The purpose of this review study was to conduct a thematic exploration of prior studies related to the transition between primary and secondary school. The aim of the paper was to discover (1) the extent of earlier research, (2) how earlier research thematises social and emotional issues, and (3) suggestions of those studies concerning how to…

There is a hypothesis that Research-Teaching-Study Nexus (R-T-S Nexus) should be developed as an ideal of modern university constantly since its proposition by Wilhelm Humboldt in 1910. Despite given hypothesis, however, it has not been necessarily accepted by the AP (Academic Profession) in the world according to Carnegie, CAP and APIKS surveys,…

This paper examines shifts in the knowledge production policy agenda at Japanese research universities -- a transition from discipline-based academic tradition towards interdisciplinary forms of knowledge production -- through a case study of a leading interdisciplinary research institute. We examine this transition through the case of Tohoku…

This discussion examines the ever-increasing impact of top-down nation-wide educational reforms on teachers in Japan, exemplified in the 2020 reform. Its unique contribution is a suggestion of an interdisciplinary framework: programming education and English as a foreign language education in elementary schools. Many elementary school teachers are…

This study utilized textual analysis to investigate 27 articles published by Japanese scholars from various disciplines regarding constructivist approaches. The results found that many of the collected articles in this study reported the need for and effectiveness of a constructivist approach in language, STEM, and social sciences education. The…

Since 1995, to allow teachers to organize and instruct in more effective ways, many English as a Second Language (ESL) specialists and researchers have studied the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) Model and its instructional framework by Echevarria, Vogt, and Short in 2004. By combining strategies and techniques that recognize the…

Critical English language teaching (ELT) research is expanding in scope, covering topics such as linguistic imperialism, native-speakerism, and the intersections between issues of race, class, and gender. With this expansion comes a requirement for robust and rigorous methods of data collection and analysis for researchers to employ. This article…

This article examines the nature and evolution of the term blended learning (BL), which encompasses numerous connotations, including its conception as a strategy, delivery mode, opportunity, educational shift, or pedagogical approach. Although much has been said in this field, very few studies examine the different types of blends behind their…

This study examined how secondary teachers (junior and senior high school teachers) of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japan participated in collaborative action research and engaged in their professional development over four years. In particular, little is known as to how EFL teachers challenge their beliefs and implement innovative…

Although there has been surge of interest in teacher research practice in English language teaching (ELT) context, few research studies seem to have shown the attitudes and perceptions of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers towards the impact of research practice on professional teaching practice. Adopting a sequential explanatory…

The purpose of this article is to look at the internationalization of both Japanese faculty members' teaching and research activities and their affiliated institutions, as well as their views on international connections between research universities and non-research universities based on major findings from the latest national survey which was…

In 2004, Ray Land produced extensive literature on the 12 orientations of academic developers. These orientations provided academic developers with a useful tool through which they have been able to better articulate their roles and their place in academia. We have used the orientations model to establish, compare, and contrast the identity of…

With rapid globalization, competition among universities around the world has been increasing. In the case of Japan, the government initiated the internationalization of higher education by offering grants to selected universities for internationalization. Those universities have been making extensive efforts to promote internationalization in…

This paper is an account of how a group of Japanese English language teachers, who questioned current teacher professional education and English language education reforms, learnt to challenge the dominant discourse and find ways of conducting more democratic teacher professional education. It describes how those teachers, including the author,…

The purpose of this study is to describe an overview of changes to inbound international faculty members to Dutch higher education institutions, their main characteristics, and forces or agents of change which occurred in them, and the implications for Japanese higher education. The analysis and discussion are based primarily on official…