Interactive Presentation Japanese-International Blended Families and the Impact at Home and School more

Sun, May 22, 09:15-10:00 Asia/Tokyo

Since the 1960s, the percentage of blended families, also known as stepfamilies or blendfamilies in Japan, has steadily increased from about 11% of the population to 26% (Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, 2021). Previous research on blended families has centered on mental health, cultural views, values of grandparenting, mothering, and fathering and family policies and law (Sugimoto & Yokoyama, 2017; Nozawa, 2020). However, there is limited English research about the effects of international-Japanese blended families and education. This presentation adopts Nielsen’s (1993) model to study these effects on students in the Osaka region. It focuses on three questions: 1. What factors affect grades and behavior after a separation? 2. How are students’ attitudes toward separation and family members assessed? 3. What ways can schools facilitate students’ adjustment and academic performance after their parents separate or re-marry/re-partner? Surveys were created and sent to children in international-Japanese blended families. This data will be analyzed using Conventional Content Analysis (Krippendorff, 1989; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). Preliminary findings will be presented at Living On The Edge 2022: Finding Home. It is also hoped that discussions will contribute to the development of this research.