Mainland China's domestic academic literature on foreign issues can be regarded as a reference for its policymaking since the early stages of the "Reform and Opening Up". This investigation constructs a multi-theoretical framework for examining and interpreting mainland China's domestic academic narrative surrounding higher education…

Japanese Lesson Study (JLS) is a professional development method, involving teachers collaboratively planning lessons, observing their enactment, then discussing observations of teaching and learning. This paper explores translation of JLS internationally, seeking to understand how and why it is adapted and how an understanding of national culture…

Claims regarding Western neo-colonial domination over scholarship in Comparative and International Education (CIE) have recently commanded much attention -- for example in a 2017 special issue of the journal "Comparative Education Review" (CER) on the theme of 'contesting coloniality.' Stressing their marginal 'positionality,' the…

In this paper, I reflect upon my journey of learning to do comparative education research over the last decade and half. It involves transnational moves from Japan, Canada, US, Australia and back to Japan where I encountered numerous 'others'. I use my story of a series of relocations as an entry point for theorising what I mean by 'negative'…

This article explores Japanese EFL learners' perceptions of face-to-face vs. anonymous peer review in a writing classroom. Albeit few in number, some studies claim that Asian students exhibit difficulty in providing negative feedback because they tend to be hesitant for cultural reasons to criticize others' work. To verify and extend such…

This book introduces the concept of the "'native speaker' frame": a perceptual filter within English Language Teaching (ELT) which views the linguistic and cultural norms and the educational technology of the anglophone West as being normative, while the norms and practices of non-Western countries are viewed as deficient. Based on a…

To investigate the role of language teacher associations (LTAs) vis-à-vis their members, the case of Japan is notable for the apparent disparateness among the more than 50 associations that have formed over the past 90 years. An historical overview reveals that LTAs in Japan have emerged in four distinct waves, and a survey of representative…

"Future life perspective" and "present action," whose interaction affects how one's current activity affects later life, offer a critical crossroads for young adults in Japan as stable career paths have become more uncertain. Past generations benefited from stable institutional pathways, but recent generations must forge their…

Addressing the root cause of Japanese higher education problems, the present literature-based study explores Japanese higher education's power relationship with one of the most influential stakeholders, the business world. It first draws attention to the incongruity between the business enterprises' proclaimed struggle with the securement of human…

The present study compared Korea and Japan in terms of each country's afterschool program system. First, the historical and social backgrounds that have influenced the development of afterschool programs in the two countries were compared. Second, the current status of afterschool programs was described. Third, comparisons were made based on the…

Much research on bullying in schools positions individual children within a deficit model of personal variables, categorising and cataloguing them with high levels of aggressiveness, low levels of empathy and so on. While less than optimal school characteristics are sometimes noted, the expectation for change is on the children. This article…

It is not only in families that young children are influenced to become members of their culture. Around the world and within individual countries, culture influences how care is provided to infants and toddlers in child care settings. In turn, infants and toddlers begin to learn how to act and think as members of their culture. From ways that…

Although not functionally multilingual or a translator himself, Daisaku Ikeda has been deeply involved in translation processes, both as a reader and as someone who has produced texts for translation into various languages. This article examines two sources of influence shaping Ikeda's attitude toward translation culture: the flourishing culture…

The dichotomy between content knowledge and 21st-century skills ("zest for life" in the Japanese context) has been an issue since the early 2000s in Japan. Recently it has been evident in the demand for a high school-university connection. In spite of such a division, involving apparently incompatible or opposite principles, Japan can…

In Japan, various theories and methodologies of English education born in other countries have been practiced, but the result has left a lot to be desired. Still, each theory has its own sociocultural background. When theory goes beyond its culture and locality, it transforms by losing its originality and absorbing new elements from a different…