered 10,100.
Dissemination of deafblind information in print form has
been done by "Deafblind Education and Research," abiennial publication of the Japan Deafblind Association towhich the author has been working as an editor.
A
thousand copies are distributed free of charge to all schools
for the blind and for the deaf in Japan, special education
centers in all prefectures, teacher training colleges, families
with deafblind children registered with the Japan Deafblind
Association and others. The themes taken up in the past
five publications are "Congenital Rubella Syndrome,""Usher Syndrome," "Children with Additional Severe
Disabilities" and "Transition." "CHARGE Association" isthe theme for the sixth volume to be published in August
2002. The uniqueness of this publication is that thecontributors of the papers are mainly deafblind consumers,

5 International exchange
Being a rare disability, international exchanges ofresearch and current practices in deafblind education isvery active. Deafblind International is the internationalorganization of persons involved with the support ofdeafblind children and adults. The author has participatedin the World Conference held in 1999 and the Asia
Conference in 2000 (19) making a presentation at the former
conference on the current situation of deafblind educationin Japan (15). Exchange of information and development ofinternational ties are essential aspects of these conferences.
To grasp the global trend concerning deafblind consumers,
the author also participated in the Helen Keller World
Conference held in 1997 (19) and the Founding Assembly ofWorld Federation of the Deafblind (WFDb) held in 2001.
Also, the author coordinated the invitation of an expert
on deafblindness from the United States (1) as well as madeoverseas investigation on the support system of deafblind
education (18).

- 47 -

Megue Nakazawa
NEEDS

RESEARCH-LINKEDSERVICE DEVELOPMENT

WHAT WAITS AHEADCOUNSULTSTION THROUGH VARIOUS MEANS
at NISE, home, school, nursery, etc.
through phone, e-mail, fax, video, etc. &LIVE-IN CONSULTATIONWORKSHOP on 7 target groups *CONSULTATIONFORFAMILIES

CONSULTATIONFORTEACHERS

LIVE-IN ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
Promote it from research project status toregular service activity at NISELOCATE RESOURCE PERSONS IN EACH
PREFECTURE OR REGION FOR ONSULTATION

DEAFBLIND / LOW VISION SIMULATION
research project & workshop

1)
2)
3)

INFORMATION

1)
2)

PARENT S
WISH TOMEET OTHER
PARENTS

3)

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)

OVERSEAS
INFORMATIONEXCHANGE

INFORMATION SERVICE
web site Deafbllind Information Network
Deafblind Library
Support editing biennial publication of
Deafblind Education and Research, JDBA**NETWORKING PARENTS
operating Bulletin Board on web site
support parents and children s group
activities in local deafblind culb meetings
support parent group of CHARGEOVERSEAS INFORMATION EXCHANGE
Deafblind International Conferences
Helen Keller World Conference
World Federation of the Deafblind
invite overseas experts to Japanvisit of author for overseas investigation
disseminate updated overseas situation
through the internet and publication

IN-SERVICE TRAINING PROGRAM
start research to develop the program to bedelivered from NISE though the internet

1)
2)

PARENT EMPOWERMENTParent Monual, to be written by parents
collaboratively with the author
Encourage parents to gather voices andexpress their interest to relevant authorities

WORLD FEDERATION OF THE DEAFBLIND
support Japanese delegate, elected to be Asia Regional
Representative
ASIAN & PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON
SPECIAL EDUCATION, HELD AT NISE
Theme of 2004: Education for deafblindness andfor Multiple Disability in the Asia-Pacific Region.
about 13 countries invited, plan already adopted* Following 6 major target groups need to be researched to identify distinct needs and provisions: 1)congenital rubella
syndrome, 2)CHARGE association, 3)usher syndrome, 4)complications of prematurely, 5)children with severe cognitiveand physical disabilities, 6)high functioning deafblind children, 7)family-centered early intervention.
** Japan Deafblind Association

Fig. 4 Needs, research-linked service and future perspctives

Needs-driven research and service provision are closely
related (see Figure 4).

published by the Ministry of Education recommends thedevelopment of distant training programs by NISE. Distanttraining programs using the Internet are actually suitableand feasible for a rare disability like deafblindness. When
all teachers involved with deafblind education were linked
through the Internet in the training program, teachers
working with deafblind children having similar needs may
also form sub-groups using mailing lists and build a
support system among themselves.

IV Future perspectives
Based on the results obtained from the research andservice activities over the past decade and on the
expectation of and available resources at NISE, thefollowing research and service activities seem necessary as
well as feasible. (Refer to right column of Figure 4.)

２ Establishment of a live-in comprehensive assessment
programThis has been done over the past decade as a "research
project." However, in view of the rarity of deafblindness
and of the effectiveness of this method, the author finds it
one of the ideal service activities a national center could
provide to population with a rare disability. Possibilities
should be sought toward this end in the future.

1 Research on the development of distant in-service
training program on deafblind education using theInternet
This issue should have top priority in future research.
The results of the research over the past decade wereenjoyed by a limited number of teachers participating in the
project. Based on these results, further research should bedesigned on the development of training programs to be
used for in-service training programs for all teachers
involved with deafblind education (those currently
identified number approximately 350).
"New
Perspectives of Special Education in the 21st Century" (2)3 Identification and maintenance of human resourceson deafblindness in each prefecture
Through live-in consultation workshops and simulation
experience workshops, teachers in different prefectures- 48 -

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities

comprehensive support system for deafblind education will
be fully constructed in Japan. Nevertheless, the results ofthe past decade show that the development of needs-driven
research and services in feasible areas, with acomprehensive system always in mind, guide the way to
the next step that will eventually lead to the construction ofsuch a system.

who are both able and eager to support deafblind education
are being identified. Also, there are a number of schools
for the blind and schools for the deaf, which havedeveloped an excellent cooperative relationship in
supporting deafblind students. It is crucial in the future to
identify, develop and maintain key persons or organizations
in each prefecture that can provide consultation, advice andguidance on deafblind education which has until now been
concentrated solely on the NISE.

*CHARGE association:
CHARGE association refers to children with a specific
set of birth defects. It is one of the etiologies that may cause
deafblindness . The acronym ‘CHARGE’ originally camefrom the first letter of some of the most common features
seen in these children:
C - Coloboma of the eye- Cranial nerve anomalies
H- Heart malformation
A - Atresia of choanae
R-Retardation of growth and/or development
G-Genital and/or urinary abnormalities
E-Ear abnormalities/hearing loss

4 Empowerment of parents
The long isolated parents and families are now beginningto unite across the country through the widespread use of
the Internet and the development of local deafblind clubs.
One important aspect the postings on the bulletin board
revealed was the countless measures parents have devisedwhen bringing up deafblind children. These measures areboth practical and readily available. Also, the deep insight
into deafblindness born out of love and years of childraising has the wisdom and power with which noprofessional can compete. Parents' manual on raising adeafblind child is not yet written in Japan, and the author
has been discussing with a number of parents thepossibility of compiling a manual written mainly byparents. The activity to utilize one's personal experiences
and to have its value acknowledged by others would
contribute to the further empowerment of parents. The
voice of the parents gathered through such endeavor could
also provide an important orientation to research and policy
concerning deafblind education.

References
1) Collins, M.(2000) Education for deafblind children .
Deafblind Education and Research, 5, 55-67. (translated
into Japanese by Nakazawa, M.)
2) Council on New Perspectives of Special Education in
the 21st Century.(2000). Final Report: New Perspectives ofSpecial Education in the 21st Century-How to Provide
Special Support in Response to Individual Needs-. MEXT.
(in Japanese)
3) Ito, I. (2000). Hand in hand with 7 deafblind children From age 0 to 6 at day center for hearing impaired children.
Deafblind Education and Research, 5, 17-32. (in Japanese)
4) Fukushima,S.(1997). Deafblind individuals andnormalization. Tokyo : Akashi Shoten. (in Japanese)5) Fukushima,S.(2001). Communication - It is what
supports the life of a deafblind individual. In Proceedingsof the 7th Helen Keller World Conference, New Zealand.
( in press)
6) McInnes, J.M. (1999). Developing a personal plan. In
McInnes, J.M.(Ed.), A guide to planning and support forindividuals who are deafblind (34-74). Toronto: Universityof Toronto Press.
7) Ministry of Education. (1970) Research on deaf-blind
education at Yamanashi Prefectural School for the Blind Final Report of the Designated Experimental School.
Ministry of Education.
8) Nakano, Y. (Ed)(1997). Final report of six seminars
on simulation experiences to promote understanding of low
vision and deafblindness. Foundation of Education forChildren with Disabilities. (in Japanese)

5 International exchange
Research exchange on deafblind education has been andwill be promoted in the future as well, particularly on
distant teacher training programs in the near future.
Another aspect needing development is exchange withJapan’s neighbors in Asian and Pacific countries. At thefounding assembly of the World Federation of the
Deafblind, the Japanese delegate was elected as theregional representative of Asia. He was asked to gather
information in Asia concerning welfare for deafblind
people and to contribute to the international exchange inthis region of the world.
The Asian and PacificInternational Seminar on Special Education which NISE
hosts annually is planning to hold the seminar in 2004 on
the theme of "multiple disabilities and deafblindness." Thisrequires a further exchange with Asian and Pacificcountries on deafblindness from the perspective ofeducation.
The above are some of the necessary and feasible
propositions for future development concerning researchand service activities on deafblind education in Japan. It isgoing to take much more effort and time before a- 49 -

Megue Nakazawa20) Nakazawa, M.(2001). Communication methods ofchildren with deafblindness - classification andsystematization. Bulletin of the National Institute of Special
Education, 28, 43-56. (in Japanese with English summary)21) Sugai, H. & Tsuchiya, Y.(1999). Formation of
braille sign system activity of a student with deaf-blindness:action research in the early stages of brail learning. Bulletinof the National Institute of Special Education, 24, 101110 .(in Japanese with English abstract)22) Sugai, H. & Tsuchiya, Y.(2001). 1999 survey of theeducation of children who are deafblind in Japan. NISE
Bulletin, 6, 1-8.(in Japanese with English abstract)23) Terashima, A., Fukushima, S. & Uemura, H. (1999)
Interim Report I of Research Project on the Orientation of
Welfare Policies for Deafblind Persons. Welfare Science
Research Grant. (in Japanese)24) Terashima, A., Fukushima, S. & Uemura, H. (2000)
Interim Report II of Research Project on the Orientation of
Welfare Policies for Deafblind Persons. Welfare Science
Research Grant. (in Japanese)25) Thompson, R.P. & Freeman, C.W.(1997) A historyof federal support for students with deaf-blindness. In
N.G.Haring & L.T. Romer(Eds), Welcoming Students Who
Are Deaf-Blind into Typical Classrooms (pp17-36).
Pennsylvania: Maple Press.
26) Tsuchiya, Y.(1992).Promotion of exploratory
activity in a child with deaf-blindness - A case study on
behavioral regulation of a child with deaf-blindness in thearea of uncertainty in the environment. Bulletin of the
National Institute of Special Education, 19, 1-10. (inJapanese with English abstract)27) Tsuchiya, Y.(1994).Promotion of exploratory
activity in a child with deaf-blindness (2)- A case study onformation of "base" and "principle" in expanding
environment of certainty. Bulletin of the National Instituteof Special Education, 21, 77-84. (in Japanese with English
abstract)
28) Tsuchiya, Y.(1997). Searching and ascertaining
activity as an initial aspects of exploratory behavior andmutual communication: A case study of a child who has
deaf-blindness with physical impairments. Bulletin of the
National Institute of Special Education, 24, 101-110 .(inJapanese with English abstract)29) Tsuchiya, Y. & Sugai, H. (1997). Initial aspects of achild with congenital deaf-blindness: The intervention
process of contacting through dialogue. Bulletin of the
National Institute of Special Education, 26, 85-97.(inJapanese with English abstract)30) Tsuchiya, Y. & Sugai, H. (2000). Negotiation as aframework for the emergence of communication incongenital deaf-blind people. Bulletin of the National
Institute of Special Education, 26, 85-97.(in Japanese withEnglish abstract)9) Nakazawa, M.(1993). Deafblind education in Norway-Support system on national level for persons with rare
disability - . Special Education of the World, 7, 33-43. (inJapanese)10) Nakazawa, M.(1994). Support system for deafblind
education in Norway and its implications to deafblind
education in Japan.
Japanese Journal of Special
Education , 31, 4, 53-58. (in Japanese)11) Nakazawa, M. & Takasugi, H. (1995). 1993 Surveyof deaf-blind children and students: With focus on
population with congenital rubella and retinitis pigmentosa,
NISE Bulletin, 5, 37-43.
12) Nakazawa, M., Nakano, Y., Mishina, S., Hoshino,T., Yabe, K. & Fukushima, S. (1995). What we learned
from the live-in workshop with youths having Usher
syndrome. Deafblind Education and Research, 3, 29-40. (inJapanese)13) Nakazawa, M., Nakano, Y., Sato., M.D.S., &Sashima, T. (1997).The special needs of and support for
students with progressive visual and hearing impairment:
Through a live-in workshop with transdisciplinary team.
Bulletin of the National Institute of Special Education,
24,89-100. (in Japanese with English abstract)14) Nakazawa, M. & Yada, A. (1999). Constructing
deafblind information network -Significance of information
service in supporting persons with rare disability-. In
Proceedings of the 8th Annual Conference of Visual
Impairment Rehabilitation, 53-56. (in Japanese)
15) Nakazawa, M. & Yada, A. (1999). Developing
relationships through networking in Japan. In Proceedingsof the 12th Deafblind International World Conference,
Lisbon.
16) Nakazawa, M.(1999). Analysis of and perspectiveof support for issues related to deafblindness: As seen fromreferrals to NISE. Bulletin of the National Institute ofSpecial Education, 26, 23-36. (in Japanese with English
summary)17) Nakazawa, M.(1999). The significance of "lodgetogether" educational consultation for children with
deafblindness, the families and teachers. NISE Annual of
Educational Counseling, 19,21-28. (in Japanese)18) Nakazawa, M.(2000). Local, state and federal
partnership to support deafblind education in the UnitedStates, Special Education of the World, 14, 7-16. (inJapanese with English summary)19) Nakazawa, M.(2001). Report on the three
International Deafblind Conferences and their historicsignificance - the 6th Helen Keller World Conference(Colombia, 1997), the 12th Deafblind International World
Conference (Portugal, 1999), the 1st DeafblindInternational Asian Conference (India, 2000)-, Special
Education of the World, 15, 63-71. (in Japanese withEnglish summary)- 50 -

