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ME-net Certified NPO ME-net Kanagawa

Multicultural Education Coordinators

Multicultural Education Coordinators

We dispatch multicultural education coordinators to prefectural and municipal high schools. Working with high school teachers, they plan and implement the support that students with foreign connections need. A total of 50 coordinators are dispatched to 31 prefectural and municipal high schools in Kanagawa Prefecture (28 prefectural high schools with 30 programs, 2 Yokohama municipal high schools, 1 Kawasaki municipal high school).

These are professionals with community support experience, personal networks, and expertise in multicultural education and Japanese language education. To implement the support students need, they consult with high school teachers and arrange appropriate supporters.

Support We Provide

Enrollment Support

  • Arranging interpreters at orientation sessions for accepted students
  • Conducting Japanese language placement tests

Academic Support During the Semester

  • Subject and Japanese language learning support during classes and after-school tutoring

Non-Academic Support During the Semester

  • Information exchange at meetings for staff working with students with foreign connections
  • Monitoring and supporting visa status matters
  • Creating safe spaces through multicultural exchange clubs, committees, etc.
  • Support during parent-teacher conferences (interpreter arrangement, etc.)
  • Career information and support
  • Promoting and accompanying students to ME-net external events such as youth exchange, career counseling, and visa consultation sessions

Survey Report

"Survey on Career Paths and School Support for High School Students Requiring Japanese Language Instruction in Kanagawa"

Conducted jointly by the Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education, ME-net, and Kanagawa International Foundation (KIF), with research cooperation from Associate Professor Miho Yoshida of Hirosaki University Graduate School of Teacher Education.

Survey Objectives

  1. To understand the current state of support and career paths for students requiring Japanese language instruction in Kanagawa prefectural high schools, and to contribute to examining effective future support approaches in Kanagawa.
  2. To evaluate the "Supporter Dispatch Program for Students Whose Mother Tongue Is Not Japanese" (Kanagawa Prefectural Board of Education) and the "Multicultural Education Coordinator Dispatch Program" (ME-net).
  3. To publish the realities of support and career paths at schools with multicultural education coordinators, and to contribute to nationwide research and policy development regarding learning and career support for students requiring Japanese language instruction.

Survey Contents

  1. Support activities and initiatives at schools with multicultural education coordinators
  2. Career paths of students requiring Japanese language instruction, factors influencing career decisions, and the number of students who dropped out and their reasons
  3. Outcomes and challenges achieved through the dispatch of multicultural education coordinators
Published March 2024 Published March 2023 Published March 2022 Published March 2021

Japanese Language Support in High Schools

"Status of Japanese Language Classes at Schools with Special Recruitment for Foreign Residents in Kanagawa"

Of the 18 schools implementing special recruitment for foreign residents, 11 offer Japanese language classes as school-designated subjects in the first year. (As of 2023)

Survey Report