Implementing "Childhood Victimization Prevention Toolkits" into Safety Education Practices in Japanese Elementary Schools

• In Event: Children and Youths as Victims of Crime

Abstract

Safety issues of children are of growing concern in Japanese elementary schools. This study aims at assisting safety promotion efforts in elementary schools by implementing our "Childhood Victimization Prevention Toolkits" into safety education practices in those schools.
Our toolkits consist of (1) a survey toolkit of potential precursors of childhood victimization, called "Karte of Dangerous Incident," (2) a software tool for recording and mapping neighborhood safety check activities, called "Kiki-Gaki-Map," and (3) a web-GIS site that is used in combination with the above two tools. These toolkits were test-installed in three elementary schools and used by fourth-grade students with the aid of classroom teachers and parents, in the course of a model project for the promotion of safety education, funded and administered by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The results are reported and the findings are discussed with special reference to the issue of bridging the gap between research and practice.

Author

• Yutaka Harada, National Research Institute of Police Science