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Three years after Japan integrated "programming" into all elementary school subjects, questions remain on how policy is being put into practice in arts education. This article examines the current state of "programming" - activities addressing a local version of computational thinking - in music, with a focus on Japan's pending challenges. First, an analysis of 23 activity reports sheds light on the main features of implementation efforts conducted by elementary school teachers from all over the country. Notably, compliance with official guidelines seems to have been prioritized over subject-specific contents, and, in some cases, the mere use of digital technologies in the classroom appears to be more relevant than programming and music-making goals. Following that, two key stakeholders - Japanese professionals engaged in planning and implementing "programming" in music in elementary schools - provide insights on its present state and future prospects through an open questionnaire. Their often-contrasting answers include perspectives on learning goals, teachers' skills and assessment, as well as their expectations and concerns. A number of unresolved issues and tensions persist regarding how subject contents and "programming" should be balanced. Given this situation, final remarks address how music-centered, postdigital views of "programming" may inform future initiatives in the intersection of computing science and music education.

In today's rapidly evolving global economy, it is essential to equip young learners with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the workforce and contribute to economic development. Education is a vital driver of human capital and development in countries, and the effectiveness of any educational system depends heavily on its curriculum. This article studies the pivotal role of the curriculum in shaping education and its contribution to economic development. We examined four components (objectives, content, teaching-learning methods, and evaluation) of secondary school curricula in G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA) and Iran to present a set of proposed concepts for the Iranian curriculum with a focus on economic features. A comparative strategy with four qualitative stages (description, interpretation, juxtaposition, comparison) was used. The proposed concepts are arranged in three layers: the first includes improvement of scientific skills; technical skills; and process skills. The second includes study of world history and geography, and other countries' languages and cultures. The third includes altruism for others, and health and environment. Our study serves as an introduction to the skills and abilities needed by Iranian students to compete in the real world. It also provides a concise outline of some of the essential competencies for tomorrow's society and workplaces.

The Japanese educational system is highly competitive and applies high stakes standardized admission testing. As this approach has led to student stress and a narrow instructional focus, the Japanese Government revised educational goals toward more holistic development of well-rounded citizens who are healthy, independent, creative, and work collaboratively with others. However, many teachers did not know how to promote these new goals. This study investigated Japanese educators' application of Philosophy for Children, a discussion-based inquiry approach that has been used to promote socioemotional learning and well-being. Methods included email communications with 29 educators, analysis of Japanese language documents related to the approach in Japan, and observations of meetings of educators who used the method. Educators applied the approach to elementary, secondary, and university settings. The approach was used to promote socioemotional learning and critical thinking among Japanese children. Some have used the approach to facilitate children's healing after the Tohoku earthquake and other trauma. Facilitators applied the approach outside of the classroom in public settings like train stations to promote everyday citizens' expression and understanding. The results suggest that Philosophy for Children has the potential to promote holistic goals for children and adults.

Education is the main factor of economic growth in a country, and the curriculum is the heart of any education system. This study focuses on the key roles of education and its relation to economic development as well as the curriculum as a core part of the entire educational drive of nations. In particular, the present study compares the objectives and content of high school curricula in Iran and G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States) to achieve some implications for curriculum development in Iran, with a focus on the significant gap between finding a job after secondary graduation in Iran compared with G7 countries. John Stuart Mill's method of agreement and difference was used with the MAXQDA software for data analysis. The results of similarities and differences between objectives and content of curricula indicated that while both educational systems address social and cultural content and objectives, albeit in different ways, Iran lacks economic-oriented content and objectives that connect to occupation, markets, needs of the community and thus economic development ideals.

