Inclusive education in Japan was developed on the foundation of special needs education (SNE), which began in the early 2000s. There are various arguments as to whether the current multi-track system of SNE extending from segregated special needs schools to general education classrooms will lead to inclusive education, which is the goal of the…

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…

Cross-national attraction is the first stage in international policy borrowing and analysis of its indicators provides insight into shifts in educational policies. We analyse cross-national attraction within the media discourse on the OECD's PISA in four countries: Australia, Finland, Japan and South Korea. Using the largest circulation English…

Globalisation poses a challenge for businesses with linguistically diverse staff, prompting the choice of English as the default corporate language. Although many studies extensively explored the role of corporate language policy in large corporations, employees' perceptions of such policy has not been explored adequately. Fewer studies…

Japanese higher education policy since the 1990s has been more economic-centered and neo-liberal in nature than previous policy and is characterized by both governmentalism and managerialism. It is widely known that operating grants for national universities have been reduced since they became national university corporations. At the same time,…

In the past few decades, as Japan has navigated a rapidly shifting social landscape that has altered the underpinnings of Japanese society, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) has attempted to adapt by undertaking multiple revisions and reforms to the national education law with important implications for the…

As difficult situations around educational management increase, related research needs to be reflected upon. In this research, the actual nature of the school management process is examined by questioning "How is a headteacher able to impact and effect the school?" and "What kind of relationships are there among various people who…

Many nation-states have realized the importance of tertiary education and the world has seen a corollary increase in tertiary education enrollments. Using Berry and Berry's event history model as a framework, this study tests both the internal features of each country and the influence that nation-states have on each other with regard to setting…

This paper deals with an overall changing trend witnessed in public schooling in Japan, known as educational reforms. Through looking at recent reforms in Japan, with an international trend in view, the author first summarizes educational reforms as waves of liberalization that have changed the post-war fundamental principle of Japanese education.…

This paper explores the convergence and divergence in the discourses and practices of comparative education in Japan, North America, and Greater China. Research demands, institutional settings, and social and historical background determine the nature of the research discussed and practiced in each place. Some particular patterns were identified…

This chapter features a recent conversation with Dr. Arnold J. Love, a long-time proponent of internal evaluation and one of the most cited internal evaluation authors. In 1983, Love edited the first issue of "New Directions for Program Evaluation" on the topic of internal evaluation. He is the author of the book "Internal…

Professional development for teachers has been a substantial issue in contemporary educational research and policy. Yet, opportunities for professional development activities have been very limited in Turkey. In this study, we examined Turkish teachers' involvement in professional development activities by comparing their participation with the…

There has been fierce competition for a shrinking pool of high school graduates in the higher education market in Japan in recent years. Along came former Prime Minister Fukuda's plan for an intake of 300,000 international students by the year 2020. These have placed Japanese institutions of higher education under further pressure to sustain their…

University reforms around the world reflect many of the ideas and measures associated with the New Public Management (NPM) reform wave that emerged in Australia and New Zealand in the early 1980s. However, they also display features of the post-NPM reforms introduced in the last decade. In this article I focus on university reforms in Japan,…

This paper deals with the impact of the global financial crisis on Japan's economy, especially on its higher education. The first section provides an overview of Japan's national economy with a focus on the impact of the global financial crisis on the national economy, then the author touches on the impact on the Japanese government's finances,…