- 14 Mar 2002
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A new study by the Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology reveals:
Home, not teachers, responsible for violent children
Home, not teachers, responsible for violent children
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Homes, not teachers, are responsible for children who impulsively get out of control or become violent for no clear reason, according to a report on a survey by the National Institute for Educational Policy Research released Thursday. After analyzing cases of such behavior, the affiliate of the Ministry of Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology said in the survey the cause is an "inappropriate upbringing at home" and a "tense situation at home" such as friction between parents. Only 5% of such cases were based on "inappropriate treatment by teachers," which was at the bottom of the list of reasons, according to the survey. However, some education and child experts question the study, which is the first of its kind. They said it is "lenient" toward teachers because many of the cases analyzed by the institute include those reported by teachers across Japan. The survey was conducted between February and August last year and covered cases involving 654 children, including infants, elementary, junior and senior high school students. The uncontrollable behavior was reported by school nurses, teachers participating in student counseling and guidance and police officers in charge of juvenile criminal cases. The survey analyzes the personal histories of children and families. It concludes that in 76% of the cases, the cause was an inappropriate upbringing at home, followed by 64% in which the cause was tension in the home. Twenty-seven percent of the cases were started by misbehavior such as juvenile delinquency, 24% by violence at home and another 24% by problems between friends. Twenty percent were caused by inappropriate treatment by family members in response to such misbehavior. Fewer of the causes related to school compared to the home. Eighteen percent of the cases were caused by academic problems, 17% by bullying by friends while only 5% were based on inappropriate treatment by teachers. Concerning where children went out of control, the survey says 49% of the cases occurred at school and only 15% occurred at home. However, the institute did not include those figures in the report on the survey, saying they are not surprising as many of the cases were reported by teachers. Naoki Ogi, a former teacher-turned-education critic, said the research methods of the study are questionable because it views personality problems as the root of the misbehavior. The uncontrollable conduct should be perceived as a temporary reaction and children's backgrounds should not be emphasized in searching for causes, Ogi added. "Even if there are problems concerning the environment at home, children do not become violent at school if the children and teachers have a mutual trust," Ogi said. "The survey fails to look into what triggered the situations in which they went wild, which is much more important than their life histories." (Compiled from news reports)