Research on the Course of Development and Change of Japanese Higher Education

DOI:10.21742/AJEMR.2019.4.2.03

AUTHORS

Tomoaki Hamanaka,Keio University, Yokohama, Japan

Mineto Kitagawa,University of Aizu, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the statistical data on higher education research in Japan and some academic journals, conference papers, and books on higher education research. Based on the existing research results, it uses quantitative methods as much as possible to examine the past systematically. Main trends and research characteristics of Japanese higher education research in the past 40 years, summarizing the main problems. The results of this article show that: First, the continuous increase in the number of literatures on higher education research in Japan for a long time indicates that higher education research has not been taken seriously in Japan. Second, Japan's higher education policy and higher education reform measures directly affected the changes in the themes of higher education research and the quantity. Third, Japanese higher education research generally pays more attention to the relationship between research and government and social changes, has a strong problem awareness, and emphasizes the practicality and pertinence of research. Fourth, Japanese higher education referred to American research, but starting from the late 1990s, the focus of comparative research on Japanese higher education has shifted to China and South Korea. Finally, the academic research of higher education in the past 40 years has gradually shifted from focusing on the sorting and interpretation of historical materials and texts to more quantitative research based on large-scale questionnaire survey data. In addition, compared with the earlier studies that focused on introducing and translating American scholars, academic research in recent years has emphasized originality and novelty.