Perspectives of Research and Service Activities

33) Umezu, H. (1974). Formation of verbal behavior ofdeaf-blind children. Proceedings of the XXth International
Congress of Psychology, Tokyo, 37-46.
34) United States Department of Education. (1999).
Twenty-first Annual Report to Congress on the
Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act.

31) Tsuchiya, Y. & Sugai, H. (2001). Initial aspects ofchildren with congenital deafblindness: Development ofmutual interaction. NISE Bulletin, 6, 9-16.
32) Uchida, Y. & Otsubo, A.(1980). On task learning in
multiply handicapped children - A case study of a multiply
handicapped child with visual and auditory impairment -.
Bulletin of the National Institute of Special Education, 7,
121-132. (in Japanese with English abstract)- 51 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 28

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 28

Peer Social Interaction and Prosocial Behavior:
Effects of Group-oriented Contingency on Students withIntellectual Disabilities and a Student with Autism
Megumi Kojima（Department of Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities）
behaviours such as prompting, encouraging, and so on,
however, no prosocial behaviour was observed in thechild with autism. Some of this behaviour can be
attributed to actual improvement in the autistic boy.
These results suggest that a group-oriented contingency
program is an effective and practical intervention for all
subjects. The issue of maintenance is also discussed interms of peer reinforcement, which was alternated withreinforcement by the teacher.
Key Words: Group-oriented contingency, peerinteractions, prosocial behaviour, student withintellectual disabilities, student with autism.

This study examined the effects of a group-oriented
contingency program in the promotion of peer social
interactions. The programme included the following
components: 1) pair units to reinforce, 2) structured
chances to support, and 3) simplification of a grouporiented contingency system. Untrained pro-social
behaviours were also analyzed. The subjects were two
students with intellectual disabilities and one studentwith autism. A changing criterion design was used.
Results indicated that all children increased theirperformance on peer interactions and their performance
was maintained in a baseline probe. The children withintellectual disabilities displayed many prosocial

The Role of “Tsukyu” in Educational Counselling ofChildren with Special Needs
Michiyo Kobayashi and Shigeki Kuboyama（Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicap）
The survey findings indicate that parents want the
Tsukyu to provide information and guidance that meettheir child’s needs and for the Tsukyu to be a place
where they can interact with other parents. Furthermore,they want to consult with teachers at the Tsukyu about
the problems they have in everyday life.
It was found that Tsukyu have begun to play the roleof an educational counseling centre for preschool
children and it is expected they will become an
important part of the early intervention system in Japan.

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasison educational counseling at the earlier stages in special
education. This paper considers the role of “Tsukyu”(i.e. resource rooms) at elementary schools in
educational counseling for preschool children withspecial needs and their parents.
Two surveys were conducted to determine how the
Tsukyu functions as a place of educational counselingfor young children and their parents, and what parents
want from the Tsukyu. It was found that more than 60%of the Tsukyu surveyed offer educational counseling topreschool children. It was also found that counseling isbeneficial, not only for children and parents, but forteachers as well because teachers sometimes havedifficulties due to lack of time and experience.

Key Words: educational counseling, Tsukyu, preschool
children, early intervention system, childcare support

An Evaluation of an Effective Presentation Method Implemented in
Multimedia Applications Designed to Help Special Education
Teachers Select Useable Software Programs
Munekata Tetsuya（Department of Educational Technology）
Selecting useable software programs is a timeconsuming task for special education teachers. Many use"trial and error" until they find a program most suitable
for the needs of the children they teach. Munekata et al.
(1998) developed and evaluated an HTML (Hypertext
Mark-up Language) based multimedia-teaching module
introducing 74 educational software programs toteachers. The module contains movies and text
information. The above-mentioned study, however, did

not examine the effects of method of presentation. The
purpose of present study, therefore, was to discover abetter presentation method for making multimedia
applications designed to help special education teachers
select useable software programs. Differences between
two presentation methods were investigated. The
subjects were 22 special education teachers with goodcomputer literacy. Each teacher was asked to score two
software programs under two conditions; 1)"text +- 52 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 28

improving. The results of present study, consequently,
will be of importance in increasing the use of computersin special education. Implications for further study are as
follows:(1) Why net scoring time of "text + still image" wassignificantly shorter than that of "text + movie +captions"?
(2) Is it appropriate to use "text + still image" forevaluating more complex software programs?
(3) Is "text + movie + captions" still ineffective fornovice (in computer use) teachers?
Key Words: Multimedia, presentation methods,
evaluation study, DHTML, SAMI, Special Education

movie + caption", and 2)"text + still image." It was
found that net scoring time in the latter condition was
shorter than the former condition (t=2.58, .01< p<.05),
and there were no significant differences between bothconditions on scores. In terms of time efficiency,
findings indicate that "text + still image" exceeded "text+ movie + caption." However, it must be emphasizedthat these findings are restricted to limited conditions. In
this study, for example, the researcher prepared easy-toevaluate software programs and the subjects were allcomputer literate school teachers, and so on. In the fieldof special education, however, most software programs
are simple and the computer skills of teachers have beenIssues Concerning the Protection of Personal Information and Use ofInformation in Special Education: An Evaluation of "Bulletins" ofSpecial Education Centres Managed by Local Government
Masashi Hayasaka, Fumie Oshiba, Akira Watanabe,
Yutaka Katsuma, masahiro Watanabe and Hitoshi Nakamura（Division of Research and Development, Information Center of Special Education）
3.

The terminology used in the articles relating to
special education in the bulletin of one of the centreschanged following further consideration of theprotection of personal information after theenactment of protection ordinances relating topersonal information.
The results are discussed from the perspective of theprotection of personal information and the disseminationof useful information in special education.
Key Words: Protection of personal information, use of
information, dissemination of information, prefectural
special education centres, bulletins of prefectural special
education centres, protection ordinances of personal
information

This study examines problems related to theprotection of personal information and it's use in special
education. The researchers investigated the researchbulletins of three prefectural special education centres
from the perspective of the protection of personal
information. The findings are as follows:
1. The amount of descriptive material related to personal
information in all three centres decreased following
the enactment of protection ordinances relating topersonal information.
2. The bulletin of one of the three centres did containpersonal information even after the enactment ofprotection ordinances relating to personal
information.

Communication Methods of Children with Deaf-blindness:
Classification and Systematization
Megue Nakazawa（Department of Education for Children with Multiply Disabilities）
Deafblind children are a diverse population due to the
combination of differences in the degree of visual andauditory impairment, the onset of impairment, thepresence or absence of other disability and educational
history. The communication methods used by thispopulation are diverse as well. Selection ofcommunication method(s) appropriate for individual
children is one of the biggest issues faced by parents,
teachers, speech therapists and other related personnel inraising or supporting a deafblind child. The selection
should be well-grounded on the current capacity andneeds of the child with a good perspective of futuretransition in communication methods in accordance withthe child`s development.
In this paper, a framework developed from the theoryof Hachizo Umezu (1978) and the author’s work with
deafblind children is presented to classify andsystematize the many communication methods used bydeafblind children. Classification is made from six
different aspects and systematization is done on the basisof the genesis of sign system to point out the continuity
in progression from one communication method to thenext.
Key Words: Deafblindness, communication method,
multiple disability, continuity, development- 53 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 28

Review on the Self-Assessment of Hearing (Listening) for Hearing Impairment
Masayuki D. S. Sato
(Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicap)
experienced in hearing (listening). This assessment also
consists of three aspects:
1. Behavior through hearing (listening).
2. The feeling of inconvenience through hearing(listening).
3. Awareness of handicap through hearing (listening).
However, most self-assessments have been designed
for adults, especially senior adults with hearing
impairment, and there has been little self-assessment forchildren with hearing impairment. In developing selfassessment of hearing (listening) for children withhearing impairment consideration should be given to thechild’s school life and the results should be relevant tounderstanding of their hearing aid and communication.

Self-assessment of hearing (listening) for hearing
impairment is divided into self-assessment of hearing(listening) required for the fitting of hearing aids, and foranalysis of handicap. The first self-assessment of hearing(listening) is based on the impression of hearing(listening) of the sounds amplified by the hearing aid andthe satisfaction on it’s usage. The content of thisassessment consists of three aspects:
1. Assessment of hearing (listening) in various
environments (e.g., noisy-noiseless, face-to-facecommunication, group communication).
2. Understanding by persons involved with hearing
impairment persons of the use of hearing aids byhearing aid users.
3. The psychology of hearing aid users.
On the other hand, the self-assessment of hearing(listening) for analysis of handicaps investigates theinconvenience and handicap arising from difficulty

Key Words: Persons with hearing impairment, hearing(listening), self-assessment, hearing aid, handicap

Some Problematic Issues Concerning Relationship-theory' for the Studies ofCommunication Disorders
Yasumi Makino, Kanyu Matsumura(Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicap)
3.

Consideration of the methodology of relationshipinvestigation.
4. Consideration of a correlation of the concept of“relationship” with reliability.
In order to approach these problems, the following
three strategies were proposed:
1. The utilization of discourse data of a child.
2. Observation of the relationship between the childand a teacher by a third person.
3. Description of the state of the child's speech andlanguage.

The purpose of the present review is to provide an
overview of research in Japan on communication
disorders based on “Relationship-theory” and to examine
problems that confront researchers in this field. The
research was classified into two types: 1) research on therelationship between a child and teacher/mother, and 2)
research on the relationship between the child andobjects in his/her immediate environment. Foursignificant issues emerged from this meta-analysis:
1. Construction of a methodology to improve
communication disorders between the child andteacher.
2. Clarification of the concept of “Relationship” inresearch on communication disorders.

