Significance of Specialized Educationof Economics in the School of Economics,
Nagoya University
SONODA Tadashi

Focusing

mainlyon

microeconomics,

macroeconomics,

econometrics, and applied economics, this article explains theimplementation of the specialized education of economics at the
Schoolof

Economics,

NagoyaUniversity,

andexaminesits

significance. The school has educational goals of enhancing basic
analytical ability and voluntary exploration ability. To achieve thesegoals, the school has formulated a curriculum in which students firstlearn introductory mathematics and statistics, before taking basic
specialized courses and then specialized courses (including lecturesand seminars). The significance of economics as specialized courses
may differ depending on the levels of knowledge and understanding of
economics needed by students. Knowledge and understanding of
economics help students who need economics as a common sense ofbeing members of society enjoy consumption activities in daily andsocial life. Such knowledge and understanding enhance the ability ofstudents who need economics as non-academic professionals to makeaccurate judgments in business activities as well as help students whoneed economics as academic professionals prepare for learningtheoretical and empirical analyses at graduate schools. Given thesignificance of economics, students who wish to learn economics as apart of their specialized courses might suffer serious consequences
without the availability of these courses at the undergraduate level.

Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University313

Curriculum Reform in Humanities Education:
The Case of Nagoya University
SAKUMA Junichi
Because of the Japanese government’s economic austerity and thedecrease in the population of 18-year-olds, Japanese universities areconfronted by many difficulties. In particular, the Japanese Ministryof Education has urged national universities to take active steps toabolish humanities organizations or convert them to other more
“useful” ones. Such a demand is absolutely absurd since a decline in
the study of humanities will likely hamper the growth of creative
work, even in the field of technology. We should also admit, however,that humanities education in Japanese universities has room for
improvement. Therefore, we should first overview the current status
and issues of humanities education and then discuss measures
toward its improvement. In this paper, we will focus on bachelor’s
education with special reference to the School of Humanities, Nagoya
University, which has recently undertaken organizational
restructuring and curriculum reform.

Professor, Graduate School of Letters, Nagoya University314

School of Informatics in Nagoya University
KITA Eisuke

Recently, the requests and the demands for the university
education becomes complicate more and more. Because the School ofInformatics is set up in the situation in such times, the education
system is designed well for accomplishing various social requests inan education purpose, a curriculum and so on. A purpose of this reportis to introduce the sophisticated education system of the School of
informatics. At first I explain a social and a scientific requests shownin the setting of the School of informatics. Then, I introduce education
purpose and the admission fee policy of the information department,
curriculum policy and diploma policy. Finally I describe thecharacteristic professional training curriculum of the information
department. After the specialty subject that added the introduction of
the basics of subject crossing subject specialized in a line of thought
fusion type, specialty and total compatibility as a characteristic of thespecialized basic subject, the introduction of the quarter system,
introduction of rate specialization, the unit of the practical education,
I easily speak a specialty subject.

Professor, School of Informatics and Sciences, Nagoya University

315

Reorganization and Specialized Education in
the School of Engineering, Nagoya University
TAGAWA Tomohiko

A new education system will commence from academic year 2017
in the School of Engineering and the Graduate School of Engineering,
Nagoya University. The ordinary 4 ＋ 2 ＋ 3 system for theundergraduate (4years), postgraduate (2years), and doctorate (3years)
courses will be shifted to a 3 ＋ 3 ＋ 3 system including a “latespecialization system” in the basics (3years) + specialization (3years)+ innovation (3years) system. In this report, this new system ofundergraduate and graduate schools is explained in comparison withthe present 4＋2＋3 structure. Then, the new education system will
be discussed with actual examples, including the role of specialized
courses.

Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University316

Academic Program for the School of
Agricultural Sciences of Nagoya University:
Current Status and Strategy for Reformation
TANIGUCHI Mitsutaka*
NAKAGAWA Michiko**
YAMAMOTO Kazukiyo***
ISHIGURO Sumie****KAWAKITA Kazuhito*****The School of Agricultural Sciences of Nagoya University seeks todevelop individuals with knowledge and training in agriculturalsciences, capable of contributing to society through their humane
attitude toward all living organisms, comprehensive decision-making
abilities, and creative problem-solving skills. It has been 10 years since
the last reformation of the undergraduate curriculum, and someissues such as the polarization in student achievement and theredundancy in the course contents have been pointed out. Moreover,given the current situation that almost 80% of undergraduate
students attend graduate schools, the curriculum committee has beenpromoting the reform of academic programs with educational
continuity at universities and graduate schools in mind. In the newacademic program, many basic subjects have been made compulsory
in an effort to make all first- and second-year students acquire basic
knowledge needed for advanced education. Third-year students musttake many special subjects and laboratory exercise, including the
subjects that act as a bridge to graduation work in the fourth year.
Each department offers a wide variety of programs and improves
curriculums in order to develop students capable of working in
graduate schools and places of employment.

