This paper examines recent reforms in English-language testing in Japan using a policy distraction framework. We identify the term 'washback (effect)' and other related discourses as major distractors and investigate how 'washback' discourses have functioned as political slogans or catchphrases in policy deliberation processes and how they have…

"New Directions of STEM Research and Learning in the World Ranking Movement: A Comparative Perspective" illustrates new directions of STEM higher education from the perspective of twenty-first century types of learning outcomes and focuses on need for developing an interdisciplinary approach to STEM higher education reform. It provides…

The concept of educationalization refers to the government's tendency to impose heavy responsibilities to solve social problems on the school system. In this paper, after briefly reviewing the concept of educationalization, I will show that it is a ubiquitous phenomenon in contemporary Japan through three cases. This will prove that school reforms…

This article introduces Kominkan and its practice on Japanese social education and how it facilitates Japanese adult education and lifelong learning in local communities. Historically, social education was understood as all education that promotes social development and societal progress. Kominkan, as Japanese social education institutions for…

This volume offers a timely collection of research-based studies that engage with contemporary conditions of precarity across an array of locations, exploring how it is understood, experienced, and acted upon by educators in schools, universities, and nonformal educational spaces. Precarity presents as layered, unpredictable, destabilizing, and…

The scope of lifelong learning in Japan covers school education and informal learning. Japan faces large social changes: severe child population decline could ease competition for entrance examination but students are pushed to win in the society; cyber communication changes the human relationships more invisible and atomized; the gap between…

This research study examines education in Japan. Emphasis is on providing a rich, detailed description of Japanese education, particularly as it is practiced in the primary school. The main descriptive points are highlighted by a comparison of the American educational system with that of the Japanese. A major objective of the study is to correct…

The theme of the 38th meeting of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME 38) and the 36th meeting of the North American Chapter of the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME-NA 36) was "Mathematics Education at the Edge." Academically, the theme provides opportunities to highlight and examine…

The number of young people who postpone their career decision is increasing in Japan, as is the high unemployment rate. This article examines some problems in Japan's career counseling, compared with career counseling in the U.S., and discusses which course Japan's career counseling should take to cope with dramatic social changes. (GCP)

Reflects the author's experiences as a suicide prevention counselor at a Japanese university. Discusses the rising rate of adolescent suicide and its relationship to social change and family structure. Concludes that adolescent suicide is a silent indictment of current society in Japan. (JAC)

Reports that social studies has declined in the school curriculum of Japan because of its failure to keep pace with the changing orientation of Japanese society toward the future and the emergence of an internationalized society. Summarizes recent policy initiatives and curriculum developments designed to accommodate these social changes. (JDH)

Technology holds the key for bridging the gap between access to quality education and the need for enhanced learning experiences. This book contains case studies on divergent themes of personalized learning environments, inclusive learning for social change, innovative learning and assessment techniques, technology and international partnership…

Asserts that Russian society and Russian schools are going through a profound crisis. Maintains that the best approach to solving social and educational problems is to restore and develop national principles and group cohesion. Criticizes the United States and Japanese educational systems and calls for Russia to follow its own path. (CFR)

This report describes a one-day conference intended to advance knowledge concerning social change in Japan and the United States. Characterizing the change as one from industrial production dominance to knowledge production dominance; the conference addressed related questions such as defining post-industrial society, informational society, and…

In recent years academic and government circles in many foreign countries have focused more attention on education in Japan. This report is a translation of a publication intended to inform the general public of educational standards in this country as compared with other selected countries--the U.S., U.K., France, the Federal Republic of Germany…