Key Words: Communication disorders, communicative
relationship, Relationship-theory, language acquisition

The Present Situation of Education for Children with Autism in Regular Classes
Yumiko Hirose, Yoshikuni Tojo
（Branch : Section of Education for Children with Autism）

Chiyoko Terayama（Uekusa Gakuen Junior College）
In education for children with autism in Japan,
individualized teaching has been thought to be importantin special classes and the Tsukyu system for children
with emotionally disturbance. While many children

spend much time in regular classes, the actual conditionsof their learning environment is unclear. In addition, thenature of educational support required has notinvestigated. Therefore, questionnaires were distributed- 54 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 28that a teacher's manual for supporting children with
autism be written.
Furthermore, investigation ofwhether or not the curriculum in Tsukyu and specialclasses is useful in regular classes should be undertaken.
The results also showed the importance of establishing aclose relation among teachers of regular, special andTsukyu classes for considering the validity of the
purpose and the curriculum for these children.
Key Words: Autism, transactional programs, regularclasses, needs of teachers, educational support

to teachers of regular classes of elementary schools
asking about the education of children with autism andthe needs of their teachers. 54 responses were received.
It was found that teachers have difficulty with the
behaviour of these children as well as their ability to
study, and that they want some assistance from ansomeone who can support the child individually. Further,
it was found that as they have poor skills for daily lifeand communication, teachers ask normal children in theclass for help. To cope with this reality it is suggested
that a support system be established in the school andA Study of Educational Support for Children with Attention Deficit/
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Similar Conditions
Kiyoji Koreeda, Munehisa Tamaki, Toshio Hanawa,
Yumiko Hirose*, Yoshikuni Tojo* and Yoshikata Atsumi(Department of Education for Children with Emotional Disturbance)( * Branch: Section of Education for Children with Autism)
conditions were on medication, 59% of this group being
on methylphenidate (Ritalin). Symptoms listed on DSMIV criteria for ADHD were ranked into four degrees andindividual children were ranked by teachers using thischecklist into three symptom categories: 1) Attentiondeficit, 2) Hyperactivity, and 3) Impulsivity. It was
found that the prevalence of hyperactivity was higher
than the other two categories, and that the prevalence ofhyperactivity and impulsivity decreased with age. The
curriculum for children with ADHD and similar
conditions was also addressed in the questionnaire. It
was found that greater emphasis was placed on“Educational therapeutic activities” than academic
subjects. Many of these activities were related to thedevelopment of well-balanced emotions and smoothinterpersonal relationships. In addition, results from thefree description segment of the questionnaire revealed
the variety of individualized teaching of children with
ADHD and similar conditions taking place in resource
rooms for children with emotional disturbance.
Key Words: Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorders(ADHD), resource room, questionnaire, educational
support, curriculum

In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on
the educational support for children with Attention
Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and similar
conditions in regular classes. The purpose of this study
was to survey the educational support for those children
with special educational needs in resource rooms
designed for children with emotional disturbance. All
175 schools with this type of resource room in Japan
were asked to participate in the survey and resource
room teachers at these schools were asked to complete aquestionnaire. The findings were as follows. Of a total of
335 subjects considered in the present study, 202 werediagnosed by resource room teachers as having ADHD,a further 120 as possible ADHD, and the remainder
unknown. 16.8% of children diagnosed as ADHD werein elementary school resource rooms and 4.7% were inresource room located in secondary schools. These
reported percentages were approximately twice those of
a comparable 1997 survey (8.7% in elementary schools
and 2.1% in secondary schools). 90% of subjects weremale, and 20% of those clinically diagnosed as ADHD
had co-morbid diagnosis and 33% had a learning
disorder. 34% of children with ADHD and similar

Trends In the Use of Computers and the Internet
in Special Schools in Japan
Hitoshi Nakamura, Yasuhira Komago,
Testuya Munetaka, and Nariki Osugi（Department of Educational Technology）
The purpose of this study was to determine trends inthe use of computers and the Internet in special schools
in Japan. The researchers reviewed six research papers,
two official survey reports, and a brief report on
educational use of computers and the Internet publishedin 2000. This was a simple summary paper, and our
discussions and conclusions in the present study weremainly based on comprehensive results and unpublisheddata of the survey in March 1999. Findings in this reportwere based on questionnaires distributed to 983 special- 55 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 28

information such as school history, address and so on.
On the one hand, while the number of teachers who
considered themselves equipped to make original
software programs decreased by 2 %, on the other hand,
computer literacy among teachers increased accounting
for almost one half of all special school teachers. Despite
the above findings, many schools had problems due tothe rapidity of the spread of computer technology.
These difficulties included lack of budget for necessary
software and hardware, and an increase in the
management load of personnel responsible for schooluse of the Internet.

schools (viz. 71 schools for the blind, 107 schools for thedeaf, 514 schools for the intellectually disabled, 195
schools for the physically disabled, and 96 schools forthe health impaired.797 schools or 81.1% of all special
schools responded to the questionnaire. It was found thatthe number of schools with computers has been
increasing (i.e. from 96.9% in 1997 to 98.1% in 1999).
In 1999 the mean number of computers in a school
increased to 12.2 from ?. Further major findings fromthe 1999 survey were as follows: 87 schools haveexperience of CAI (Computer Assisted Instruction),
mainly in academic subjects (viz. Japanese, arithmetic /mathematics and so on), 39 % of schools are connectedto the Internet and use it mainly for teaching andlearning, and 58 % of connected schools have a
Homepage or Web pages mainly providing profile

Key Words: Computer, Internet, teaching method,
research survey, Special Education

The New Information Network and Computer System of the National
Institute of Special Education: Current Status and Problems
Yutaka Katsuma, Masahiro Watanabe, Akira Watanabe,
Masashi Hayasaka and Hitoshi Nakamura（Division of Research and Development, Information Center of Special Education）
found that the use of e-mail had increased fourfold since
the introduction of the new system and that the NISE
home page was accessed approximately 4000 times onany day of the week. Moreover, this paper discusses
management implications for the computer system andLAN of design changes introduced since December 1999
as well as functions that were not incorporated into the
new system.

A new computer system and LAN were introduced at
the National Institute of Special education (NISE) in
December 1999. The updated system was designed toachieve and easy-to-use information environment for theuser. To determine the effectiveness of the new system,
the number of e-mails and the number of hits of the
NISE homepage were examined. In addition, thefrequency of e-mails on a specific day of the week aswell as time slot during the day were tabulated. It was

On the Construction of a Database Based on XML
at the National Institute of Special Education
Masahiro Watanabe, Yutaka Katsuma, Akira Watanabe,
Masashi Hayasaka, and Hitoshi Nakamura（Division of Research and Development, Information Center of Special Education）
The National Institute of Special Education (NISE)
has made a Web page, which presents various
information related to special education. Until now, theWeb page has been written generally in the language
called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). In thiscase, the Web page had to be modified by hand.
However, the situation will be quite different with theintroduction of XML (Extensible Markup Language),which is attracting growing attention as the basetechnology to supportWeb pages into the next generation.
If XML is used as the language to write Web pages, it’s

- 56 -

modification will be done automatically in connection
with the renewal of the database. Web pages scripted in
XML will be able to be easily linked with a database,then the system in which the Web page always refers to,cooperate and is updated with a database can be built
effectively by using XML. In this paper, the advantage
of introducing XML to NISE for the construction of a
new database affinitive Web page system.
Key Words: Digital document, database, WWW,
XML, PDF

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 28

Current Special Education in Britain:
Deaf-blind Education and Staff Development
Hiroyuki Sugai（Department of Education for Children with Multiple Disabilities）
This article provides an overview of the current stateof educational reform as it affects special needs
education in the United Kingdom and focuses on theuniqueness of deafblind/multisensory impairment
education. The central government in the UK introduced
the market principle to schools with the aim of
improving educational outcomes. Recent policy has
focused on curricular reform of academic subjects. In thefield of the education of children with special needs,
there has seen dramatic changes in educational policy
and practice since the concept of “Special Educational
Needs (SEN)” was introduced in the 1981 Education Act.
This relatively new concept stressed that the content ofservices provided should be directly based on the child’s
special educational needs. On the one hand while many
students with SEN were able to access mainstream
schooling, on the other they faced new difficulties intheir learning environment, especially those children
with severe learning difficulties and/or complex needs.
This paper suggests that at present there are insufficient
resources in mainstream schools in Britain to provide forchildren who have specific and complex needs. Recently
there has been debate on the uniqueness of the condition
known as deafblindness as part of the current debate on
the education of children with complex needs. The
outcome of this debate is that the importance ofprofessional educational treatment has been recognizedonce again. This finding was based on a government
report that showed that many staff who work with pupils
who are deafblind use specific and wide-ranging
strategies and that they should have a thoroughunderstanding and knowledge of the condition. The
central government has established guidelines formeeting these standards of expertise and information
about the uniqueness of deafblindness. However, many
staff still have concerns that the needs of children with
deafblindness or multisensory impairnments will become
lost in mainstream settings. Most teachers in regularclasses do not have expetise in this field, so the issue ofstaff development has become increasingly important.
This overview of recent educational trends, including theprovision of deafblind education in Britain suggest that
more professional expertise in more inclusive
educational settings is required, the importance ofindividual needs as a catalyst for educational
intervention, and for a greater emphasis on amulti/interdisciplinary approach. In Japan, it is suggested
that the uniqueness of education for children who aredeafblind should be stressed and that expertise should be
developed through a system of inservice training ofteachers.
Key Words: Deafblind, multi-sensory impaired, special
educational needs, special education in Britain, expertise

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 29

Literacy in Japanese Deaf Education: hanging Concepts and Methods
ODA Yoshiaki(Department of Children With Hearing and Speech Handicaps)
The development of Literacy in deaf children has
always been a major objective of the education of thedeaf. However, since the education of the deaf began, theconcept and methodology of educational intervention fordeaf children's literacy has changed the teaching ofliteracy instruction by the manual method has shifted
towards a highlly designed letter-based teaching
methodology using the pure oral method.

Following this various modalities of Japanese code fordeveloping chilldren's literacy have been used. The
current shift in emphasis, however, is to bilingual
approach for literacy development. And also newchanges are happening in a global context of rapid
development of information technology that may havean influence on the concept of literacy itself. In thispaper a functional framework of intervention for deaf
children's literacy is proposed.

- 57 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 29

Characteristics of Academic Failure in Children with Learning Disabilities:
A Comparative Study
KAIZU Akiko(Department of Education for Children with Health Impairments)
This study examines the characteristics of academic
failure in children with LD. Initially a Learning
Disabilities Screening Checklist (LDSC) to profile theacademic skills of children with LD was constructed.
Based on the definition of LD proposed by the Ministryof Education, Culture, Sports and Science (MEXT,
1999), the LDSC consists of six academic areas:
listening, speaking, reading, writing, mathematical
calculation and mathematical reasoning. Each area
consists of 20-24 items. The 134 items of the LDSC
were chosen based on previous research on factors
contributing to academic failure in children with LD by
Kaizu (1997, 2000).
The experimental group ofchildren with LD(n = 124) and the control group (n=304) were assessed using the LDSC and werecompared by age level (7-9 years and 10-12 years). The
items of academic failure were classified from the meansof academic failure scores and from items showing
significant difference between the LD and control groups.
From this analysis, the characteristics of academic
failure in children with LD were clarified because it

examined not only significant difference between thegroups, but also the degree of academic failure by age
level. It was found that in some types of academic failure,
the means of scores were significantly different between
the LD group and the control group in lower grades, but
not in upper grades. We interpret this to mean thatchildren with LD slowly, but steadily acquire academic
skills in certain areas. On the other hand, academic
failure was observed in which there was a significant
difference between the two groups in both age levels.
We suggest that this is probably closely related to the
cognitive characteristics of children with LD and that
this kind of academic failure is associated with thedifficulty in acquiring of specific academic skills even if
the child is engaged in leaning. This study provides acomprehensive understanding of academic failure inchildren with LD by age level and has implications forteaching goals and methodology.
Key Words: Learning disabilities, academic failure,academic assessment, checklist, comparative study

