Thisstudy attemptstoinvestigatethecharacteristicsand requirementsofeducation safety net
throughthecasestudyofanelementaryschool,basedontheassumptionthatthecentralgoalof
EducationWelfarePriorityZonePlanistobuildanetwork-basededucationalsupportsystem ina
community.Theresultsshow thatthenetwork-basededucationalsupportsystem inJelementary
schoolprimarily functions as a collaboration network for program co-management and client
referral.Thiscorrespondswith findingsofpriorresearch,which show thatoncethecommunity
networkisinplace,itwilldevelopintoastructuralizednetworkforcarrying outmutualprojects
throughagreementbetweenitskeymembers.Authorshavealsocarriedoutqualitativeanalysisto
understandtherequirementsoftheeffectivesupportsystem intheschool.Accordingtoresultsof
in-depth interviews with related experts,what is important for a network-based educational
supportsystem in a community is nottheamount,butthequality ofprograms offered by the
system whichcancopewith risksituationsofclientsandmeettheirneeds.In addition,itseems
thattheattainmentofthesupportsystem'sgoalultimately dependson whetheracommunication
networkisinplaceintheschool,andifso,how wellitfunctions.
Key words:Education Welfare Priority Zone Plan,network-based educationalsupport
system,educationsafetynet