One important task in internationalizing Japanese education is educating Japanese citizens to become "global citizens." This paper is a philosophical analysis of how Global Education deals with the problem of cultural-moral difference (moral conflict that arises between different cultures). The usual approaches taken in Global Education…

This paper examines the influence of single parenthood on children's academic achievement in Japan. While some studies have examined the academic achievement gap associated with family structure, a limitation of existing research is the focus on differences between the mean levels of academic achievement of children in single-parent and two-parent…

This piece argues that the aversion of academic researchers to utilizing 'Japanese-ness' has become a major obstacle, restricting the potential contribution of Japan's educational research community to global debates. It argues that until research on Japan recognizes, embraces, and elaborates Japanese-ness it will lack originality and vitality. As…

As internationalization has become part of the raison d'être of universities worldwide, English-medium instruction (EMI) has emerged as an irresistible force in the higher education systems of many non-English speaking countries. In a manifestation of its commitment to internationalization, Japan has seen a dramatic increase in the number of EMI…

This paper discusses the meaning of the internationalization of higher education in Japan, based on a review of global trends in this area. Globalization has brought major changes to higher education, and in order to deal with them, the Japanese government has promoted internationalization as an important policy for higher education reform with a…

The aim of this paper is to propose an analytical framework of disciplinary learning outcomes that will facilitate our understanding of the nature of disciplines and their relationships. Application of the draft analytical framework, Anderson and Krathwohl's "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives" to engineering learning outcome reference…

This paper examines variations and shifts of emphasis in the 'internationalising education' discourse and practice, and attempts to identify patterns in these variations. By examining two sectors, compulsory education and universities, it identifies four main strands of discourse: (1) international (understanding) education ("kokusai rikai…

The aim of the present paper is to examine the risks and benefits of employing evidence in school safety education in Japan. In the past, evidence was typically not utilized in school safety (absence of evidence). Even when evidence is utilized, there are cases where measures are promoted based on misinterpreted numerical values (risks of…

This paper focuses on the rhetoric surrounding "internationalization" in Japanese education. Internationalization is now used both in scholarly circles and in the media. Since discussions of internationalization are accompanied by calls for hiring more foreign faculty in higher education, increasing diversity, etc., one may be led to…

This paper considers the functions and effects of "representation" in politics and education. The voting age for public elections in Japan has been lowered from 20 or older to 18 or older, calling for a shift in the curriculum to the basics of political participation and competence. In this paper, while focusing on the political issues…

Environmental education has not spread as widely in Japan as expected and therefore has not had any significant impact on environmental problems, even though many educators and researchers have devoted themselves to environmental educational practice. Why is environmental education not popular in Japan, and what does this tell us? The purpose of…

The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) ran from 2005 to 2014. This study concerns the concepts of Sustainable Development (SD) and ESD. The term "sustainable development" was coined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 as the key word in integrating environment and development. SD achieved international consensus at…

Japan stands as a rare country in which ESD has been incorporated as mainstream policy. However, looking back on the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD), ESD has not brought about the transformation in Japan that one expects ESD to aim for, despite this support at the policy level. The cause may be that pouring…

The aim of this article is to propose the concept of ecophilia as the guiding idea for conceiving an education with ecological concern--ecopedagogy. Drawing on E. O. Wilson's idea of biophilia and Yi Fu Tuan's notion of topophilia, I coin the term "ecophilia", which means the human affective and embodied bond with other living beings and…

Teleological progress is the underlying motif of modern culture, and informs education, innovation, and economic development. Progress includes a gradual increase in consumerism. Since the 1940s, the Keynesian Settlement and its embedded belief in progress is legislated in exponential 2-3% economic growth. Unfortunately, climate change is a direct…