Spring vacation learning support class for elementary and junior high school students connected to foreign countries was held

As part of Meiji Gakuin University’s Internal Internationalization Project, and following a similar program during the 2016 summer vacation, the Shirokane Campus once again hosted an intensive learning support classroom for elementary and junior-high school student refugees and other children with international roots during spring vacation (March 27-31 and April 3-5 of 2017), provided by Support 21, a collaborating social welfare corporation.

32 Meiji Gakuin University students volunteered to provide learning support to about 20 elementary and junior-high schoolers as they engaged diligently in daily studies.
Opportunities for learning and exchange also went beyond studying, with activities like a campus tour on the first day and recitations of original essays by the children on the final day, making for a productive 8-day program.

Additionally, a mentorship session was held on April 30, in which four current students and graduates from the Faculty of Sociology & Social Work recounted their personal experiences to the children. The current students and graduates shared how they spent their childhood, high-school, and university years, in addition to answering enthusiastic questions from the children and talking about future goals. We hope that the children were inspired to think about their own futures.

(Shinji Nozawa, Professor in the Faculty of Sociology & Social Work)