Development and Use of New-type Push Switches using
Strain Gauge Technology for the Education of Children
with Severe and Multiple Disabilities
MUNEKATA Tetsuya, MIFUNE Shunsuke* and NAKAMURA Hitoshi(Department of Educational and Information Technology)( * Kaike Protective Care School for Physically Handicapped Children, Tottori Prefecture)
This paper reports on the development of new type of
push-switch system for children with limb paralysis andvisual disability based on strain gauge technology. The
system provides real time audio feedback in response toeven fine motor movement. A case study of thefunctioning of the new system and analysis of results
suggest that the system is effective. The first systemdeveloped was relatively expensive because of thesystem configuration. A second version, however, using

a micro-controller, a 12 bits A/D converter, an amplifier
circuit, 4 strain gauges, and a power supply unit,
provides comparable functioning at 1/30th of the originalcost. Consequently, the updated version is easier toimplement and set-up in classrooms. Results of the casestudies and future issues are also discussed.
Key Words: Special education, children with severe andmultiple disability, strain gauge, A/D converter, microcontroller, educational technology"Period of Integrated Study" by Collaboration of Teachers in
Tsukyu and Teachers in Ordinary Classrooms
KUBOYAMA Shigeki and TOYOTA Hiromi*(Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicap)(*Tsurukawa-Daisan Elementary School, Machida)This Case Study reports on the progress in gaining
greater understanding of the feelings of individuals withhandicapping conditions to improve collaboration. The
study was on ducted during periods of "Integrated
Study," in ordinary classrooms of elementary schools

and highlights the importance of teachers in Tsukyu(resource room) and in ordinary classes collaborating in
the education of children attached to Tsukyu. This isbecause these children spend the greater part of theirschool lives in ordinary classrooms. The researchers and- 58 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 29

teachers in ordinary classes collaborated in the sessions.
In the sessions entitled "Yasashisa tte nandarona? (Howdo you think about tenderness?)" it was found thatstudents from first to sixth grade experience continual

inconvenience and report this experience. The aim of thesessions is that every child gains an awareness of the
feelings of individuals with handicap and is motivated toengage in support activity for them.

Educational Treatment by use of Picture Books for
Blind Children: A Case Study
KANEKO Takeshi(Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments)
Picture books for blind children include pictures madewith tactile materials to enhance understanding, but
occasionally these books have pictures, which cannot be
understood tactually by blind children. The purpose ofthis study was to make valid and interesting picture
books for blind children using pictures that could beunderstood tactually and, by use of these books, toenhance the development of blind children and theirlearning. Examples of this are improvement in tactile
perception, tactile imagery and imagination on picturesand stories, the learning of Braille, and so on. These
aspects were investigated in a Case Study using picture

books of a blind girl aged 3-6 years. It was found that, 1)
tactile perception generally improved and "searching"and "tracing" tactile perception improved, 2) the childenhanced the stories using gestures and by modeling thecharacters in the picture books (tactile imagery andimagination were enhanced), and 3) she became
interested in the Braille used in the picture books andthis improved the efficiency of her learning of Braille.
Key Words: Picture books for blind children, tactile
perception, imagery, imagination, Braille

Acquisition of the Skills of Reading and Writing Yoon Scripts
in Children with Reading Difficulties
SATO Katsutoshi(Department of Education for Children with Intellectual Disabilities)

MORITA Haruhito(Child Guidance Centre, Saitama Prefecture)

MAEKAWA Hisao(Institute of Special Education, University of Tsukuba)
The purpose of this Case Study was to investigate theappropriate training strategy and problems of reading
and writing in a child with reading difficulties.
According to psychological assessment, the childshowed weakness in successive processing and language
development. Before he participated in the training
programmes, he read Yoon with two syllables. Word
completion tasks were used in his training. Word cards
with blank characters of Yoon syllables and character
pieces with Yoon syllables were prepared. In these word

completion tasks, the child had to select the rightcharacter from three pieces. As a result of this training
programme, he became able to read many Yoonsyllables with or without training stimuli and to select all
the correct pieces in the word completion tasks. But hecould write few Yoon syllables in the generalization
stimuli. Results are discussed from the perspective ofphonological processing and auditory discrimination
processing.

Questionnaire Survey on Session for Understanding
Hearing Handicap in Primary School.
SATO D.S. Masayuki(Department of Education for Children with Speech and Hearing Handicaps)
The aim of this paper is to clarify details of aquestionnaire survey
conducted on session forunderstanding hearing handicap. Questionnaire items
focused on the difficulty of sessions for understanding
hearing handicap, the individual understanding ofchildren with hearing handicap and so on. The subjectof this questionnaire survey concerns teachers of schools
for the deaf, special units for hearing handicap inprimary schools with experience in session for- 59 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 29

understanding hearing handicap in a class of primaryschool.
The main findings are as follows:
1. It is difficult to present knowledge on
hearing(listening) and communication concerning
hearing handicap with appropriate terms, because
children with hearing handicap carry various personal
conditions .
2. On the individual understanding hearing handicap, it
shows how hearing children should communicate withchildren with hearing handicap on individual cases andthat children with hearing handicap participates on

construction of session for understanding hearing
handicap.
These finding suggest that we should consider the how
in communication with children with hearing handicap
and the listening (hearing) through their hearing aid
concretely concerning the development of teachingmaterials for understanding hearing handicap.
Key words: children with hearing handicap,
understanding hearing handicap, hearing aid, primaryschool

Educational Practice of Computer Literacy andInformation Education in Special Schools
WATANABE Akira, OSUGI Nariki, NAKAMURA Hitoshi(Department of Educational and Information Technology)
In this study 255 examples of teaching in the area ofJoho kyouiku (computer literacy and information
education) in special schools were analyzed. The
analyses were conducted from the following
perspectives: 1) type of disability, 2) educational subject,
3) educational content, 4) educational methodology and,5) educational outcomes. Interpretation of results,
current states of educational practice of computer

literacy and information education in special schools was
discussed. Finally, efforts to improve the teaching ofcomputer literacy and information education to meet theeducational needs of children with disabilities arepresented.
Key Words: Computer literacy, information education,
special schools, educational practiceInservice Training for Special Education Teachers
to Improve Computer Literacy :A Survey of Education Centers in Urban and Rural Prefectures
NAKAMURA Hitoshi, MUNEKATA Tetsuya,
OSUGI Nariki, and KOMAGO Yasuhira *(Department of Educational and Information Technology)(*Kansai International University)
Education Centers, including Special Education
Centers in urban and rural prefectures are central bodies
in the provision of in-service teacher training courses.
This paper reviews the findings of a questionnaire surveyof training courses for computer literacy and schoolsupport systems of 11 Special Education Centers and 48
Education Centers in urban and rural prefectures andmajor cities designated by government ordinance. All theorganisations approached to participate were respondents.
The main findings were that nine Special Education
Centers (i.e. 82%), and 21 Education Centers (i.e. 44%)
provide in-service teacher training on computer literacy
for special education teachers. The remaining two
Special Education Centers provided alternative
arrangements. 47 of the total of 48 Education Centersprovide in-service training courses accessible to special
education teachers, and one center reported alternative
provision. These findings suggest there is adequate in-service training in computer literacy for special
education teachers in all prefectures and major cities inJapan. In terms of supporting Kohnai Kenshu (peerprofessional development programs in schools), 50% of
Education Centers replied that they have the capacity tosend personnel to school on request. Concerning
responding to request concerning the use of the Internet
in schools, in the majority of cases Special Educationand Education Centers provide assistance via electronic
mail, telephone, facsimile, and so on. This finding alsosuggests that the centers provide flexible and wide
ranging services, not only for schools, but also forparents and other relevant organizations.
Key Words: In-service Training, Computer Literacy,
Special Education Centers, Information Literacy, Kohnai
Kenshu [Peer Professional Development Programs]- 60 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 29

Health Education and Health Management of Children with Profound andMultiple Disabilities who need Special Health Care in Special Schools
KAWASUMI Ryuichi, ISHIKAWA Masataka and GOKAMI Tetsuo(Department of Education for Children with Multiple Disabilities)
This paper provides an overview of a nationwide
survey conducted in 2000 of children with profound andmultiple disabilities in need of special health care.
Special health care is defined as the provision of services
such as sputum suction, tube feeding and so on.
Analysis was made of 1,135 responses to one survey
item concerned with the educational plan and provision
made for health maintenance of these children.
Responses were categorized as follows: 1) Healthobservation and provision made for the child's physicalcondition, 2) health education and, 3) healthmanagement. In the first category, various health indices,
including vital signs, were extracted and somesuggestions made. Nine types of direct approach wereobserved in Category (2), and nine necessary conditions
were found in Category (3).
Key Words: Special health care, health observation,
health education, health management, profound andmultiple disabilities

Current Situation of Education for Children
with Autism in Regular Classes II:
Features of Individual Children and Teacher Needs
HIROSE Yumiko and TOJO Yoshikuni(Branch: Section of Education for Children with Autism)
In the report "New Perspectives of Special Educationin the 21st Century" (Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology, 2001), it is suggested
there is a need for positive special education support forchildren with mild handicapping conditions enrolled inregular classes in elementary and junior high schools. To
investigate this issue, questionnaires were circulated toteachers of children with autism in regular classes inelementary schools. There were 184 respondents. In
addition, the survey included not only children enrolled
in regular classes, but also those in special classes and ininteraction programmes. Analysis was based on data
categorized according to the achievement levels obtained
achieving children with autism need more in-service
training and a teaching manual on the education ofchildren with autism. 5) Teachers manage to teachchildren with autism relying on their own devices andinitiative. 6) Teachers are most concerned about the lackof daily living skills in the low achieving group. 7)
Teachers are concerned about behavioural problems
regardless of achievement level, and teachers needinservice training and a teaching manual for theby children with autism, and the following factors;
degree of disorder, behavioral problems, educationaltasks in the curriculum, teacher concerns about children
during and after class, teacher support needs and types ofchild support presently provided. The findings were as
follows: 1) Teachers are most concerned about thedifficulty of classroom learning in low achievers. 2)
Teachers are concerned about behavioral problems inclass regardless of achievement level. 3) Teachers of low
achieving children with autism are in need of a support
professional familiar with autism and able to maketeaching
materials.
4)
Teachersofhigheducation of children with autism regardless of theirachievement level. It is suggested that to cope with thecurrent situation, greater effort should be directed
towards, 1) assessing children who use Tsukyu classes tobetter understand the criteria used in the interview
process for entrance, 2) in-service training for theeducation of autistic children in regular classes and, 3)
improving the quality of education of children with
autism in Tsukyu and special classes.