*Professor, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya
University**Associate Professor, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences,
Nagoya University***Associate Professor, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences,
Nagoya University***Associate Professor, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences,
Nagoya University****Professor, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya
University317

Self-Recognition in Women’s Colleges in Japan:
Content Analysis of Presidents’ Messages
HASHIMOTO Koichi*
KOBARU Akie**
KATO Yasuko***This article presents content analysis of presidents’ messages ofwomen’s colleges from the viewpoint of self-recognition. It examines
how presidents recognize their own colleges under difficult conditions
in order to survive. Concretely, the following research measures weretaken: collecting presidents’ messages on each college’s website,analyzing all the texts using quantitative text analysis, and extracting
common core features and differentiation strategies.
The findings were as follows:
1) In presidents’ messages, the content with the largest amount ofwords was “the model of student development,” followed in orderby “the college’s history and mission” and “the educational
policy.”2) Women’s colleges tend to list “an emotionally intelligent person,”“a self-reliant person,” “a person with high levels of expertise,” “aperson who can contribute to society,” and “a person who iscultured and educated” as models of student development. This
indicates that these personalities embody the central ideals of
women’s colleges.
3) Colleges that were previously women’s colleges are less likely
than women’s colleges to refer to “an emotionally intelligent
person,” “a self-reliant person,” and “a person who has good
leadership skills” as models of student development. This showsthat only women’s colleges prefer and retain such models.

*Professor, Graduate School of Education, The University ofTokyo**Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Education, The Universityof Tokyo***Doctoral Student, Graduate School of Education, The Universityof Tokyo318

Effects of Students’ Attitudes in “Lecture” and“Active Learning” on Learning Outcomes:
Results of the Questionnaire Surveys at a
Junior College
KOYAMA Ayako*
MIZOKAMI Shinichi**This paper examines how students’ learning during both lectures
and active learning can have an impact on learning outcomes fordeveloping competencies. Active learning is considered to be more
effective than lectures in the development of competencies. However,the differences between them have not been empirically treated.
In this study, first, the “Lecture Attitude Scale” was developed tomeasure the quality of students’ learning during lectures. It wasnecessary to examine how students’ learning was focused on bothlectures and active learning. Next, questionnaire surveys wereadministered twice (Time A and Time B) to 90 female students at A
Junior College. The main finding is that students’ learning during bothlectures and active learning can have an impact on the developmentof competencies to some extent. This suggests that students’ learning
during not only lectures but also active learning should relate to thedevelopment of competencies.

*Lecturer, Department of Contemporary Life Design, Kyoto Koka
Women’s College**Professor, Center for the Promotion of Excellence in Higher
Education, Kyoto University319

A Case Study on the Gaps
in Institutional Evaluation and Planning
NAKAJIMA HidehiroThis paper aims to report on a case study of a state university in
the U.S., describing how institutional evaluations and strategicplanning presumably work dissonantly but make sense of events
among people who participated in the evaluation process. From theviewpoint of the positivist paradigms, data analysis, institutional
self-study, and future projection must be connected logically underrational explanations. However, emphasis on the rationality andconsistency between evaluation and planning does not necessarily
bring about institutional effectiveness. This paper re-examines theprocess of evaluation and planning as a socially constructed narrativethat has a positive impact on organizational integration.
The main findings are as follows. First, all data and evidence
provided by the office of institutional research are not examinedthoroughly but questioned partially to facilitate interactions among
members of the evaluation committee for collective understanding of
the issues. Second, the process of appraisal and projections aredecoupled from central issues in the institution and accomplishedsymbolically. Third, focusing on interaction to develop diverse
interpretations of fact and data has a significant effect onorganizational integration.

Associate Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education,
Nagoya University320Lifelong Learning for Adults
as a Business Model in French Universities
NATSUME Tatsuya

This paper aims at clarifying the actual conditions and problems
concerning the lifelong learning for adults in French universities. We
examined the contents of documents published by the French
Ministry of Education and lifelong learning centers in universities aswell as interviews with people working at the centers.
Subsequently, we obtained the following findings:
1.

