不登校問題の社会学に向けて  [in Japanese] Toward a Sociology of the Futoko Problem  [in Japanese]

Educational sociology has dealt with the latest educational problems, and has contributed significantly to the elucidation of their actual situations and structures. On the other hand, it has been inactive in research on the problem of futoko (school refusal), in contrast to clinical psychology and psychiatry, which have been rather active in the field. We may fail, however, to grasp the essence of school refusal, which has spread since the 1980s, if we do not recognize it as a social and cultural problem. What needs to be questioned is the current intellectual framework, which regards reduced attendance solely as a mental problem and deals with it within psychology. Accordingly educational sociology could contribute to the solution of the problem of non-attendance at school. In reviewing research on non-attendance at school made so far in the field of educational sociology, the author has examined and considered : (1) data on non-attendance at school carried in the Report of Basic Investigation of Schools (Ministry of Education and Science) ; (2) theories on the causes of the spread of non-attendance at school ; (3) studies of remarks and comments regarding non-attendance at school and the necessity of such studies ; (4) the necessity for researches on alternative schools (free schools, classes for adaptational guidance, mental friend systems, etc.) ; (5) anticipated problems regarding the expansion of knowledge in clinical psychology and the introduction of school counselors ; and (6) the spread of non-attendance at school and changes in schools. The present paper is intended to be a general discussion preceding the following papers.