Children with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder:
A Survey of All Primary and Secondary Schools in a Rural City
HANAWA Toshio, BABA Hiroo*, ATSUMI Yoshikata,
OHSHIBA Fumie, KOREEDA Kiyoji, TAMAKI Munehisa(Department of Education for Children with Emotional Disturbance)(* Classroom of Nagano Prefectural Hanada Special School in Suwako-Kenkougakuen)
The report "New Perspectives of Special Education in
the 21st Century," (Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology, 2001), emphasizes thatin the future children with attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) should be educated with appropriate
educational support. To develop appropriate methods for- 61 -

Abstract of Bulletin of The national Institute of Special Education Vol. 29

educational support for children with ADHD a basic
requirement is inderstanding the needs of these children
in schools. To address this requirement, a survey of all
schools (primary and secondary) in a city located in arural region was conducted. It was found that theprevalence of suspected ADHD, including not only
official diagnosis, was 0.57%, but with medical
diagnosis it was only 0.26%. The prevalence ratio washighest at the 4th grade level of the primary school. Of
43 children diagnosed with ADHD in primary schools,

28 were in regular classrooms and 15 in special classes.
While children with signs of ADHD had a variety ofeducational problems, it was found that teachers wereattempting to meet their needs with resourcefulness andcreativity.
Key Words: Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), survey, regular class, educational support,
questionnaire

Study of Information Retrieval System for Web Pages
in Special Education
KATSUMA Yutaka and OSUGI Nariki（Department of Educational and Information Technology）
At Division of Research and Development,
Information Center of Special Education, the National
Institute of Special Education, the authors had been
making the "Web page link list” for variousorganizations related to Special Education, and opened
up to Internet. This link list has been fortunately used bya lot of users.
The web link list has the weak point that necessary
information is not searchable at once while it is intuitiveand comprehensible. In this research, we planned toreorganize and expand it, and to integrate the directory
type interface and the search engine into the link list.
As a result, the user came to be able to collect easily
information more than with the past one.
key word: information retrieval, search engine, index,
link list, Web page

Special Supportive Education for Children with High-Functioning Autism
and Asperger's Syndrome from the Perspective ofSpecificity in Approach-Avoidance Judgments in Brain Functioning
TOJO Yoshikuni(Branch : Section of Education for Children with Autism)
In this paper, the nature of special supportive
education for children with autistic spectrum, such as
high-functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome, isdiscussed from the perspective of specificity inapproach-avoidance
judgments(especiallythepredominance of avoidance judgments) in brain
functioning. Attitudes to support based on theindividual needs of each child are considered. The
paper initially reviews previous research on brain
function, social competence, heredity and environment,
the beginnings of the problem with autistic spectrum,and the formative process of various typical symptoms
of autism. Together with the assumption of biologicaldisorder in the limbic system (in particular the
amygdala), it is proposed that the high probability of
typical symptoms of autism (such as “qualitative
impairment in social interaction," communicationdifficulty," “restricted, repetitive andstereotyped
patterns of behavior, interests and activities," “lackof attachment," “theory of mind deficit," and “strong
feelings of fear and insecurity") stems from specificity
in approach-avoidance judgments. In addition, basedon reports of people with high-functioning autism andAsperger's syndrome, the type of support designed tomeet individual needs is discussed. It is suggested thatthe basic attitude to children with autistic spectrum lies
in inhibition of the formative process of various
symptoms by the elicitation of approach judgments topeople and objects that reduce fear and insecurity.
Finally the theoretical foundation of supportive
education is discussed.
Key Words: autism, supportive education, individual
needs, approach-avoidance judgment, amygdale- 62 -NISE Activity International Cooperation

International Exchange Activities 2000-2001
Hitoshi Hara#
Director of International Exchange Division, NISE

formal exchange agreements, overseas research
fellowships, participation in international conferences,
grants-in-aid for scientific research, and visits byoverseas academics and administrators. The details ofthese exchanges are outlined in Tables 1 and 2.

1. International cooperation and exchange
A large number of international academic exchanges
were conducted in the 2000-2001 period, including
overseas visits by NISE staff to institutions with which
the National Institute of Special Education (NISE) has

Table 1 NISE Staff Traveling Overseas
1973-1997
1998
1999
Overseas
Research
Fellowships
Fellowships
For attendance atInternational
Conferences
Grants-in-Aid for
Scientific
Research

2000

2001

59(2.4)#

3

2

2

1

15(0.6)

0

1

4

1

62(2.5)

25

14

22

24

Others30(1.2)

5

7

4

15

Total

166(6.6)

33

24

32

45

# Parenthesis indicates average figures
The number of NISE staff dispatched to overseas
institutions on Japanese government-sponsored shortor long-term research fellowships averaged between
two and three each year until 1999, and so there waslittle change in the 2000-2001 period. Likewise, thenumber of staff visiting overseas to attend
international conferences remained steady. On theother hand, there was a dramatic increase in thenumber of staff visiting overseas under the grants-inaid for scientific research program. This was a resultof changes introduced in 1998 making it easier for
staff to make use of the grants-in-aid scheme. Since
these changes were introduced, between 10 and 20

staff have visited overseas under the scheme each year.
"Others" includes visiting overseas for the purposes ofconducting research commissioned by the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology,
and visits carried out under the international exchange
agreement with the Korea Institute for Special
Education (KISE).
The number of overseas academics andadministrators invited to Japan to take part in APEID
Seminars on Special Education totaled 12 in 2000 and
14 in 2001. "Overseas Visitors" includes the total
number of participants in study tours to Japan.

Table 2: Visits to Japan by Overseas Academics/Administrators
1973-1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Invited Gests *

273

18

29

15

17

Overseas Visitors

(-)

47

73

69

37

* including APEID Seminar participants- 63 -NISE Activity International Cooperation

Education (KISE), the 1st Japan-Korea Research
Exchange Seminar was held at the NISE offices on
February 21, 2001. Three members of KISE wereinvited to take part in the seminar. The main theme ofthe seminar was "The Current Status and Future
Trends of Special Education in Japan and Korea."
After being briefed on the special education systems in
the two countries, participants exchanged opinions on
the seminar's main theme.
Dr. Lee You-hoon and Dr. Chung Dong-young gave
addresses on behalf of KISE.
The following five speakers (in order of appearance)
gave addresses on behalf of NISE: Senior Researcher
Hiroyuki Sugai, Senior Researcher Nariki Osugi,
Senior Researcher Mayumi Sawada, Section Chief
Masayoshi Tsuge, and Senior Researcher Masashi
Hayasaka.

2. International seminars
The APEID Seminars have been hosted by NISE
and the Japanese National Commission for UNESCO
since 1981. The 21st and final APEID Seminar, thelast of the 6th programming cycle, was held in 2001. It
is hoped that the philosophy behind the APEID
Seminars, which is to contribute to the development ofspecial education in the Asia-Pacific region and theimprovement of education in the participating
countries, will be carried over into a new round ofinternational seminars on special education in the
Asia-Pacific region.
1) APEID Seminar on Special Education 2000
Schedule: November 7-10, 2000
Venue: NISE
Main theme of the 6th cycle: Special Education
Partnerships in the 21st Century Sub-theme of the 20th
APEID Seminar: Strengthening and Encouraging
School Development

4) The 2nd Korea-Japan Research Exchange Seminar
The 2nd Korea-Japan Research Exchange Seminar
was held at the KISE offices on February 26, 2002.
The main theme of the seminar was "The Current
State of Special Education Communication in Korea
and Japan and Issues for the Future." Three NISE
representatives were invited to give addresses at theseminar.
Representing NISE were (in order of appearance)
Researcher Akiko Kaizu, Section
Chief Megue Nakazawa, and Senior Researcher
Nariki Osugi.

2) APEID Seminar on Special Education 2001 and30th anniversary of the founding of the National
Institute of Special Education as an independently
administered agency
Schedule: November 18-23, 2001
Venue: National Olympics Memorial Youth Center(Tokyo)Main theme of the 6th cycle: (See above)
Sub-theme of the 21st APEID Seminar: Development
and International Cooperation in Special Education in
the Asia-Pacific Region5) The 1st Japan-Germany Research Exchange
SeminarDr. Walther Dreher, Dean of the Faculty of
Remedial Education at the University of Cologne, andDr. Barbara Fornefield, a professor at the same faculty,
were invited to take part in the 1st Japan-Germany
Research Exchange Seminar, held from February 26 to
28, 2002. The main theme of the seminar was"Independence and School Education for Children
with Severe Disabilities - Study Support and InclusionforChildrenwith
SevereCommunication
Disabilities." In addition to the two speakers
mentioned above and Tetsuya Kono, Associate
Professor at the National Defense Academy (who wasinvited to take part by the executive committee),
Section Chief Susumu Ouchi, Department Director
Ken Sasamoto, and Senior Researcher Masataka
Ishikawa spoke on the main theme on behalf of NISE.
publications, and other information, exchanged ofresearchers, joint research, seminars, and study

To mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of
NISE, on the first day of the seminar, Professor
Yoshitatsu Nakano of Sano International Information
Junior College gave a lecture entitled "Lifelong
Learning in the 21st Century for Children with Special
Education Needs." That afternoon, the guests invitedfor the APEID Seminar on Special Education joined ina panel discussion entitled "International Cooperationin Special Education in the 21st Century - Towards
Realizing the Doctrine of Normalization."
3) The 1st Japan-Korea Research Exchange Seminar
In accordance with the research exchange agreement
between NISE and the Korea Institute for Special
It was agreed that NISE would continue to promoteexchanges (including exchanges of research materials,- 64 -NISE Activity International Cooperation
Research on this topic covered basic issues relating
to lifelong learning for people with disabilities inJapan and incorporated research in four overseas
countries (the U.K., Italy, Norway, and the U.S.A.)
that are considered leaders in the area of lifelong
learning for people with disabilities

meetings) with the Faculty of Remedial Education at
the University of Cologne, Germany, in accordancewith a formal exchange agreement between the two
institutions.
3. Overseas information gathering andaccumulation

3) Publication of Volumes 15 and 16 of Special
Education in the World

1) Research into the teaching of children with special
learning needs in major overseas countries

Special Education in the World is published once a
year by NISE. The contents include reports on
research carried out with the help of grants-in-aid forscientific research, reports by overseas research
fellows, summaries of APEID Seminars on Special
Education, and reports on international conferences
and seminars in which NISE staff participated, as well
as related research materials. Volumes 15 (2000) and
16 (2001) were published.

Research on this topic was conducted from March
1999 by a team led by Kouki Chida, Director of the
Department of Education for Children with Visual
Impairments, with the help of a grant-in-aid forscientific research from the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The
research was carried out in five major countries: theU.K., France, Germany, Italy, and the U.S.A. A final
report was prepared in 2002 and distributed to therelevant organizations.

4. Information disseminated overseas
Volume 6 of the NISE English-language bulletin(Volume 7 is currently being prepared for publication),
reports on the 20th and 21st APEID Seminars, and
APEID newsletters (Nos. 15-18) were published.

2) Commissioned research on lifelong learning forpeople with disabilities (Leader: Chikamori Oshio,
Director of the Department of Education for Children
with Intellectual Disabilities)#

The present office, Director‑General, Yokohama City
Central Area Habilitation Center for Children- 65 -NISE Activity International Cooperation

SUPPLEMENTS
APEID Seminar on Special Education
UNESCO. The seminar is held once in a year as anundertaking of ODA project. The seminar aims atstrengthening educational cooperation among member
nations of UNESCO in the Asia and Pacific region as
well as fostering the intrinsic development of education
within the member nations.

NISE has been hosting APEID "Asia and the Pacific
Programme of Educational Innovation for Development"
Special Education Seminar with attendance ofprofessionals (administrators, researchers and teachersetc.) from Asia and Pacific regional nations withcooperation of Japanese National Commission forSpecial Education Partnership for 21st Century-Strengthening and Encouraging School DevelopmentOSHIRO Eimei(The National Institute of Special Education)
The 20th APEID Regional Seminar on Special
Education was held at the National Institute of Special
Education, Yokosuka City, Knagawa Prefecture, Japan
from November 6 until November 11, 2000.

between enhancing in the understanding of children
with disabilities and school education.
2) The need for curriculum plans, teaching materials,
teachers training and improving teaching skills to be
implemented in education for children withdisabilities.
3) Support plans for teachers and parents and school
development through collaboration with various
resources in the community which would leadschools to maintain and improve their functions.
4) Concerned authorities and school principals'
leadership role is crucial to the achievement of
inclusive schools.

