The current study explored the relationship between test-based accountability and teachers' involvement in school-level decision-making and classroom autonomy, examining how this varied by country, specifically in the United States, Australia, South Korea, and Japan. Additionally, the study investigated whether this relationship differs based on…

Beginning in April 2020, the Japanese government continued its English education language policy reform by introducing foreign language instruction as an academic subject for Grade 5 and Grade 6 students. The purpose of this study was to investigate how stakeholders across the education system have contended with policy creation, policy…

In many countries, teacher evaluation has been viewed as a policy lever to improve the quality of teaching and student achievement. Recent research suggests that teacher evaluation can also be implemented as a mechanism for professional growth with careful consideration of the organizational context. However, few studies have examined the way in…

Researchers have calculated the relationship between human capital development and economic output by various means of econometric modeling and by use of numerous indicators under the context of an assortment of human capital theory. This study was conducted to identify new interpretations of the expansion of human capital in the form of tertiary…

The dissertation examines how Japanese university scientists in the biosciences responded to legal and institutional changes in academic entrepreneurship. Beginning in the 1990s, the Japanese government initiated a series of policy initiatives that attempted to imitate the U.S. academic environment's approach to promoting entrepreneurship. Using…

This study examines successful and internationally renowned mathematics teacher training programs in Japan, the United States, and Finland. Using interview data from program instructors, prospective mathematics teachers, and program directors, as well as from my own experiences as a teacher and researcher in each of these countries, I examine…

Globalization has emerged as one of the key social, political, and economic forces of the twenty-first century, challenging national borders, long-established institutions of governance, and cultural norms and behaviors across the globe. While many believe the process has been underway for centuries, what is clear is that it has both accelerated…

In 2008, a new language education policy called "Gaikokugo Katsudou" [Foreign Language Activities] was issued by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science, and Technology (MEXT) in Japan. Effective 2011, foreign language education became mandatory in all Japanese public elementary schools for the first time. With this dramatic…

This dissertation explores the issues related to the development of national identity amongst middle school students in Japan, from both macro and micro perspectives of the state's educational policy and the students' conception. While it is impossible to understand a national education without placing it in the larger context, the concept of…

In the wake of globalization, higher education institutions almost inevitably have adopted and implemented internationalization policies as their primary strategy for responding to the challenges and opportunities brought about by globalization. This study concerns the comparison of the motivations, program strategies, and organization strategies…