This paper explores how Japan employed language education to justify Japanese imperial surveillance practices by examining the depiction of policemen and military police officers in Japanese language textbooks used by Korean primary students during the colonial period under Japanese rule. The analysis of the Japanese language textbooks used during this period uncovered the colonial educational goals and ideologies presented to Korean students, the ideal colonial citizens desired by the ruling system, and colonial aims furthered. This study investigates the ideologies presented in the textbooks using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Visual Image Analysis (VIA) by analyzing eight textbooks that were used in Japan and Korea. Both images and texts relating to Japanese government officials in the textbooks for Koreans from the colonial era are analyzed. The study reveals that the textbooks positioned Korean students to accept and integrate Japanese ideologies and attempted to indoctrinate Koreans into believing that the Japanese government officials were kind and cooperative, while also maximizing their authority over the colonized in their portrayal. The portrayal of government officials in the textbooks further reinforced this by showing the colonized having to display good behavior to authority figures, while not conveying any negative images of the government officials.

The lesson study is a teaching practice that was first applied to the educational system of Japan. It is a form of classroom research in which teachers cooperatively plan, teach, observe and share the results in a class lesson. The purpose of this study is to review the effectiveness of the implementation of the lesson study in basic teacher education through the review of 29 empirical researches conducted both in Greece and the world over the past decade (2008-2018). In particular, a. the contribution of the lesson study in mobilizing and improving the performance of preservice teachers and b. the attitudes and beliefs of preservice teachers and their educators on the use of this particular teaching approach. The results of the research revealed that lesson study contributes to mobilizing preservice teachers, improving their performance, and developing positive attitudes and beliefs of learners and trainers regarding its use in higher education. There is also a need for further research on the implementation of the lesson study in higher education, mainly in Greece, compared to the international field.

Foreign language education primarily aims to cultivate learners' competence to communicate in an additional language. However, the meaning of communication competence is not entirely transparent, especially given the current neoliberal valorization of communication in the knowledge economy. The meaning of communication can be scrutinized in two contradictory trends observed in language education: the exclusive focus on teaching English as a global language, signifying a homogenizing trend, and increased scholarly attention to the heterogeneity of linguistic forms and practices. This article examines how communication competence is differentially understood by policymakers and corporate workers in Japan. The authors examine a government report that evaluated the attainment of educational goals for coping with globalization and contrasting it with interview data drawn from another study on the communicative experiences of Japanese transnational workers in Asia. Political discourse analysis and content analysis reveal the paradoxical nature of what can be called neoliberal communication competence, which on the one hand conflates global communication with use of the four measurable skills in English to transmit information and, on the other hand, challenges linguistic norms, foregrounding plurilingualism and co-constructed interactional competence. Transformation of policies and pedagogies can be pursued by appropriating neoliberal communication competence for achieving broader educational goals.

This article explores the link between the OECD TALIS 2013 survey's framework for defining the ideal teacher and national educational goals by focusing on the teacher self-efficacy items, using cross-country comparisons. Surprisingly, cross-country analysis of the TALIS 2013 data combined with World Value Survey data about Desired Child Qualities demonstrates that the OECD TALIS teacher self-efficacy items are aligned with traditional collectivist educational goals. Thus, the findings indicate that the ideal teacher characteristics embodied in the OECD TALIS 2013 teacher self-efficacy items favour countries that prioritize socialization and culturalization. The implications for theory and practice are discussed herein.

International knowledge and skills are essential for success in today's highly competitive global marketplace. As one of the key providers of such knowledge and skills, universities have become a key focus of the internationalization strategies of governments throughout the world. While the internationalization of higher education clearly has certain benefits for students, schools, the national economy, and the international community, each country gives a different degree of importance to each of these various benefits. The purpose of this study was threefold: 1) to determine which benefits of the internationalization of education are deemed most important in Taiwan and Japan; 2) to determine which measures are most effective for realizing these benefits; and 3) to determine the extent to which these measures have actually been carried out. A questionnaire was used to obtain the views of 100 professors, 50 in Taiwan and 50 in Japan, as to the current situation in their respective countries. The results indicate that there are significant differences between the two country's reasons for promoting the internationalization of education, as well as in their respective internationalization strategies.

