Can SSWs Be Savior for Distressed Children? スクールソーシャルワーカー ―学校が抱える問題の救世主となるか―
10/21/2013
Recently, problems that afflict schools such as bullying and truancy are often taken up for discussion in TV programs and newspapers. According to a survey on problem behaviors by pupils conducted in fiscal 2011 and published last year by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, detected bullying cases numbered some 70,000 in elementary, junior high, high and special needs schools, with those unwilling to go to school numbering about 117,000 in primary and junior high schools across the country. A vocation draws particular attention in this situation. That is a school social worker (SSW).
いじめや不登校など、学校が抱える問題が最近とみにテレビ、新聞などメディアで取り上げられるようになった。文部科学省が昨年公表した平成２３年度の「児童生徒の問題行動等生徒指導上の諸問題に関する調査」によると、小・中・高・特別支援学校における、いじめの認知件数は約７万件、小・中学校における不登校児童生徒数は約１１万７千人となっている。こうした中で注目されている職業がある。スクールソーシャルワーカー（ＳＳＷ）だ。
An SSW is a person with professional knowledge and skills of social welfare as well as education who attempts to help troubled children with various support means such as improving the environment in which they are placed and building networks that link the related organizations. The school social work system was born in the United States, where it has a history longer than a century. SSWs are different from school counselors already posted at Japanese schools. While the latter think that children’s problems are basically intrinsic, the former consider that they do not or cannot adapt themselves to the surrounding environment. SSWs, therefore, have their sights set on both individuals and their circumstance in trying to resolve their problems.
ＳＳＷーは、教育の分野に加え、社会福祉に関する専門的な知識や技術を有する者で、問題を抱えた児童・生徒に対し、当該児童・生徒が置かれた環境への働きかけや、関係機関等とのネットワークの構築など、多様な支援方法を用いて課題解決への対応を図っていく人材。発祥地は米国で１００年以上の歴史を持っている。すでに日本の学校に配置されているスクールカウンセラーとの違いは、スクールカウンセラーの場合、問題は個人の内面にあると考える。一方、ＳＳＷの場合、問題は個人と環境の不適合と考え、問題解決に対しては個人と環境の双方を視野に入れる。
In 2008, the education ministry budgeted 1.5 billion yen to launch its SSW initiative. It posted SSWs at 141 locations across the country in the initial year. However, their supply has not been catching up with the demand. Besides, while there are about 700 SSWs active in Japan now, few of them have high qualifications such as certified social welfare worker and psychiatric social worker. In 2009, the Japan Association of Schools of Certified Social Worker established schools with authorized social work curriculum, but such schools still number only 29. The employment status of SSWs is still unstable. Most of them are hired as part- timers.
There are a number of children who are distressed by their serious problems. Japan’s SSW system definitely needs further improvement in order to save those poor children.
２００８年に文科省が約15億円の予算をかけ「スクールソーシャルワーカー活用事業」を導入し、全国141か所に配置された。ただ、需用が高まるＳＳＷに供給が追い付いていない。現在、全国で約７００人のＳＳＷが活動しているが、社会福祉士や精神保健福祉士といった高い専門性を持つ人は少ない。０９年に日本社会福祉士養成校協会がスクールソーシャルワーク教育課程認定校を設置したが、全国で２９校に留まっている。雇用形態も非常勤と不安定なものである。問題を抱え込み苦しんでいる子供たちがいる。こうした子供たちを救うために、ＳＳＷの一層の充実が望まれる。
(Written By : Tomomi Kubota)