Chapter 10: What to Know and Do to Help Your Adopted or Foster Child Succeed in Japanese Schools by Melodie Lorie Cook
Abstract
In this chapter, I begin by giving background information about adoption and fostering in Japan, detail how adopted and foster children feel, and explain seven core issues faced by children in care. I then examine the root cause for such issues, trauma, and how it affects adopted and fostered children’s performance in school. Next, using my own family’s experiences as well as others’ in a similar position to mine that I have studied, I illustrate issues faced by non-Japanese adoptive and foster parents and how we can mitigate against them. It is my hope that this chapter will inform prospective and current adoptive and foster parents and encourage them to work with social workers, case workers, and educators to make our children’s experiences of schooling as good as they can be.
About the Contributor
Melodie Lorie Cook is a Professor at the University of Niigata Prefecture in Niigata, Japan. She has been teaching and researching in Japan since 1993 and in addition to her paid work, is also an advocate for adoption and fostering by intercultural parents. She holds a PhD from Macquarie University and is a past editor of the Japan Association for Language Teaching flagship journal, JALT Journal. She also has a regular column in the online news service Savvy Tokyo writing about her experiences as a foster and adoptive parent. She moderates a secret group for prospective and current adopted and foster parents. For more information on this, please contact her at [email protected].
Citation
Cook, L. M. (2020). What to know and do to help your adopted or foster child succeed in Japanese schools. In M. L. Cook & L. G. Kittaka (Eds.), Intercultural families and schooling in Japan: Experiences, issues, and challenges (pp. 241-265). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/12/10
In this chapter, I begin by giving background information about adoption and fostering in Japan, detail how adopted and foster children feel, and explain seven core issues faced by children in care. I then examine the root cause for such issues, trauma, and how it affects adopted and fostered children’s performance in school. Next, using my own family’s experiences as well as others’ in a similar position to mine that I have studied, I illustrate issues faced by non-Japanese adoptive and foster parents and how we can mitigate against them. It is my hope that this chapter will inform prospective and current adoptive and foster parents and encourage them to work with social workers, case workers, and educators to make our children’s experiences of schooling as good as they can be.
About the Contributor
Melodie Lorie Cook is a Professor at the University of Niigata Prefecture in Niigata, Japan. She has been teaching and researching in Japan since 1993 and in addition to her paid work, is also an advocate for adoption and fostering by intercultural parents. She holds a PhD from Macquarie University and is a past editor of the Japan Association for Language Teaching flagship journal, JALT Journal. She also has a regular column in the online news service Savvy Tokyo writing about her experiences as a foster and adoptive parent. She moderates a secret group for prospective and current adopted and foster parents. For more information on this, please contact her at [email protected].
Citation
Cook, L. M. (2020). What to know and do to help your adopted or foster child succeed in Japanese schools. In M. L. Cook & L. G. Kittaka (Eds.), Intercultural families and schooling in Japan: Experiences, issues, and challenges (pp. 241-265). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/12/10
Information About the Book
Title: Intercultural Families and Schooling in Japan: Experiences, Issues, and Challenges
Editors: Melodie Lorie Cook and Louise George Kittaka
Publication date: 24 September 2020
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Title: Intercultural Families and Schooling in Japan: Experiences, Issues, and Challenges
Editors: Melodie Lorie Cook and Louise George Kittaka
Publication date: 24 September 2020
Read more...