The second "Education for Living" training seminar was held over two days, Sunday, September 15th and Monday, September 16th, 2024, as part of the project "Research, Development and Dissemination of Educational Approaches to Overcome the Cycle of Poverty, Inequality, and Abuse."
"Living Education" is an educational program developed and implemented at Osaka Municipal Ikuno Minami Elementary School (currently Tajima Minami Elementary and Junior High School) to help children overcome difficulties in life. (*1). At this training session, we had a special lecture by Professor Satoshi Nishizawa (Yamanashi Prefectural University Graduate School of Human Welfare Studies), who provided the theoretical foundation of "Living Education". In this article, we will introduce the contents and details of the training session.
(*1) For details on "Living Education"Project PagePlease see.
The title of the lecture is "Understanding and supporting the psychological characteristics of parents and families who show a tendency to abuse." Professor Nishizawa gave a child-focused talk entitled "Understanding and supporting the psychological impact of abuse on children" at the first "Living Education" training seminar held in August 2024 (*2) This time, we will talk about parents and family.
(*2) For details about the first "Living Education" training seminar,HerePlease see.
On the first day, Dr. Nishizawa focused on what child abuse means to the parents who commit it. It is said that many severe cases of abuse, such as those that result in the death of a child, are the result of intergenerational transmission. People who were not raised with love in their childhood become parents and end up abusing their own children. In cases where this chain of events has occurred, Dr. Nishizawa has provided psychological evaluations of parents and mental care for children. Drawing on his own experience, he spoke about what has become clear from domestic and international research regarding parents who show abusive tendencies.
On the second day, Dr. Nishizawa also talked about how to support abused children. Dr. Nishizawa has seen many times how children who were abused in their childhood become aggressive because they are unable to rely on or depend on the adults around them. He provides "care play" to such children, which is a form of psychological therapy through play. Dr. Nishizawa projected a video of himself performing care play and talked about how to face children's emotional wounds.
During this training session, there was time set aside for questions and answers on both days, and participants were able to deepen their understanding of the issue of abuse through dialogue between Dr. Nishizawa and the participants. In the questionnaire survey after the training session, participants said things like, "I gained a deeper understanding of parents who commit abuse," and "I was able to think about how to respond to abused children."
SMBC Kyoto University Studio plans to hold "Living Education" training seminars on a regular basis in the future. If you are interested, please check the event information.
