Formation and Development of Certified Care Worker Education in Japan: Perspectives of Knowledge Creation and Evolution

Abstract

With the increase of the aged population in Japan, better social care services are demanded. Informal education for care worker began. This informal education led to the formation of the Certified Care Worker Act. This act was the beginning of formal education for such care workers. Our paper aims to clarify how Certified Care Worker Education (CCWE) was formed and how the curriculum of CCWE has been revised. We analyzed these issues from the knowledge creation and evolution perspectives. This paper is based on a review of the literature, analysis of government documents and proposals on curriculum development and revision, and welfare policies and Acts of Japan. The findings showed that first, informal education and the early stage of formal education had a common purpose and common academic disciplines. Informal education is the embryo of formal education. Second, curriculum revisions went through processes of maintenance, strength, addition, omission, integration and differentiation of the social evolution. Through this evolution process, knowledge was maintained and created repetitively same to knowledge creation process. Finally, in general feedback loop i.e. a pragmatic education leads to formulation and implementation of Acts and policies. Acts and policies promote the development of education.