community representatives to be reflected in the schools’ education and
management. With the participation of schools and communities, school
managers are no longer solely responsible for creating a quality learning
environment. The cases examined in this study illustrate that children
are educated not only in schools, but also in the community through
extra-curricular activities and career development projects. Collaborative
learning is not limited among students and between students and
teachers, but rather, it takes place in cooperation with local community
members. The unprecedented experience of the Great East Japan
Earthquake of 2011 showed that the role of the community in schools has
become crucial and that community collaboration is expected beyond
formal educational settings.
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