| Popis: |
As preceding studies suggest, Ichiji Tamura, the pioneer of education for the physically and mentally handicapped children in Japan, who has dedicated his entire life to the development of education for the physically and mentally handicapped children through his career as the homeroom teacher of the special class of Shigeno Ordinary Primary School and the founder of Ishiyama Gakuen, Oumi Gakuen, Ichibakuryo, etc., is known to have based his educational philosophy on the“ real-life" practice since his early days as the homeroom teacher of Shigeno Ordinary School. However, how the said philosophy was actually put into practice is not known. In view of this, this paper aimed to reveal the contents of education built along the “everyday life" experience, or in Tamura's words, education for “real-life application", in the special class of Shigeno Ordinary Primary School by looking into the “Lifestyle Guidance for Mentally Retarded Children" (1936) issued by Shigeno Ordinary Primary School. Through the findings, the paper also attempted to outline the characteristics of the said special class. The study found as follows: according to the educational record of Ichiji Tamura, the homeroom teacher of the special class at the time, the special class had subjects and class hours different from other ordinary classes. Based on the fundamental educational ideal of “real-life" application, the class accommodated ingenious educational initiatives that went beyond the boundaries of traditional school education across different subjects. Also, the education aiming for “real-life" application that treats everyday life as educational materials proved highly effective, as it was suitable for the “mentally retarded children", who are typically bad at comprehending logical or abstract issues but good at something that is concrete and“ requires no logics". The study also confirmed that the purpose of education based on “real-life" practices was to help the pupils acquire knowledge useful in their everyday life and develop their morality, so as to enable them ultimately to lead the“ ideal life." |