The researcher in this study attempted to identify the objectives of the National Educational and sources to derive educational objectives and the methods and means to achieve the objectives of National Education and the subjects and courses that are taught in the subject of national education in the levels of education in a range of countries: the United States, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, and use Researcher comparative approach in this study, the researcher depends on the educational goals through books, sources and studies and philosophy of education in these countries, analysis, and the study found all States focused on national education course dramatically and aim to reach the promotion of loyalty and patriotism, loyalty and sacrifice for him as States also seeks to develop national education material to keep up with the explosion of knowledge and technological progress, and focus on the substance of education in its role in addressing the issues and developments and problems facing the community.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect effects of managerial coaching on critical reflection mediated through learning goal orientation. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a questionnaire survey of 169 employees in 53 teams at an IT firm in Japan. The data were examined using multi-level analyses. Findings: Managerial coaching has a direct positive effect on critical reflection, and the relationship is mediated by learning goal orientation. Research limitations/implications: The characteristics of the sample may limit the generalization of the findings. Future research should verify the model in other industries and countries. Practical implications: The organizations should note that managerial coaching is useful not only for facilitating employees' problem-solving but also for enhancing their critical reflection. It should also be noted that employees can reflect critically on their beliefs and work routines when they have learning goals. Originality/value: Although few quantitative studies have investigated the determinants of critical reflection, the present research reveals the overlooked functions of managerial coaching in promoting employees' learning.

One of the institutional challenges of taking in large numbers of international graduate students is supporting their academic literacy skills. To accommodate a large population of international students, Japanese universities offer various services to support their academic studies and life-related issues, such as hiring international student advisors, offering Japanese language courses, and implementing peer-support programs. As a type of academic support for writing for international students, writing centers have caught the attention of universities in the last decade. To examine the institutional role of the writing center at a Japanese university, this study employs a language management lens to compare the beliefs and interests among administrators, tutors, and international students in improving international students' Japanese writing. Interviews with the three groups of participants displayed incongruences between the administrators' interests aligned with institutional goals, the educational philosophy of the writing center, and international students' language learning needs. The findings point to the tutors' crucial role as language specialists who inform organized language management, and the necessity for collaboration between academic support units and faculty members in providing sufficient academic socialization environments for international students.

Aim/Purpose: Although many computer science measures have been proposed, visualizing individual students' capabilities is difficult, as those measures often rely on specific tools and methods or are not graded. To solve these problems, we propose a rubric for measuring and visualizing the effects of learning computer programming for elementary school students enrolled in computer science education (CSE), which is independent of the programming language being used. Background: In this research, we proposed a rubric based on existing CSE standards and criteria having a programming education-learning goal. We then applied this rubric to actual lessons to visualize the educational effects. Methodology: The proposed new rubric for teaching computer programming, based on existing standards and criteria, was applied to fourth- and sixth-grade students in Japan. We assessed which skills were cultivated through quizzes before and after the teaching. Contribution: This paper contributes on how to make and utilize a rubric for programming education in computer science. We evaluated and visualized the proposed rubric's learning effects on children and found that our proposed rubrics are independent of any particular method or tool. Findings: The results of this survey are twofold: (1) we proposed a rubric of programming education in computer science, independent of the programming tools used and (2) we succeeded in visualizing students' learning stages by applying the proposed rubric to programming education conducted in a Japanese elementary school. Recommendations for Practitioners: Evaluating educational effects in CSE is important. In particular, graded assessments of learner abilities can reveal individual characteristics. This research is useful for assessing CSE because it focuses specifically on programming education. Recommendations for Researchers: The rubric's suggestions and quality improvements in CSE help learners assess their learning progress and will clarify the cultivated computer science skills. Impact on Society This research evaluates CSE based on a rubric in the programming education field. Future Research: Future work is needed to improve the proposed rubric's quality and relevance. Also, this rubric should be applied to many classes to increase the number of evaluations and analyses.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has been increasingly used to inform language policies and teaching practices in Japan. The Japanese Ministry of Education proposed in 2011 that objectives of English curricula at the secondary education level ought to be stated using the "Can do" schemata of the CEFR and then announced a new English examination system for college enrolment to be launched in 2020. This top-down approach to implementing the CEFR, however, has caused practitioners great confusion and led to mis-conceptualisations of the CEFR. A group of practitioners conducted a research project aiming to develop a practical guide to CEFR-informed learning, teaching and assessment. It attempts to provide practitioners with CEFR-related resources and tools to implement the CEFR for course design. To design a course, users of the CEFR need to modify scaled illustrative descriptors in principled ways to fit local needs. The modified descriptors become the basis for daily lesson plans, and function as an assessment tool for teacher and learner self-assessment. This report summarises the research project and workshops held in 2017 and 2018.

