Special Needs Education and Perspectives on Human Value in Japan

Date:   May 20 (Mon),  2019

Time:   13:00~14:30

Location:  Osaka University Graduate School of Human Sciences
                  East Wing, 4F Rm. E404

Speaker:  Guest Professor Lynne Nakano
                (Coordinator: Prof. Junko Otani)

        * This seminar will be presented in English.

This talk explores approaches to special needs education in Japan from an anthropological perspective. It considers how ideas about special needs education in Japan reflect changing interpretations of the purpose of education and the role of individuals in society. The talk covers the views of educators who established special education institutions in the early postwarperiod such as Kazuo Itogaand Kiyo Kitahara. It also considers how contemporary approaches to special needs education reflect changing beliefs about the purpose of education, the relationship of the individual and the group, and the role of individuals in society. The speaker argues that contemporary debates about special needs education in Japan reflect ongoing attempts by different sectors of society to strike a balance between the needs of the individual and the needs of society.