認知症高齢者への学習機会創出の意義 : 好事例に関する教育学的観点からの調査研究の概況より

高齢化の世界的進展に伴い，認知症にまつわる諸問題が国内外で議論されているが，とりわけ我が国では，認知症有病率の高さや膨張する社会保障費抑制の観点からも，その適切な対応が喫緊の課題となっている。こうした中，2019 年6 月に公表された「認知症施策推進大綱」に述べられたように，「通いの場」としての生涯学習関連施設における学習機会について関心が高まっている。本稿は，2016 年度から2019 年度に実施した諸外国における当該テーマに関連した先進的事例の調査結果をもとに，認知症高齢者への学習機会創出の意義について検討したものである。分析の結果，認知症高齢者にとっての学習機会創出は，①当人に意思決定の自由と選択の機会を与え，人間性を維持・発揮するための有効な手段になっていること，②当人の過去と現在につながりを与え，周囲により良い接し方を再考する契機を与えていること，③多くの場合，一般市民との交流の機会となっており，当人に地域社会への帰属意識の醸成を促していること等の意義があることが明らかになった。

Whilst encountering ageing of the population worldwide, it has been becoming imperative to tackle the issues surrounding those living with dementia, as its effects on the whole of society have come to the fore across the globe. Above all, there is an urgent need for Japan to deliberate upon how to resolve the issue of dementia, together with devising an idea in respect of slashing social welfare expenditure, as it is estimated that one in five of those aged 65 or above will have developed dementia by 2025. In this context, a recent political statement in “The Outline of the National Plan for Dementia”, issued by the central government of Japan in 2019, has attached importance to opportunities for lifelong learning in various educational settings as “a place to regularly attend”, which are attracting attention. This paper intends to gauge the meanings of creating learning opportunities for those living with dementia, based on the outcomes of onsite surveys of good examples in some educational settings for lifelong learning with respect to this theme in several countries in North America and Europe, which were conducted by the author from April 2016 to August 2019. The results suggest that the meanings of creating learning opportunities for those with dementia can be found in the following: it has become an efficient means by which the elderly of that kind are able to be offered freedom and room of choice so that they can maintain human dignity and demonstrate their “personhood”; it has given a chance for those with dementia to connect the past with the present, as well as a chance for carers to reconsider their ways of better communication; it promotes social interaction with public citizens, while providing those with dementia with a sense of belonging in the local community.