障害のある子どもに関する就学前施設と小学校の連携についての実態調査

This survey aimed to reveal the current conditions of cooperation between early childhood facilities and elementary schools regarding children with disabilities. A nationwide questionnaire was administered to 172 nursery schools (public), 242 nursery schools (private), 200 kindergartens (public), 481 kindergartens (private), and 592 elementary schools. Overall, for cooperation with elementary school for children with disabilities, the percentage of practice with kindergarten (public) was highest among early childhood facilities. In particular, for “Exchange activities between early childhood facilities and elementary schools” and “Introduction of approach curriculum,” the percentage of practice with kindergarten (public) was higher when compared with that in other early childhood facilities. The newly found information in this survey was that nursery schools (public) were most likely to take advantage of the “Individual education program.” The major problem was that nursery school and kindergarten teachers were willing to cooperate on early childhood education and care with elementary school teachers, but elementary school teachers answered that it was difficult to cooperate with many of the early childhood facilities. The ideal method for cooperation between early childhood facilities and elementary schools needs to be considered within each community.