To deal with uncertainties, firms have adopted a 'parallel path' strategy in which they apply research and development outcomes to a variety of objectives in innovation activities. Considering another factor of successful innovation, searching for ideas from wider technological domains can increase the probability of success. However, the number of possible combinations of a wider variety of knowledge sources and a greater number of objectives within innovation activity expands dramatically. This article focuses on the interaction between the utilization of university knowledge and objective diversification and analyses the relationship between that interaction and the technological outcome. The results show that the effect of interaction between the utilization of university-generated knowledge in innovation activities and the diversification of objectives has an inverse U-shaped relationship in product innovation, and the utilization of university knowledge leads to a better outcome when the firm has a moderate number of objectives, rather than few or many.

This study aims to find out how students prepared for a flipped classroom and to examine what type of instruction could effectively guide students to do pre-class preparation. We conducted case studies for over two years in a physiology class at a Japanese university. In a survey performed in 2017, students were asked to participate in a questionnaire and an interview. Their responses in the questionnaire indicated that there was a clear and positive correlation between their class preparation time and individual grades, while class preparation of some students was proven not so productive or efficient. By the same token, the student interview made clear that students were not well informed of what to focus on or how to prepare appropriately for the flipped classes. Based on the 2017 findings, we started to share learning objectives with students for their pre-class preparation in the 2018 course. Amid and after the 2018 spring semester, questionnaires were administered to examine the effectiveness of instructions for preparation, and of sharing learning objectives to measure the level of students' metacognition. As a result, the students who continuously review the learning objectives achieved significantly higher grades than the students who did not. We also found that the level of students' metacognition exerted a stronger influence on their grades than the amount of effort invested in reviewing the learning objectives for pre-class preparation. In conclusion, our study suggests that instructors should design a comprehensive flipped class model which maximizes the benefit of pre-class preparation time by envisioning that students' preparation would be more sustainable and effective with proper guidance.

As countries worldwide aim to reform their education systems and improve teaching and learning, lesson study (LS), which originated in East Asia, has recently attracted great attention. In order for international educators and policy makers to better understand the history and the state of the art of LS in East Asia, this article introduces three typical models in Japan, Mainland China and Hong Kong. First, they are described with regard to their distinct features, historical origin and development, goals and objectives, mechanisms of implementation, actual achievements, and structural constraints. Their commonalities and differences are then compared, and especially how and why these differences emerge in the specific sociocultural contexts of the regions. Finally, policy implications are discussed to provide insights for the other education systems in their policy making and implementation of similar reform practices.

This article addresses the conceptual question "what is lesson study?" as an issue that arises in the context of the globalisation of lesson study as a method for improving teaching and learning beyond its presumed origins in the Japanese education system. To what extent can adaptations of the method in different national settings be interpreted as faithful representations of its practically significant "critical features" in the country of origin? In order to address this question, the article begins by examining the comparative classroom research by Stigler and Hiebert that culminated in the publication of "The Teaching Gap." This work is generally acknowledged to have been seminal for the global development of lesson study as a method for improving teaching and learning. Sponsored by the 1997 TIMMS testing programme, the research sought to explain pronounced differences in measured educational attainment between students of all ages in Japan, and the US and Germany. In the process Stigler and Hiebert discovered the extensive use of lesson study in Japanese primary schools as a school-based research method for securing consistency between learning goals and teaching methods. In doing so, they identified six principles which underpinned the method and pinpointed its practical significance. In this article, the author claims that the principles identified by Stigler and Hiebert can be used as a framework for assessing adaptations of lesson study in the context of globalisation, and connecting it to related methodological ideas that are internationally circulating. In particular, the author stresses links between lesson study, the tradition of classroom action research forged by Lawrence Stenhouse and his colleagues at the University of East Anglia, UK and the theory of variation developed in Sweden and Hong Kong by Ference Marton, Lo Mun Ling and others. Such links can deepen a theoretical understanding of "lesson study" and safe-guard it against a "cherry-picking" approach to its implementation in a context of globalisation. The article particularly highlights the importance of understanding the ways in which the organisational cultures of schooling in many countries shape and distort the implementation of lesson study. It argues for the greater involvement of school leaders and administrators in a form of "second-order action research" aimed at transforming the organisational context of teachers' work in classrooms and creating more space for them to spend less time as "test data managers" and more time as "lesson researchers" in accordance with the six principles outlined.