1. Theme of the Seminar
We started the 6th programming (1997-2001) cycle of
the APEID seminar on special education in 1997. The
common theme running through this five year's
programme is "Special Education Partnership for 21stCentury". The theme of this year's seminar was"Strengthening and Encouraging School Development"
2. Objectives and Contents of the seminar
The objective of the seminar was to discuss various
issues to be improved in each country with a focus on
the issues for Strengthening and encouraging school
development in education for children with special
education needs. In particular, we had focused on efforts
in respective countries toward the goals of education for
all based on the idea of Normalization, to development
which could meet individual educational needs withdisabilities and support their independence and social
participation.
In the seminar, twelve country reports were presented
by delegates in each member countries. The seminargave
participants an occasion to enrich and strengthen theiractivities through the exchange of information regarding
the state-of-the-art of school development in theircountries and also highlighted the future prospects.
The following points were discussed in the seminar.
1) The importance of increasing awareness of education
for children with disabilities among teachers, parents
and other people in the community, and the relation

3. Organizers
The Japanese National Commission for UNESCO(JNCU) and The National Institute of Special Education(NISE)
4. Data and Venue
Date: November 6-11, 2000
Venue: National Institute of Special Education (NISE)
and related sites.
Schedule of the seminar:
6th (Mon.) Registration and Orientation
7th (Tue.) Opening Ceremony / Presentation of Country
Reports & Discussion
8th (Wed.) Presentation of Country Reports / Short tour
to NKSCD and General Discussion
9th (Thu.) Field Tour of Kamakura City Municipal
ONARI Elementary School
10th (Fri.) Final Discussion / Closing Ceremony
11th (Sat.) Leave Japan- 66 -NISE Activity International Cooperation

5. Participants
Representatives from twelve countries and from
UNESCO / PROAP Associate Expert as listed in thefollowing page, participated at the seminar. Mr. Teruzo
YAMASHITA, Director, Dept. of children withIntellectual Disabilities of NISE, represented Japan.
Participants of the 20th APEID Seminar
Bangladesh: Md. Katebur Rahman
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare,
Government of the People's Republic of
BANGLADESH
China: Yu Xia
Associate Research Fellow, Beijing Academy of
Education Sciences.
India: Dr. Uma TULI
Founder and Managing Secretary, Amar Jyoti
Charitable Trust, Rehabilitation & Research Center.
Indonesia: Rosyid Rosihan
Head of Sub-Directorate of Special Education,
Directorate of Primary Education, Directorate-Generalof Primary and Secondary Education, Department of
National Education.
Maklaysia: Ahamad Zzabidi bin SHANSUDDIN
Director, Planning and research Division, Special
Education Department, Ministry of Education
Malaysia.
Nepal: Arum Kumar TIWARI
Section Officer, Special Education Section,
Department of Education HNG Nepal.
New Zealand: Kathleen DOOLEY
Principal of Mt Richmond Special School.
Pakistan: Rafig Ahmed MALIK
Director / Principal, National Special Education
Center for Hearing Impaired Children.
Philippines: MA. Dhita I. SINGAYAN
Senior Education Program Specialist, Bereau of
Elementary Education, Culture and Sports.
Republic of Korea: Dr. Joo Young KIM
Educational Researcher, Korea Institute for Special
Education.
Thailand: Dr. Benja CHONLATANON
Director / Rajabhat, Special Education Center Facultyof Education.
UNESCO / PROAP: TAKAHASHI Yuka
Associate Expert in Special Needs Education.
6. Conclusions and Recommendations in the seminar
The seminar participants included 12 delegates fromdifferent countries in the Asian Pacific region, the
UNESCO representative, observers from Japan. The
delegates representing each country spoke about thestage that their respective countries had reached inworking towards the common goal of "Education for
All". They shared information about the issues for theirown countries in realizing the challenges of education
which meets individual educational needs withdisabilities, and reflected upon future development andways in which their own country may make further
progress toward this goal.
Conclusions reached during the discussions centeredaround the following themes:
1. The importance of increasing awareness of education
for children with special needs among teachers,
parents, and other people in the community, and therelation between enhancing the understanding ofchildren with disabilities, and school education.
・ All student teachers should have pre-service training
opportunities in education of children with special
needs.
・ Parent and community awareness of thepossibilities of inclusion should be raised.
・ School administrators and teachers should have inservice training opportunities to learn more aboutchildren with special needs and their special
education needs.
2. The need for curriculum plans, teaching methods andteaching materials, teacher training and the improvementof teaching skills to be implemented in education forchildren with special needs.
・ All countries in the region would benefit fromsharing curriculum plans, teaching methods andstrategies teaching materials.
・ Teachers and other staff working in schools shouldhave opportunities for further specific training inteaching skills and strategies.
3. There should be support for plans for teachers andparents and school development through collaboration
with various resources in the community which would
lead schools to maintain and improve their functions.
・ Existing special schools, units and similar resource
centers can change their roles to further support
inclusion using their roles to further support
inclusion using their expertise.
・ Parents of both disabled and non-disabled children
and other community members should be
encouraged to be involved in supporting inclusionin their local schools.
・ Schools should make full utilization of community
resources in developing their programmes.

4. Concerned authorities and the school principals'
leadership role is crucial to the achievement of inclusive
schools.

- 67 -NISE Activity International Cooperation

・ Concerned authorities and school principals must be
made aware of their countries' national legislationand policies on education for all and integrated
education.
・ Concerned authorities and school principals must be
knowledgeable about the educational needs ofchildren with special needs and have the ability tocreate favorable school environments for integrated
education.

guidelines, teaching methods and materials, assistive
technology information and software and general
information relating to disabilities and special
education. Government should be assisting theirpractioners to develop supports for special needs
education, research a good practice.
5. Special Schools should be funded to expand theirroles as Resource Centers to provide support services
to mainstreamed special needs students, their teachersand other school personnel.
6. School Principals should inform the parents (of bothdisabled and non-disabled children) of theirprogrammes for inclusion at least twice a year.
7. All children with special needs, and their parents
should be provided from birth with early intervention
services led by the Ministry of Education, Special
Education Ministries and other concerned ministries
such as Social Welfare, Health, and Labor etc.
8. Schools should invite members of their communities
to be involved in school decision-making andvolunteer activities. This could include local artists
grandparents, professionals and university staff.
9. The governing body of each school and concerned
authorities should be responsible for ensuring thatchildren with special needs who are enrolled in theirschools have a written Individualized Education
Programme (IEP). This would include the child'sgoals, specific needs, personnel and resources
necessary to achieve the goals. parents should be
consulted on the IEP Development.
10. The governing body of each school and concerned
authorities should be accountable for ensuring theleast restrictive environment for every child withspecial needs attending their schools.

Recommendations
In the light the above conclusions the conference
recommends that:
1. In all regular pre-service teacher training there should
be sufficient theoretical overview of special needs
followed by overview and practical teachingexperiences in a special needs classroom situation.
2. Local education authorities and schools should haveaction plans for increasing awareness amongst theircommunities by using varieties of strategies such as
media campaigns, workshops and meetings, special
events, visits to schools and special education centers,
and publicizing of successful cases of school
development which meets individual educational
needs of individuals with special needs.
3. Principals and teachers should have regular in-service
training including observation visit to special facilities
and integrated schools within and outside their own
countries and specific training in teaching skills andstrategies.
4. UNESCO could consider collaboration with anotheragency to establish an Asian Pacific resource web-site
for the sharing and dissemination of curriculum

The 21st APEID Special Education Seminar with the Celebration of
NISE's 30th Anniversary - Report
Special Education Partnerships for the 21st Century
Developing Special Education in Each Country and Enhancing International
Collaboration among Countries in the Asia- Pacific Region
By OSHIRO Eimei(The Department of Education for Children with Visual Impairments)

The 21st APEID (The Asia- Pacific Programme of
Educational Innovation for Development) special
education seminar with the celebration of NISE's 30th
anniversary was held in the international conference
room at the National Olympic Memorial Youth Centre,

Tokyo for six days between the 18th and the 23rd ofNovember 2001,co- hosted by NISE (The National
Institute of Special Education) and the Japanese National
Commission for UNESCO. This report outlines thecontent of the seminar.

- 68 -NISE Activity International Cooperation

1. The seminar
The significance of the seminar was supported by two
main facts; the year 2001 was the final year of the
APEID Special Education Seminar Cycle ‚6 (19972001) with the main theme of "Special Education
Partnerships for the 21st Century" and it was also NISE's
30th anniversary since its establishment in 1971, as thename given to the seminar suggests.
The seminar proceeded with various events: the firstday was spent on orientation. On the second day the
opening ceremony was held preceding the memorial
lecture to celebrate NISE's 30th anniversary in themorning, followed by the panel discussion in theafternoon. From the 3rd day to the final day of theseminar, it concentrated on reports and discussions
regarding "Development of Special Education andInternational Collaboration in the Asia-Pacific Region",
which was the sub- theme of the seminar.
The APEID sub- seminar proceeded withcomprehensive discussions focusing mainly on thedevelopment and enrichment of special education in the
Asia- Pacific region by clarifying further issues andsolutions as well as the promotion of international
collaboration in special education within the AsiaPacific region.
2.Co- hosts
The National Institute of Special Education
The Japanese National Commission for UNESCO
3.Agenda
Sunday 18th - Friday 23rd November 2001
Sunday 18th
Arrival, participation registration andorientation
Monday 19th
Opening ceremony,memorial lecture tocelebrate NISE's 30th anniversary andpanel discussion
Tuesday 20thComprehensive discussion
Wednesday 21st Comprehensive discussion and closing
ceremony
Thursday 22nd Tour of National Olympic Memorial
Youth Centre
Friday 23rd
Departure
4.Attendants
The seminar was attended by a representative fromeach of the thirteen APEID countries including Japanand an official representing the Bangkok Office. The
staff members of NISE and the National Kurihama
School for Children with Disabilities as well as manyothers including researchers from all over Japan also
showed their enthusiasm by attending the seminar as
observers.

Australia: Ms. Patricia WinterAssistant Director, Disability and Professional
Services, Department of Education, Training and
Employment
China: Ms. He Guang Feng
Deputy Director/Associate Professor, Research Center
for Learning Obstacles, Beijing Academy of Educational
Sciences
India: Mr. Madan Mohan Jha
Joint Secretary, Indian National Commission for
Cooperation with UNESCO, Ministry of Human
Resource Development Department of Secondary
Education & Higher Education
Indonesia: Mr. Nasichin
Director of Special Education, Directorate of Special
Education, Directorate-General of Primary andSecondary Education, Ministry of National Education
Malaysia: Mr. Mohd Nordin bin Awang Mat
Deputy Director, General of Education, Department ofSpecial Education, Ministry of Education
Nepal: Mr. Gopal Prasad Kandel
Section Officer, Special Education Council, Ministryof Education and Sports
New Zealand: Mr. Anthony Ross Davies
Manager, Development Services, Specialist Education
Services
Pakistan: Mr. Syed Navaid Ali Nasri
Additional Secretary/Director General, Directorate
General of Special Education, Ministry of Woman
Development, Social Welfare and Special Education
Philippines: Ms. Simeona T.Ebol
Senior Education Program Specialist in Special
Education, Special Education Division, Bureau of
Elementary Education, Department of Education,
Culture and Sports
Republic of Korea: Dr. (Mr.) Kim Dong-il
Assistant Professor / Special Education, Departmentof Education, Seoul National University
Sri Lanka: Mr. Athaudage Don Sirisena
Deputy Director (Special Education), Zonal Education
Office, Horana
Thailand: Dr. (Ms.) Maliwan Tammasaeng
Director, Setsatian School for the Deaf
UNESCO PROAP: Ms. TAKAHASHI Yuka
Associate Expert in Special Needs and Environmental
Education
5. The seminar proceeding
Summarised below is the proceeding of The 21st
APEID Special Education Seminar with the Celebrationof NISE's 30th Anniversary.

