Ryoko Tsuneyoshi and Hideki Ito
February, 2015
Abstract
This working paper offers a case study of the AmerAsian School in Okinawa. Located in a district with a heavy U.S. military presence, it is an alternative school which attracts international children, especially the Amerasian children in Okinawa. The paper traces the origins of the AmerAsian School, in itself an attempt in empowerment. The paper reviews the School’s “double” education, which tries to affirm the “double” existence of the children attending there. The efforts to provide a “double” education is reflected in the School’s language policies (the use of both English and Japanese), and its educational content; the example of social studies is provided. The latter half of this working paper reviews some of the implications from the research on Amerasians. The paper illustrates the way in which Ameriasians have been discussed in the context of social difference, stigmatization and marginalization, and how that is changing. This is an example of a school in Japan which is related to the construction of a multicultural society.