The primary purpose of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC®) is to measure the everyday English skills of individuals, who speak a first language other than English, working in an international environment (ETS, 2015a, 2016a; Powers & Powers, 2015). The TOEIC also has six secondary purposes: (1) to verify the current level of English language proficiency; (2) to qualify for a new position and/or promotion in a company; (3) to enhance professional credentials; (4) to monitor progress in English; (5) to set learning goals; and (6) to involve employers in advancing English ability (ETS, 2015a, 2016a, p. 2). Embedded in these purposes are five approved intended uses that are explicitly recommended for TOEIC scores: hiring, placing, promoting applicants, measuring English language proficiency, and evaluating progress in English (ETS, 2015a, 2016a). The first version of the TOEIC LR was developed by ETS in 1979 to evaluate employees' and prospective employees' English skills in international business contexts in response to a request from the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (ETS, 2013). A revised version of the TOEIC LR was released in 2006. The following sections review both this updated version (released in 2016) and the current form of the TOEIC Speaking and Writing (SW).

This study examined demotivational factors among Iranian and Japanese college teachers of English. To achieve the purpose, the study used a 35-item questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The results were compared with the similar study in Japan by Sugino (2010). The findings of the study revealed that Iranian and Japanese lecturers are much similar regarding motivation and demotivation in their teaching. However, there is difference with respect to the top items causing demotivation. For Iranian teachers, the most demotivating items were "No consistency in curriculum with clear goals," "No bonus," "Little appreciation from the administration," "Employment system is unstable," "When students are not interested in studying," and "Lack of research fund." Whereas, the top demotivating items for Japanese college teachers were: "students using cell-phones in classes," "students sleeping in class," "students taking rebellious attitudes," "long meeting hours," "much paperwork," and "fixed teaching method." Implications for curriculum development, working conditions, and educational authorities will be discussed.

Regarding education as "the social" rather than an intentional action between individuals, this paper discusses the fair way of its distribution. Fairness is presumed to be relevant to the distribution of resources for education not only among people belonging to the same generation in the same society, but also among people belonging to different generations and different societies. To keep society sustainable and to leave a sustainable society to future generations, it is not sufficient to keep resources intact. It is also necessary to leave a fair way, i.e. the fair way of sharing burdens and benefits, for future generations. The educational significance of John Rawls' difference and just savings principles is elucidated in contrast to Robert Nozick's account of the entitlement of property. The main conclusion of the paper is that, if we see education as "the social", we cannot design fair education without concern for the welfare of those who are living in different societies and are not yet born. (Contains 1 note.)

This article presents the authors' critique of lessons proposed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21). The authors initiate a discussion about content that they hope will play out in schoolhouses and statehouses across the country. They take on a different task: they present a handful of lesson ideas from P21 that could enhance studies of academic content. They present examples of content-rich education in which they hope P21 will use as models to revise its current skills maps. (Contains 11 endnotes.)

This cross-case analysis explores national level internationalisation of higher education (IoHE) policies in Singapore and Japan. Through comparison of the state level internationalisation strategies, this paper aims to highlight how each country's unique policy environment impacts their approach to IoHE. The analysis suggests that despite the differing national circumstances and ultimate approaches to internationalisation, both states use it primarily as a means to stay competitive in the twenty-first century global knowledge-based economy. This suggests that while IoHE does build bridges between nations, institutions, and individuals within and between regions, within these cases it is being driven by nationally-centred rationales. While some criticize a competition orientation in IoHE, even with such rationales it may still serve to drive greater collaboration and integration among East Asian higher education systems.