- 69 -NISE Activity International Cooperation

A. The memorial lecture to celebrate NISE's 30th
anniversary and the panel discussion(1) The memorial lecture was given by Prof.
Yoshitatsu Nakano, the associate professor of
Sano International Information Junior College.
The lecture was themed as "Life- Long
Learning for Children with Special Educational
Needs in the 21st Century". The lecture focusedon how the entire society can provide thehandicapped with an ideal environment inwhich they are given life- long support indeveloping their independence and therefore
they are more encouraged to fully participate insociety as well as enjoying a harmonious
coexistence with the no handicapped. This
aspect was discussed taking into accountinternational
trendsconcerning
specialeducation. Important points raised related to thediscussion were the underlying concept ofchildren with special educational needs lifelong learning to develop independence and selfreliance support harmonious coexistence
education of children with special needs in Asiaand the current status of Japanese education
plus educational issues, all in relation to trends
in education on the international scale.
(2) The lecture was followed by the panel
discussion focused on the theme "International
Collaboration in Special Education for the 21stCentury - Aspiration to Realize theNormalization Principle". Each of five panelists
discussed in a 10-minute presentation how
Japan should engage in special education inorder to create a society in which each of thehandicapped could lead a normal, content life aswell as the no handicapped, and howinternational collaboration should relate toJapan's role in order to develop special
education in the Asia-Pacific region. Following
the presentations, the comprehensive discussion
was held in the light of four major points whichwere (1) expectation from and prospects ofspecialeducationbysupportingthenormalization principle (2) the definition of
special education in Japan for the 21st century(3) the expansion and diversity of education
which operates flexibly in response to
individual needs (4) international collaborationin special education in the Asia- Pacific region.

year's Seminar conducted discussions on the theme"Developing Special Education in Each Country andEnhancing International Cooperation among Countries
in the Asia- Pacific Region".
In the country reports and the general discussion,
opinions were exchanged and discussions were held
actively from the following three viewpoints, concerning
problems faced by the countries, the measures and actionplans necessary in solving such problems, and future
outlooks, for the further development of special
education in the Asia- Pacific region in the 21st century.
1) Innovation of people's understanding about
education for disabled children and the action
plan for the achievement of "Education forAll".
2) Curricula development,training of teachers andschool-building pertinent to education fordisabled children.
3) International cooperation, its framework, andtransfer of educational technology, for thedevelopment of special education in the AsiaPacific region.
The country reports reported the situation andproblems in each country, with the goal being
achievement of education matching the needs ofindividual disabled children. The general discussion
discussed the following. (1) The necessity to define thequality or merits of special education by taking into
account diversity of diverse types of intelligence, insteadof giving it a narrow definition. (2) The necessity toredefine the curriculum in relation to inclusion education
by reexamining it at diverse levels instead of making it
uniform; for instance, school- level curricula,individualized curricula matching individual needs, etc.
(3) The necessity to further improve the training ofspecial education teachers, and for such teachers to learn
about inclusion education by cooperating with teachersof ordinary classes. (4) That inclusion is not compulsory
but an option to learn together. (5) Networking topromote the transfer of teaching aids and educational
technology. (6) To become constructive and criticalfriends by supplying, utilizing and sharing information.
(7) To further promote diverse types of exchange, and topromote issues common to countries as joint projects.
(8) Special education should be promoted byconstructing partnerships of diverse people and agencies
such as children, guardians and the community, insteadof leaving it as a matter concerning just the interested
parties.
As part of the report regarding the current status of
special education in Japan, it was noted that there was a
new movement in the educational reform of special
education, corresponding to the changes of related

B. The 21st APEID Seminar
The Term‚ 6 (1997-2001) main theme was "Special
Education Partnerships for the 21st Century". This final- 70 -NISE Activity International Cooperation(1) The review of the criteria in order to classify
handicap levels and school enrolment
procedures in order to provide education thatmeets individual requirements of children withspecial educational needs(2) The provision of counseling and guidance
throughout the child's educational developmentfrom the infant period to school graduation(3) The enrichment of the role of schools forchildren with visual impairments, speech andhearing handicaps and disabilities as the special
education centre in the local community(4) The creation of a school environment in whichchildren are encouraged to develop creativity,
independence and self- reliance support.
(5) The intensification and promotion of
coordination and collaboration between special
education and other relevant fields(6) The endorsement of international collaborationin special education

circumstances, which would bring diversity to education
so as to meet the individual requirements of children
with special educational needs. Case studies were
presented, which illustrated some children who attend
ordinary schools and who are in need of special
educational support. The report also included a
description of the current status of international
collaboration in connection with special education in
Japan.
Described below are six points raised by the report,
indicating foreseen issues and views regarding further
development of special education in Japan andinternational collaboration. These points indicate theneed for reviewing the criteria in order to classify
handicap levels and school enrolment procedures inorder to provide better education for Japanese children
with special needs, the need of improving teachingguidance including teaching methods with greater
consistency, and the importance of coordinating special
education with other relevant fields more scrupulously.

- 71 -

Topics on Special Education in Japan

Special Education in the 21st Century:- Provision of Special Support to Meet the Needs of Each Child - (Final Report)

Following twelve months deliberation, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan
published the report of the Advisory Committee on “Future Directions for Special Education in the 21st Century” on January
15th, 2001, entitled "Special Education in the 21st Century: - Provision of Special Support to Meet the Needs of Each Child (Final Report)". This report reflects the determination of the Japanese government to further improve special education in the
21st century and build on the founding upon past achievements. However, the report is extensive, so only the first chapter
entitled `Fundamental Policies on Special Education for the Future` and summary of "Special Education in the 21st Century”
are included below.
(50% of all such schools) offered special classes (26,000
special classes), with a total enrollment of about 73,000
students. In addition, 28,000 students were being taught inresource rooms. Thus, 191,000 students were provided
special education nationwide in 2000, which accounted forapproximately 1% of all school-age children in Japan. Of
the total of all students in compulsory education, the numberof students receiving special education was approximately
150,000, or about 1.3% of all students in this age group.
Special education in Japan has experienced continuous
improvement. The system actively promotes programs forthe educational activities for independent life so that children
and students with special needs can acquire the basic skills tomaximize their ability, to exert their potential, to become
independent, and to participate to the maximum extent
possible in society. Special education also promotes joint
activities with students at ordinary elementary and lower
secondary schools as well as with people in the local
community.

Chapter1 Fundamental Policies on Special Education
for the Future
1. Development of Special Education in JapanThe special education system in Japan was established in1947 by the School Education Law which stipulates theestablishment of schools for the blind, schools for the deaf,
and schools for children with intellectual disabilities,
physical disabilities and health impairments (hereafter thesetypes of school are referred to as "special schools"), as well
as special classes in ordinary schools.
Compulsory
education in schools for the blind and schools for the deaf,
which started in 1948, was accomplished in 1956.
Meanwhile, the establishment of special schools proceeded
steadily and attendances at all special schools were madecompulsory in 1979. In the same year, `home tutoring
education` started. In this program, students unable toattend school due to some disabling condition(s) are enrolled
in elementary, or lower secondary departments of special
schools and teachers from these schools teach them at home,or in medical institutions. Since attendance requirement at
special schools and home tutoring education became
compulsory, the number of children whose obligation toattend school are postponed or exempted has decreased.
Furthermore, in 1993 teaching in resource rooms began forstudents with mild disabilities. These students are enrolled
in regular classes and usually taught in regular classes, but atcertain times during the school day they go to the resource
rooms where they receive special education. In addition,
since 2000, home tutoring education has been offered to
students enrolled in the upper secondary departments ofspecial schools.
As a result of these developments, in 2000 there were 992
special schools nationwide with 90,000 children. At thesame time, 18,000 elementary and lower secondary schools

2. Fundamental Policies on Special Education for the
FutureIn the past, Japanese special education has focused onbuilding and improving special schools and special classes toprovide careful and warm education with appropriate
consideration for the type and degree of each child's
disability.
Recently, however, the social context of special education
has been changing.
For example, the concept of
normalization has attracted much attention, disabilities havebecome severer and more diverse and educational
administration is gradually becoming more decentralized
and more diverse. To meet these changes, it is necessarythat special education in the future should understand thespecial educational needs particular to each child with- 72 -

disabilities from his/her view and should offer educational
support the most appropriate for these educational needs, as
described as follows in detail.
(1) Society as a whole should support the independence andsocial participation of students with disabilities throughout
their lives to achieve a `normalized society`.
To achieve the principal of normalization, the Japanese
government published a document entitled” NewLong-Term Programme for Government Measure for
Disabled Persons: Establishing a Society in which Each
Person Participates " and embarked on actions in the fieldsof education, social welfare, medicine, labour and so on. In
1993, the government revised the `Fundamental Law forCountermeasures for the Mentally and Physically
Disabilities` to the ` Disabled Persons Fundamental Law ` topromote the independence and participation of people withdisabilities in a variety of social, economic, cultural, andother areas.
In the future, people with or without disabilities should
understand, help, and support each other as human beings
living in a common society. With this goal in mind, society
should support the ultimate independence of people withdisabilities comprehensively and throughout their lives by
establishing unifying framework of support from various
fields such as education, social welfare, medicine and labour.
These support frameworks will enable students withdisabilities to live a life of fulfillment in the community as
active members communicating others and actively
participating in society.
As for education, it is necessary to reinforce cooperation
with the fields of social welfare, medicine and labour, and tomobilize all social resources available to fulfill the educationof students with disabilities to exert their abilities andcapacities as much as possible for their independence andparticipation in society.
To give an example, it is necessary for students in special
schools to promote an association with peers and adults inthe community to establish the basis of their life in their own
community so that they can lead active and rich lives as
members of these communities.
Furthermore, special schools and social welfare facilities
should be urged to provide opportunities for lifelong learning,
to promote employment and to support their lives for people
with disabilities to live independently and to participate intheir community after graduation, collaborating with thefields of social welfare, medicine and labour.
(2) Education, social welfare, medicine and labour in a body,should establish a framework to provide consultation andsupport for children with disabilities and their patents from- 73 -

infancy to the post-school years through a integrated systemof education, social welfare, medicine and labour.
To provide the most appropriate special support to eachchild with disability, education, social welfare, medicine, andlabour should work in a body to establish a framework toprovide consistent consultation and support for both children
and parents from infancy to the post-school years having thecommon goal for their independence.
Together with establishing framework described above, itis necessary to set-up a consultation and support team with acommon goal and understanding among parents, personnelof related social services such as education, social welfare
and medicine and so on. Through the accommodation of thatteam for the parents of children with disabilities, common
understandings of the accurate assessment of the conditionof the children, of the process of full involvement with thechild to maximize their ability and capability, of the kind of
support from education, social welfare and medicine isneeded and possible, will arise among parents and personnelof related social services.
A consultation and support team consisting of personnel
from education, social welfare, medicine, and labour should
produce a file of educational and developmental records ofeach child and make use of that file consecutively while
adhering to strict guidelines about the personal privacy ofsuch information. Using these files of the educational anddevelopmental history, both parents and team members will
be better able to understand the needs of the child. This will
enable the team to offer the most appropriate and practicaleducational, medical, social welfare and vocational support
available at all developmental stages from pre- topost-school.
Furthermore, after the special support has done,
representatives from related organizations will evaluate theadequacy of executed support for each disabled child. Basedon this evaluation, through educational/developmental
meetings, parents and team members will be able to improve
the programs of the next round of support.
It is necessary to establish the multidisciplinary
framework including the fields of education, social welfare,medicine and labour to assess the special needs of children
with disabilities accurately and to deliver the appropriate
support to them and their parents from infancy through to thepost-graduate stages of life.
(3) Enrich the education in special schools to meet the
special needs of students with serious and/or multiple
disabilities and fulfill the educational support to meet theneeds of students with special educational needs in regularclass.
Contemporary issues in special education include

fulfillment of education for the students with severe and/or
multiple disabilities, diversification of disabilities, anincreasing demand for early support, the increase inenrollment at upper secondary department of special schools,
and diversification of courses of the people with disabilities
after graduation.
Since special schooling became compulsory in 1979 andvarious improvements were made at special schools
nationwide, the enrollment rate of students with severe andmultiple disabilities at special schools has increased. In
response, the government has fulfilled the home tutoring
education, and has improved the quality of education forstudents with severe and multiple disabilities in cooperation
with relevant authorities in medicine and social welfare.
Recently, however, the proportion of students with severe
disabilities has been increasing who need total assistance inmoving, eating, toileting, changing clothes, etc. in special
schools. Students with multiple disabilities, including speech
impediment emotional disabilities, have been also increasing.
In addition, special schools are being called on to provide theearly support as well as the consultation in the post-school
years. It is usually social welfare, medical authorities thatpreschool children consult and social welfare, medical andlabour authorities that support post-graduated students onvacation and social participation. These have been often
done without coordination with education in schools.
For vocational and social independence of people withdisabilities after graduation, it is necessary to coordinate theservices offered by education and by other fields such associal welfare, medicine, and labour to improve the qualityof education provided by special schools.
For students with mild disabilities enrolled in regularclasses in ordinary elementary and lower secondary schools,
the education in resource room came to be statutory by `The
Enforcement Regulations of School Education Law` in 1993,
and it became to be possible for these students to receive thepart-time special education. And there is an increasing needs
for further special educational support for students withlearning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD), and high functioning autism who are enrolled inregular classes.
The present framework of special education does not yet
necessarily meet these needs mentioned above, because thespecial education in Japan has focused on the intensive
education in the special schools or in special classes.
It is inevitable to meet the needs of special educational
support for students with learning disabilities,
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and highfunctioning autism who are enrolled in regular classes.
(4)