Lifelong learning centers in universities offer education with atuition fee, although the initial education is free of charge.
Enterprises have to make contributions to such centers if they
are to enroll their workers.

2.

Universities do not succeed in attracting adult students becauseof the competition among organizations in the same business andthe lack of understanding between the presidents’ teams and3.

faculty members with regard to lifelong learning.
Some conditions for lifelong learning to be sustainable as abusiness model are as follows: a. quality of education, b.
development of partnership between universities and industries,
and c. change of faculty members’ mentality toward lifelong
learning.

4.

It is possible to theoretically transfer the results of pedagogicalinnovations pursued by lifelong learning to the initial education;
however, doing so is difficult in practice.

5.

At present, it is difficult to sustain lifelong learning as a businessmodel in universities even though universities enjoy someadvantages offered by the French government.

Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education, Nagoya
University

321

Active Learning Considered from theViewpoint of Instructional Design
KOGO Chiharu

This paper focused on the keyword “active learning,” which has
recently received much attention in Japan, and examined several
instructional design models for active learning elements. Course
design methods were proposed in three different forms of education.
From the very time instructional design was conceived, it embodied
the idea of active learning and learner-centeredness̶for example,
the principle of learner testing, the evidence-based cycle ofimprovement, and authentic methods of evaluation. In the
representative models of instructional design̶Keller’s ARCS
(Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) motivationalmodel, Gagné’s nine instructional events, and Kogo’s rocket model ofcourse design̶elements of active learning are incorporated. On thebasis of instructional design principles, the design and development ofactive learning are proposed in the following three forms of education:
personalized training for no more than 10 students, group work
training for no more than 100 students, and massive online courses formore than 1,000 students. In conclusion, every form of education will
become active through instructional design principles.

Professor, Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University(Visiting Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education,
Nagoya University)322

Implementing Assessment Practices inJapanese Universities: Issues and Challenges
facing the IR/IE Office in Yamagata University
ASANO Shigeru

Japanese universities are required to formulate clear learning
objectives and independently demonstrate that the educational
programs that they provide are effective. To accomplish theserequirements, most universities are working toward a coherent set of“3 policies.” These are locally known as the Diploma Policy, theCurriculum Policy, and the Admission Policy and are considered to befundamental in the assessment of student learning outcomes.
In this paper, we will address how the IR/IE Office in Yamagata
University formulated those three policies and describe the issues andchallenges that we faced during the process. In the U.S., academic
programs and their outcomes are clearly defined and closely related;
however, those relationships scarcely exist in Japan. To tackle these
problems,

weexamined

how

U.S.

universities

assesstheireffectiveness.
Since our research is currently ongoing, we cannot share the entire
assessment process. However, this paper will aim to help otherJapanese institutions in their continuous improvement by sharing
what we have learned from formulating our three policies andassessment plans.

Professor, Academic Assembly, Yamagata University(Visiting Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education,
Nagoya University)

323

The Present State and a Remaining Problem of
University Entrance Examination Reform:
From the Perspective of Performance Assessment
NISHIOKA Kanae
This paper aims to examine the 2020 reform of the articulation
between high schools and universities in Japan, focusing on theassessment methods used in university entrance examinations. Policy
discussions following the Report on Qualitative Change promoted
multi-dimensional assessment in university entrance examinations inorder to develop competencies and abilities.
The number of universities that use both the National Center Tests
and the second round of tests given independently by each university
for general entrance examinations have both declined. There aremany universities that demand that candidates take no more than two
subjects for examination. Admission office (AO) entrance
examinations, or examinations for candidates recommended byhigh-school principals, are recognized to be inadequate measures of
examining academic achievements.
Against this backdrop, the University Candidate Academic
Achievement Tests (provisional name) to be introduced in the 2020reform are expected to evaluate wider achievements than the present
National Center Tests through their use of problems such as
short-answer questions and conditional descriptive questions. The
unique entrance examination of the Faculty of Education, Kyoto
University, examines a wider learning history and logical/criticalthinking of candidates by using a portfolio, tasks, and oral
examination.
The 2020 reform, however, has a limitation in that it has notproduced a plan to incorporate performance tasks that are in theprocess of being introduced in various subjects for the university
entrance examination.

Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto
University(Visiting Associate Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher
Education, Nagoya University)324

University Entrance Examinations in China
from the Point of Relations
between High Schools and Universities
ZHANG Dewei*
NATSUME Tatsuya**This paper aims to show the characteristics of university entrance
examinations in China. It is very important to identify students’
talents or measure their special qualities, and most Chinese
universities’ entrance examinations use the National Center Test for
University Admissions. Recently, entrance examinations that include
application recommendations (including self-recommendations) inorder to avoid excessive competition have been increasing in China.
Major Chinese universities have their own entrance examinations
that are contrary to the government policy.
Further, the number of university entrance examinees is increasing.
However, universities must select students carefully. Chinese
universities’ entrance examinations are facing serious problems invarious aspects related to students, universities, and the government.
This paper analyzes the current situation of university entrance
examinations in China.

*Professor, International and Comparative Education ResearchCenter, Northeast Normal University, China(Visiting Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education,
Nagoya University)**Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education, Nagoya
University

325

Investigating the Collaborative Reflection:
The Case of “Contextualizing Self in Society”
at Waseda University
KAWAI Toru*
IWAI Yukino**
HYODO Chika***
WAGURI Momoe****AKIYOSHI Megumi*****
KATO Motoki******ISHINO Yukari*******SHIMAZAKI Yuko********

This study focuses on the class “Contextualizing Self in Society,”provided as six lectures at Waseda University. This paper aims toinvestigate how these lectures reflect collaboratively on theirteaching practices. We analyzed reflection sessions from July 2015
and February 2016. The framework of teachers’ reflections consistedof students’ learning (contexts/contents) and results (success/failure).
Our results showed that collaborative reflection fostered sharedunderstanding of practice and of students’ learning. The challenges tostudent performance that they shared concerned how students maketheir own narratives, how they thought about social problems with
their own authorship, and what teachers could do when students
encountered difficulties. Although we did not find a final solution, we
could agree on what the problems were and come up with trial
solutions. The most effective measure for practice improvement is toconvert tacit knowledge with common understandings. The results
also showed that relating concrete student performance to the classcontext enabled deep class reflection. We concluded that collaborativereflection can improve the classroom experience for lectures.

326

*Lecturer, Institute for Teaching and Learning, Ritsumeikan University**Associate Professor, Waseda Volunteer Center, Waseda University***Associate Professor, Waseda Volunteer Center, Waseda University****Associate Professor, Department of International Liberal Arts,
Fukuoka Women’s University*****Associate Professor, Institute for General Education, Ritsumeikan
University******Assistant Professor, Waseda Volunteer Center, Waseda University*******Assistant Professor, Waseda Volunteer Center, Waseda University********Assistant Professor, Waseda Volunteer Center, Waseda University

327

Problems Recognized through Technical
Writing Education for Engineering Students

NISHIYAMA Kiyohisa*
FURUYA Reiko**Gang ZENG***
Emanuel LELEITO****This paper aims to introduce the problems recognized by theauthor through technical writing education implemented for the
students in the School of Engineering, Nagoya University, as well as
their solutions. Recently, research universities, including Nagoya
University, have stressed on the importance of publishing aconsiderable number of papers in international journals to gain ahigher reputation. Typical English education in Japan, which is notvery suited for writing papers in the fields of engineering, does not
focus on a particular disciplinary field. On the basis of findings oftechnical English writing education, the author argues that thestudents fail to complete their paper because of an unorganizedunderstanding of their research information. Two tools, theabstract format and the research map, have been developed fororganizing complex research information preparation tools for the
students. The abstract format is designed to consider technicalcontradictions, whereas the research map is a model of research
activities. These are applications of the theory of inventive problem
solving (TRIZ).

*Associate Professor, International Academic Exchange Office,Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University**Associate Professor, International Academic Exchange Office,Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University***Associate Professor, International Academic Exchange Office,Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University****Associate Professor, International Academic Exchange Office,Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University

328

Preliminary Study on the Formation andAdvancement of University Research
Administrators in JapanSAITOH Yoshiko

The present article studies references on University Research
Administrators (URAs) such as policy documents and research
papers, to discuss the future direction of research on URAs, who haverecently been prominent in Japanese universities.
Several findings have been derived. The URA program by theministry aims to allow researchers to concentrate on research,whereas many other references indicate the orientation toward thecooperation between universities and the industry. Researchadministration divisions have been established in universities before
policies have been formulated, but university executives are notsatisfied with the current URA status. Lastly, becoming a URA
is repeatedly stated as the options available to Ph.D. holders, since theexpansion of career variety for Ph.D. holders has been on the political
agenda.
URAs in Japan are policy-led professionals/experts within theclosed society of universities; therefore, studying the formation andadvancement of URAs in Japan may require detailed investigations
such as intensive interviews of URAs, professors, university
executives, and administrative staff members of universities.

Assistant Professor, Center for the Studies of Higher Education,
Nagoya University329