Current Educational Reform in Japan is oddly captured with confused conceptions of "compulsory education." The Ministry of Education blankets such connotations of it, as a national budget system, mandated school curriculum, responsible partnership of school with community and accountabilities of local school board, in defense of vested national budget against decentralization promoted by prefectural governors. However, the extended usage of "problems of compulsory education" results in the confusion of educational policies. This is because the core issues of current reforms are not concerned about whether school education should be compulsory or not, but on the future design of the public education system. This paper displays some historical aspects of the concept of "compulsory education," in order to enlighten the reason why the issues of it are expanded and unclear. Indeed, most people have confused the concepts of "public education," "public school system," "general education," "compulsory education" and "national education." In pre-war days, the compulsory education system was not launched in the early stages of modernization, but in 1886, when the first educational minister, Arinori Mori, legally designed the public education (general education) system to be established in the nation state. His idea of the "compulsory education" was characteristic. Though it was legitimated by "national education" constructed with "general education" or "public education," its financial foundation was not based on a national budget but school fees were paid by parents. This system was reorganized just after his assassination. "Compulsory education" became a nationalistic regime through which people were educated to be loyal subjects and obedient to the nation. At this point, the national budget system obtained its legitimacy for the foundation of national education. In postwar reform, the legitimacy of "compulsory education" was placed on education as a human right under the renewed constitution, connecting it with the human right to live, while most people have not recognized its significance. Thus, the concept of "compulsory education" is a puzzle in contemporary debates of educational reform. This paper explores the complicated relationship of "compulsory education" to the national budget system, through rethinking about the historical process of the public education system in Japan. [This article was translated by Walter Dawson.] (Contains 1 note.)

We reported the major findings of our research based on our own academic achievement tests towards elementary school and junior high school pupils in 2002. We then pointed out the fact that the differences of achievement between social groups have been expanded. Nowadays, that issue is seen to be one of the most serious educational problems in contemporary Japan. Although the differences of various educational outcomes such as academic achievements or educational aspirations between social groups are always emphasized, it is surprising that they seldom discuss about the ways in which those differences could be made smaller. I myself have been exploring the issue in these several years. In this paper, I will describe the progress and the future directions of our academic exploration on this particular educational issue. [This article was translated by Walter Dawson.] (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables, and 1 note.)

Background: This study investigates how the criterion-referenced (CR) approach has impacted relationships between goals, classroom practices, and student achievement in English education in Japan from 1994 to the present, a period covering three government-mandated administrations of a national curriculum (Course of Study). No study has investigated such relationships longitudinally as evidence of accountability of these curriculum policies, and this is a first step. Methods: Study 1 compares their alignment from two periods (1994-2002 and 2003-2013) based on the legally-binding goals set by the Government, nation-wide CR tests based on these goals, and English teachers' answers to a questionnaire investigating their classroom practices. Study 2 explores how current goals relate to the results of a new set of CR tests and a new survey of classroom practices. The study contributes to the field in two significant ways. Results: Using Roger's (Rogers, 2003) Diffusion of Innovation Theory made it possible to analyze the implementing processes for new educational policies as multi-faceted and susceptible to influences from stakeholders' societal value systems. Conclusions: Results of tests and surveys collected from large samples truly reflect the targeted populations and provide empirical evidence supporting the widely-recognized narrative that high-stakes university entrance examinations strongly affect Japanese EFL education.

We examine the distinction between teaching and teachers as it relates to instructional improvement. Drawing from work outside of education on improvement systems and from analyzing the Japanese system of lesson study, we contend that a focus on teaching can shape a coordinated system for improvement whereas a focus on teachers, common in the United States, leads to elements that are uncoordinated and often work against the continuous, steady improvement of classroom teaching. We propose that the concept of systems for improvement and its instantiation in Japanese K-8 education offer opportunities to reexamine U.S. efforts to improve teaching and shift these efforts toward a more promising direction.