Message from the Director (Masatoshi Kawai)

Masatoshi Kawai Director The Center for Study of Child Development

The Mukogawa Women's University, Institute for Education and Center for the Study of Child Development was established in 2009. We have been conducting research on children's mental development and education, focusing on follow-up research started in 2004 as a national project. The Institute for Education, Center for School Education, and Research Institute of Developmental and Clinical Psychology have now been merged to form the new Research Institute of Education.

Each research institute and center will conduct research activities as a division of the Research Institute. The Center for the Study of Child Development will continue its research activities as a division of the Research Institute for Children and Families.

The number of births in Japan has been rapidly declining. The social and school environments in which children live are also changing rapidly. The entire nation must conduct research on how the environment surrounding children affects their growth and learning activities, and work toward a better direction.

The Child and Family Division of the Mukogawa Women's University Research Institute of Education has begun efforts to build a new era by returning to society and families the many results accumulated so far at the Research Center for Child Development Science.

All of the participants in the follow-up study who have been cooperating with us since they were babies will soon reach adulthood. They will be the generation that will lead the new era. Our research has been recognized by the government and we have received continuous research support. All of us are determined to make further efforts so that our achievements, which have been made possible through the efforts of our collaborators and the support of the government and the university, will serve as a beacon for the new era to come.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support and cooperation.

Masatoshi Kawai