Transcript What Japan should learn from the United States

What Japan should learn from
the United States
Masayasu AOTANI
The International Center
Kyoto University
2015/7/17
Internationalization
and
Higher Education
Strategies for Tomorrow
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An Overview of This
Presentation
• American v.s. Japanese
• Comparing Higher Education
• Internationalization of Japan
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Two Diametrically Different
Societies and Cultures - one
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USA
Value differences
Verbal communication
Immigrants
Multi-racial
Competition
Specialists
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Japan
Avoid differences
Nonverbal communication
Generations in Japan
Mono-racial
Cooperation and harmony
Generalists (education,
employment)
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Two Diametrically Different
Societies and Cultures - two
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USA
Winner takes all. (has
to be in the first place)
Individuals
More resources
Dislike authority
Localized politics
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Japan
Shared (shared merit
payment, diligence bonus)
Groups
More resourceful
Respects authority
Centralized politics
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In The Beginning
• US institutions were founded and funded by
people to educate their children.
• Japanese national universities were founded
and funded by the government.
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A Typical US Institution
Board of Regents
President
Vice-President
for
Student Affairs
Admissions
Academic
Records
Provost
(Vice-President
for
Internal Affairs)
Vice-President
for
Public Affairs
Deans
Chairpersons
Professors
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Differences
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The board members are complete laymen.
The Board of Regents selects the president.
A president can be brought in from outside.
Administration - Regular faculty dichotomy
Department of Education does not rule over
the university.
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Professors
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USA
Individuals
9-month employment
Tenure decision
Regular employees
Research and teaching
Sabbatical year
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Japan
Pyramid
12-month employment
Lifetime employment
Managers
Nonacademic duties
No sabbatical year
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Research
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USA
Individuals
Get a grant or else
Blind funding decision
Salary from grants
Research assistants
Postdoctoral fellows
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Japan
Research groups
Some automatic funding
Name and connection
Fixed salary
Graduate students
Free labor
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Teaching and Learning - one
USA
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Interested professors
Friendly professors
Interesting lectures
Regular office hours
Complete syllabus
Japan
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Indifferent professors
Authoritative professors
Uninteresting lectures
No set office hours
No syllabus
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Teaching and Learning - two
USA
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Weekly homework
Discussion sessions
Hour-long lectures
Extra resources
Japan
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No regular homework
No discussion sessions
90-minute lectures
No such resources
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Extra Resources
• Graders and teaching assistants help
professors.
• The United States has the best library in the
world. They are open 24 hours a day during
the examination period. - Electronic Library
• Numerous computer laboratories on campus
stay open until late at night.
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Improving Higher Education
In Japan
• More emphasis on teaching
• More emphasis on studying
• More competition : among students and among
professors
• Fewer housekeeping chores and more emphasis on
research for senior faculty
• More independence and equal treatment for
younger faculty
• Address the needs of students and society
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What Japan Should Do To
Internationalize - one
• Become more used to dealing with
differences (foreigners included)
• Create an environment where English alone
is sufficient to live and thrive
• Allow controlled immigration
• Accept more quality students and younger
workers from overseas (internships)
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What Japan Should Do To
Internationalize - two
• Send more students and young workers
overseas (internships, exchange programs)
• Hire quality foreign workers for permanent
positions
• Do not lose sight of Asia
• Build a country that does not have to make
a conscious effort to internationalize
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Foreign Students in the United
States
More than 400,000 in comparison to 60,000 in
Japan
– 60s Canadians
– 70s Iranians with oil dollars
– 80s Taiwanese
Taiwan > Malaysia > China > Korea
Made In Taiwan = Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
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In the US
• The difference between “domestic” and
“foreign” is blurred. Hence, there is far less
discrimination against foreigners.
• Universities in the United States tend to be
more sensitive to the needs of students and
society. This is regardless of the citizenship.
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Remark
Unlike Japan where many foreign students are
being brought in by governmental policies,
the United States needs foreign talents to
sustain its growth. However, the distinction
between “foreign” and “domestic” is
blurred considerably by a large number of
immigrants the United States already has
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and gets every year.
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World’s Center of Scientific
Research
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17th Century: England
18th Century: France
19th Century: Germany
20th Century: The United States
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In the 21st Century?
Historically, foreign students tended to go
back to their home countries after studying
abroad.
For the first time in the history, foreign
students are staying after they complete
their education. The United States is very
accomodating to foreign nationals and
immigrants.
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Concluding Remark - one
Including those from the third-world
countries, whether Japan can keep and
attract foreign Ph.D.s is one measure of
internationalization. As it stands now, it
looks as though the United States is
absorbing all the talents in the world.
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Concluding Remark - two
There may be an academic and/or
technological World War III in which Japan
faces all surrounding Asian nations in the
form of leading scientists and engineers in
the United States.
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IAESTE
The International Association for the Exchange
of Students for Technical Experience
Contact Information:
IAESTE Tokyo Office Tel 03-3498-4581, Fax 03-3498-4582
Email [email protected]
Homepage http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~iaeste/
IAESTE Osaka Office Tel and Fax 06-376-2450
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Friends
Ryugakusei center of Kyoto University
supports a mailing list called “Friends”
for international residents and the
Japanese with an interest in international
exchange.
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KUINEP
(Kyoto University International Education Program)
Kyoto University has a special program, in
which all lectures are in English, for
foreign students whose institutions have
an exchange agreement with Kyoto.
Since they stay in Japan only for a year,
they are most eager to interact with
Japanese people and absorb Japanese
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culture.
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Home Stay
Just a room in a house with no other
benefits would be fine. There is no need
to treat them as guests by feeding them
or taking them out on a trip. For that
matter, you do not even have to speak
with them if speaking English is too
stressful to you. Being able to live in
Kyoto alone means so much to them. 26
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About the Language
English is difficult for the Japanese because of:
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Grammatical and structural incompatibility
Lack of emphasis on practical skills at school
Lack of practical skills on the part of instructors
Weak verbal ability in general
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Possible Remedies - University
The only answer is more exposure.
• Visiting instructors
• Regular lectures in English
• Cheaper English textbooks
• More English-speaking foreign students
• Enlisting help from returning students
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Possible Remedies - Corporation
The only answer is more exposure.
• Foreign interns and visitors - IAESTE, AIESEC
• Hiring decision with an emphasis on English
• No more translating everything
• Returning students and Japanese Americans
• Sending employees overseas
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Contact Information
Masayasu AOTANI
Associate Professor
Ryugakusei Center
Kyoto University
Yoshida-Honmachi Sakyo-Ku
Kyoto 606-8501 JAPAN
[email protected]
http://cfse.ryugaku.kyoto-u.ac.jp
TEL (+81)-(0)75-753-2568
FAX (+81)-(0)75-753-2562
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