(1) that schools should draft their own crisis management manuals, continually verify their effectiveness through crime prevention drills, and make improvements as needed; and

(2) that community-based approaches involving collaboration and cooperation between schools, families and local communities are essential for creating safe and secure schools.

MEXT will be continually and systematically devising new school safety measures in future so that schoolchildren can receive education in a secure environment. Schools will likely further open their educational functions and facilities to the public as activity spots for children and as venues for various activities by local residents, since an absolute precondition for this, thoroughgoing safety management is needed at schools.

## (2) Enhancing Safety Education at Schools is the Safety of Children

Schools must foster in children respect for their own lives and those of others, understanding on practical safety in all aspects of daily life, and the ability to ensure their own safety throughout their lives. To that end, MEXT offers safety education in the course of school educational activities at all schools, in particular in health and physical education classes, moral education, and special activities.

MEXT has prepared a reference manual on safety education at school for teachers entitled “Safety Education at Schools to Cultivate a Zest for Living” (November 2001). Other reference materials for teachers and learning tools for students with regard to safety education have been produced to advance effective disaster prevention education at schools, including “Expanding Disaster Prevention Education to Cultivate a Zest for Living” (March 1998) a reference for teachers that clarifies the significance and aims of disaster prevention education, the content to be taught and methods of instruction, as well as risk forecast learning tools on traffic safety (March 2002). Workshops on school safety have also been held for teachers, school staff and school education supervisor of prefectural boards of education who play a leading role in safety education in their respective prefectures.

## ☐ Responses to Problematic Student Behavior

Problematic student behavior has been growing, including recent examples of serious crime committed by schoolchildren, in addition to urgent and priority measures, to tackle this problem, a response that deals with the basics of education has to be developed.

In June 2004 an incident occurred at an elementary school in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, in which a 6th grader killed a classmate. MEXT subsequently requested that the prefectural boards of education of prefectures and designated cities to pay greater attention and give more detailed guidance to prevent the recurrence of such an incident. A project team was also organized within MEXT that focused on:

(1) Teaching children the importance of life,

(2) Building an even better learning environment in which children can learn safely, and

(3) Giving better guidance on moral and manners to students living in an information-oriented society.

The project team studied measures to put these principles into action in educational settings, and compiled its “Priority Program for Combating Problematic Student Behavior (final report)” in October 2004.

Violence, bullying, school non-attendance and other problematic student behavior stem from causes and background factors that vary in each instance, but in general the contributing elements include:

(1) parenting and home disciplinary issues from a very young age,

(2) schools unable to cope adequately with the range of skills and aptitudes of individual schoolchildren, and

(3) lack of everyday-life experiences, lack of consideration for others, and a diminished sense of connection to other people in a materially wealthy society.

These factors – set in the respective contexts of families, schools, and local communities – are interwoven in a complex fashion, and it can be inferred, that they contribute to the accumulation of stress in children due to an inability to adapt to school life and the excessive expectations of people around them.