The 21st Century COE Program

Center for Research of Core Academic Competences (CRCAC)

NINE RESEARCH PROJECTS ABOUT EACH PROJECT

NINE RESEARCH PROJECTS

@The following nine projects are now underway.

Unit Leader Project
Basic Research/Analysis of Academic Competences Shinichi Ichikawa Core Academic Competence Assessment/Survey Project
Shinichi Ichikawa School Support Project for Assessing and Improving Studentsf Performance
Analysis of School Functions Kiyomi Akita,Ryoko Tsuneyoshi Study Habits Survey at Home and School
Kiyomi Akita Comparative Studies on Classroom Lessons and School-Based Research Aimed at Enhancing Studentsf Capabilities
Ryoko Tsuneyoshi Cross-National Comparative Analysis through Video Interviews: What is looked at by Teachers, Parents and Educators?
Evaluation of Alternative Systems Masahito Ogawa An Analysis of Local Authoritiesf Educational Policies
Takehiko Kariya Educational Reform from Regional Levels: An Analysis of the Reform Process and Exploration of Alternative Systems
Takehiko Kariya Evaluating the Effectiveness of Schools and Educational Programs to Foster Core Academic Competences in the Global Knowledge-Based Society
General Manabu Sato International Comparative Studies on the Issue of Student Performance

ABOUT EACH PROJECT

Core Academic Competence Assessment/Survey Project

yMembersz
Shinichi Ichikawa, Tomokazu Haebara, Taketoshi Sugisawa, Mikiko Seo, Miwa Inuzuka, Hiroko Kobayashi, Yuri Uesaka

yObjectivez
@We will provide a clear concept of gCore Academic Competencesh based on research materials and educational documents, and strive to develop a methodology for measuring constituent elements. Rather than creating new standardized tests to measure core academic competences, we will place our research emphasis on factors of academic competence that have not been the focus of conventional achievement tests, and develop assessment methods to examine these factors. In addition, we will link our new assessment methodology to comprehensive surveys of student performance to be conducted next year (2004). In conjunction with the A-2: School Support Project which operates school support programs, we will consider methods for measurement and evaluation that are closely linked to classroom practice.

School Support Project for Assessing and Improving Studentsf Performance

yMembersz
Shinichi Ichikawa, Mikiko Seo, Miwa Inuzuka, Hiroko Kobayashi, Yuri Uesaka

yObjectivez
A central theme for schools today is the measurement of academic competence, specifically how to show numerically the benefits of academic competence improvement measures. The School Support Project will link support activities to the development of new systems for measurement and assessment, as well as the improvement in academic competences. Aligned with the themes of the A-1 Project in the development of measurement methods, we will undertake cooperative research with schools that share a common awareness of these issues.

Survey of Study Habits at Home and School

yMembersz
Kiyomi Akita, Ryoko Tsuneyoshi, Masatsugu Murase, Taketoshi Sugisawa

yObjectivez
Many studies have highlighted the importance of the learning experiences out of school, at home, and in the community. Linking school-home environments will provide a better learning experience for the child. Based on the understanding that a comprehensive approach has to be taken to assist the child to grow, this project will conduct a survey of the study habits of elementary and junior high school students in two diverse districts. The study was undertaken jointly with the administrative divisions of the two districts in question. The project offers feedback to schools, and the future plans are to link the results with indicators of academic achievement in project in project A1. There are also plans to compare the results internationally in collaboration with foreign collaborators.

Comparative Studies on Classroom Lessons and School-Based Research to Enhance Studentsf Academic Competences

yMembersz
Kiyomi Akita, Manabu Sato, Masatsugu Murase, Yoko Ichikawa, Akiko Takahashi

yObjectivez
Based on case studies at elementary and junior high schools where efforts have been made to enhance studentsf academic competences, we have the following three aims: (1) To make clear the actual status of small-class teaching in arithmetic and mathematics. (2) To examine the significance of teacher partnerships in school-based research. (3) To develop model lessons adapted from school-based research. (Note: The findings will serve as the basis of international comparative research that we will undertake next year)

A Comparative Analysis by Video Interview of the Educational Perspectives of Teachers, Parents and Educators in Japan and the United States

yMembersz
Ryoko Tsuneyoshi, Kiyomi Akita, Nobuyuki Fujimura, Masatsugu Murase, Ri Yu, Catherine Lewis, Barbara Finkelstein, Christopher Bjork, Tainian, Zheng, Christine Lee

yObjectivez
Many countries around the world are struggling to define what kinds of abilities will help children in the new century, and what kinds of teaching and learning experiences will lead to the development of such abilities. To shed light on this them, this project uses video lessons taken from classrooms in Japan, the United States, China, and Singapore to explore cross-nationally, views of learning held by teachers, parents, and children. Lessons from math, language arts, social studies, and integrated studies at the elementary school level were chosen and edited to illustrate certain approaches to teaching and learning. Using these videos to visually stimulate reactions, the project will compare cross-nationally, how teachers, parents, and the children themselves define and understand the learning process, how they make sense of the association between the uses of specific teaching methods and specific forms of learning, as well as how they understand desirable outcome.

An Analysis of Local Authoritiesf Educational Policies

yMembersz
Masahito Ogawa, Eiichi Aoki, Wataru Nakazawa, Yusuke Murakami, Yasuhiko Kawakami, Akihiro Hashino

yObjectivez
In accordance with the CRCAC theme, gRemodeling systems to improve core academic competences,h this project will propose systemic alternatives for structural reform in education through case studies centered in Shiki City, Saitama Prefecture. This project will explain the process and means by which local authorities formulate and decide independent policies for improving academic competences and effecting educational reform while, at the same time, meeting the preconditions of national policy and the legal system. The project will also analyze the results of such independent education policies.

Regional Educational Reforms: An Analysis of the Implementation Process and an Exploration of Alternative Systems

yMembersz
Takehiko Kariya, Takeshi Hori, Mutumi Shimizu, Yuko Morota, Mariko Kaneko, Tetuya Yamada, Takeshi Fujita, Yosuke Matuda

yObjectivez
In this era of decentralization of government control of education, what should be the system for developing core academic competences and what is required to create this system? This project intends to answer these questions by analyzing the actual educational reform processes in a number of localities.

Evaluating Systems for Core Academic Competences in the Global Knowledge-Based Society

yMembersz
Takehiko Kariya, Takeshi Hori, Masao Oshima, Yuki Honda, Kazushi Hirasawa, Takayasu Nakamura, Kaoru Sato, Yoshitaka Hamanaka, Mei Kagawa

yObjectivez
What are core academic competences in contemporary society? What educational programs are necessary for nurturing such competences? In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to evaluate how current core academic competencies function in todayfs society. In this project, we will identify the meaning and value of existing core academic competences and explore the influence these competencies are likely to have on society. Moreover, by analyzing the process of career building for young people, we will evaluate existing core academic competence systems.

International Comparison of Academic Competence Issues

yMembersz
Motohisa Kaneko, Manabu Sato, Junko Hamanaka

yObjectivez
This project will categorize the actual situation of academic competence issues and policy trends in various countries and compare them, making clear the special features of each region.