Improve the system of assignment for children to- 74 -

understand the special educational needs of each student andto provide indispensable educational support.
So far special education in Japan has endeavored to give
an appropriate education in special schools and specialclasses according to the type and severity of disability.
However, the view of special education should be shifted to
the view that special educational needs of each student shallbe understood and indispensable educational support shall be
provided in order to cultivate “zest for living”, a foundation
to enable children with disabilities to maximize their abilities
responding to the diversification of disabilities and socialchange.
The determination of assignment of students withdisabilities is based on Article 22-3 of `The Enforcement
Ordinance for School Education Law `which proscribes thenational standards for the disability of students who should
be assigned in special schools. Recently, however, due toprogress in medical science and science and technology, as
well as improvements of school facilities - including moresophisticated visual, hearing, and prosthetic aids - it has
become possible to provide the appropriate education forstudents with disabilities in ordinary educational settings
when the conditions are met.
At the same time, due to the enactment of the so-called`Decentralization Package Law` in April 2000, theassignment of students was changed from the national work
to the work of each region.. This legislation means that
local boards of education, based on their detailed
consideration and responsibility based on relevant laws andregulations, determine the school a student with disabilities
should attend.
In the future, to understand the special educational needsof students and provide indispensable educational support,
government should review the national standards ofassignment to special schools from the views of education,
psychology and medicine reflecting the progress in medical
science and science and technology. At the same time, it isnecessary to review the procedures of assignment by local
boards of education. This amendment means that the local
boards of education should determine the assignment based
not only on type and severity of disability, but also on theconditions of the community, school, support to be offered tothe child, and the views of the child and parents. This alsomeans that the local boards of education can enroll a studentwith disabilities in an elementary or a lower secondary
school when there would be reasonable grounds for that thechild would receive an appropriate education in that setting.
Prefectural boards of education should make appropriate
decision regarding the assignment to special schools andsupport the local boards of education to improve and fulfill
the framework of assignment and related consultation andsupport according to the policies described above.
(5) Revise the system of special education and reinforce
the supports for municipal authorities and schools to
promote the attractive and unique educational programs inschools and in local communities.
To understand the individual needs of students withdisabilities from the perspective of each child and to provide
appropriate support, each school should provide attractive
and unique educational programs based on the local
community. Also, local community resources should be
utilized to provide a support framework to facilitate theindependent lives of students with disabilities.
So far, Japanese educational administration has been
operated under the national policy of equal educational
opportunity and leveling up educational standard for all
students with the cooperation of national, prefectural andlocal governments. This meant the education system has
been standardized according to references made by thenational government. Recently, however, there has been atrend towards the decentralization of a variety ofadministrative area.
In special education, to promote the independent andcreative activities in each school and in each community, theadministrative system of special education should be
reviewed and the necessary supports to municipal authorities
and schools by national or prefectural authorities should be
reinforced.
It is necessary for more appropriate assignment of each
student based on the comprehensive assessment of his/her
special educational needs to review the procedures ofassignment, advance the functions of committees ofassignment and fulfill the system of consultation and support.
At the same time, it is necessary for the national government
and prefectural boards of education to assist local boards ofeducation.
It is also necessary to revise existing regulations and theirapplications so that, under the leadership of the school
principal, special schools and elementary and lower
secondary schools can become more independent andautonomous. In this way, it will be possible for these schools
to offer more attractive and unique educational programs
designed to meet the needs of all children and thecommunities in which they live. In particular, special
schools are hoped to develop their role as the local centers ofspecial education applying their full resources such as theirexpertise, institutions and facilities in the area of disability.
Furthermore, for teacher development of special
education the national government and prefectural boards ofeducation need to encourage all teachers in special schools to
obtain special education teaching certification. At the sametime, in-service training seminars dealing with a variety of- 75 -

topics should be offered.
In addition, when local boards of education offer
programs based on their own policies and individual schools
conduct their own educational activities, these organizations
should make clear where principle responsibility lies.
Therefore, each school needs to examine and evaluate its
management and the performance of its curriculum. To
make a school open to the community and unique in its
characteristics, the results of this in-house review should beshared with parents and the local community and the school
should be prepared to for reflecting their opinions in an
ongoing process of review of school management andcurriculum. At the same time, local boards of education
should examine the self-evaluations of individual schools
and use the results to improve the overall education process.

Special Education in the 21st Century (Final Report):
Summary
Chapter1 Fundamental Policies on Special Education
for the Future
1. Development of Special Education in Japan (omitted)
2. Fundamental Policies on Special Education for the
Future* In response to the recent changes of the context
surrounding the special education, it is necessary for the
special education in the future to understand the special
educational needs particular to each child with disabilities
from his/her view and to offer educational support the mostappropriate for these educational needs.
* The fundamental policies on special education for the
future are described below.
(1) It is necessary that society as a whole should support theindependence and social participation of students withdisabilities throughout their lives to achieve a `normalizedsociety`.
(2) It is necessary to education, social welfare, medicine andlabour in a body, should establish a framework to provide
consultation and support for children with disabilities andtheir patents from infancy to the post-school years.
(3) It is necessary to enrich the education in special schools
to meet the special needs of students with serious and/or
multiple disabilities and to fulfill the educational support tomeet the needs of students with special educational needs inregular class.
(4) It is necessary to improve the system of assignment forchildren to understand the special educational needs of eachprovide advice for school principals on the educational
support in special classes or in resource rooms.
* When the decision of a local board of education differsfrom that of parents, the advisory committee of prefecturalboards of education should offer professional advice
objectively.

student and to provide indispensable educational support.
(5) It is necessary to revise the system of special educationand to reinforce the supports for municipal authorities andschools to promote the attractive and unique educational
programs in schools and in local communities.
Chapter2 Improving the Assignment

Chapter3 Supporting Students who need Special
Educational Support

1. Establishing a Consistent Advisory Support Systemfrom Infancy to the Post-School Years* Local boards of education should establish a system inwhich education, social welfare, and medicine provide
coordinated consultation and support to children withdisabilities and their parents.
* The national government should examine the functions
and membership of a special advisory support team so thatan advisory support system backed by the coordinatedactivities of education, social welfare, and medicine shall beestablished.
* Prefectural boards of education should cooperate with thework of social welfare, medicine, and other related
departments in the bureaucracy and encouragemunicipalities within their prefecture to establish an advisory
support system.
2. Reviewing the National Standards and Procedures of
Assignment for Children with Disabilities* Reflecting the progress in medical science and science andtechnology, the national standards of severity of disabilities
to enroll in special schools should be reviewed from theviews of education, psychology and medicine. At the sametime, it is necessary to review the procedures of assignment
by local boards of education. This amendment means thatthe local boards of education should determine theassignment comprehensively based on type and severity ofdisability, facilities and equipment or lower secondary
schools etc. This also means that boards of education canenroll a student with disabilities in an elementary or a lower
secondary school when there would be reasonable grounds
for that the child would receive an appropriate education inthat setting.
* The range of students who need additional care in specialclasses or in ordinary classes should be clarified.
3. Enhancing the Role of the Advisory Committee that
Deliberate Which School Meets the Needs of Each Child* The responsibilities and status of the advisory committee
should be clarified.
* The advisory committee of local boards of education
should provide parents with the opportunity to present theiropinions during the deliberations. The committee should also
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1. Improvement of Education Relating to Conditions ofDisabilities
1-1 Improvement of Education that Reflects Students
with Severer and Multiple Disabilities as well as Social
Change* Special schools should make efforts to device methods forsupporting students utilizing individual education plans,
programs to promote independence, periods of integrated
study, hands-on activities and joint activities with ordinary
schools reflecting the situations of the community and theirstudents.
* For students enrolled in special schools who require daily
medical care, it is necessary to examine how to establish a
medical support system in cooperation with medical
institution and to improve education in consideration of thefindings.
1-2 Educational Support for Students with Learning
Disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD), and High-Functioning Autism* In order to understand the situation of students withlearning disabilities, ADHD, and high-functioning autism inordinary classes, a nationwide survey should be done.
Based on the results of this survey, all relevant personnel andthe general public should be encouraged to develop a greaterawareness.
*Educational support for students with ADHD,
high-functioning autism should be investigated based on the
research by the National Institute of Special Education(NISE) and the criteria and effective teaching methods
should also be examined.
1-3 Improving Education Utilizing the Latest
Information Technology (IT)* Research and development of information equipment
relevant to disabilities should be undertaken and teaching
methods and system utilizing information technology should
be examined.
* Education of students in home tutoring education
programs using information and communication
technologies should be actively promoted.

2. Teacher Development of Special Education
2-1 Increasing the Proportion of Teachers Who Have
Licenses for Special Education and Licenses in the
Future.
* Prefectures should aim for all teachers in special schools
have licenses for special education set concrete goals andplans for improvement, and promote programs throughemployment, allocation, in-service training and so on.
* Considering the proportion of teachers who have licenses
for special education in each prefecture, the national
government should quantify the necessary number ofholders nationwide, inquire as to the objectives, plans, andimprovement status of the fraction on the part of prefecturalboards of education, and assist them in their efforts.

2. Education at Special schools, Special Classes, andResource Rooms in the Future
2-1 Developing the Role of Special schools as Local
Centers of Special Education* Special schools should play the role of local centers ofspecial education by, (1) offering guidance and counselingfor pre-school children, and (2) by lending teachingmaterials and equipment to local elementary and lower
secondary schools, providing advice to teachers at such
schools, and offering in-service training.
2-2 Education in Special Classes, and Resource Rooms in
the Future
Education in special classes and resource rooms should be
supported by all school staff. At the same time, utilizing
part-time outside teachers, special part-time teachers, andlimited-hour staff employed through the retiree
re-appointment system should be considered.
3. Encouraging Upper Secondary Schools to Accept
Students with Disabilities and Supporting Life-Long
Learning of People with Disabilities* Prefectures should consider building and enlarging upper
secondary departments of special schools and establishingspecial schools, which only have upper secondary
departments meeting local needs.
* Boards of education should make efforts to improve theopportunities of life-long learning for people with disabilities
in cooperation with welfare-related institutions. Special
schools should support the life-long learning by people withdisabilities.
Chapter4 Conditions for Improving Special Education
1. Class Composition of Students and Teacher Allocation
at Special schools and Special Classes* Prefectural boards of education should assign teachers
flexibly in consideration of the situation of the communityand schools and the needs of students.
* Special schools should be inventive about the curricula
they offer and the teaching methods they use, such as
creating a variety of learning environments beyond the
traditional concept of the class. At the same time, the staff ofthe wide range is fixed by utilizing the teacher of thepart-time outside teachers and the retiree re-appointment
system, or the various human resources of a community as
special part time teachers.

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2-2 Improving In-Service Training* For improving the professionalism of teachers in special
schools, appropriate training programs should be developed
to meet the needs of the training objectives and theparticipants.
* Prefectural boards of education should work towards
offering targeted and systematic training seminars
corresponding to the number of years in service at specialclasses and other experiences, as well as the needs ofteachers.
3. Conditions to Promote Special Education* Boards of education should reform school facilities inconsideration of making these facilities barrier-free, thereby
improving and more closely meeting the needs of thechildren, as well as improving their living environment ofdormitories.
* Teaching materials corresponding to improved content in
the new Courses of Study should be acquired.
* Special schools should make plans to implement an
information network environment and to obtain the latest
information equipment appropriate for the disabilities ofindividual students.
4. Improving the Function of The National Institute ofSpecial Education (NISE).
* To enhance its role as the Japanese national center on
special education, NISE should, (1) conduct research to help
in planning national administrative policies, (2) offer training
seminars in response to new issues, (3) build a nationwide
network of guidance and counseling information, (4)improve its role to disseminate information by a satellite
communication network, and (5) improve collaboration,
cooperation, and exchange with foreign research institutions.