Masaaki KATSUNO
Professor (School Leadership and Management)
My research areas include education policy, school leadership and management, and teacher education. In particular, I have a continuing interest in teacher evaluation policies and practices, and currently value-added approaches to teacher evaluation that are increasingly becoming popular around the world attract my attention. I am also doing research into professional learning networks or communities across as well as within Japan’s high schools.
I am interested in working with students from different backgrounds who are keen to conduct research in a wide range of areas that roughly match mine. Those students who share with me concerns about democracy, social justice, equity, quality and effectiveness in schooling will be particularly welcome.
Publications
- Teacher Evaluation Policies and Practices in Japan : How performativity works in school, New York ;Routledge 2016.
- Katsuno, M. (2012). Teachers’ professional identities in an era of testing accountability in Japan: The case of teachers in low-performing schools,Education Research International, 2012, Article ID 930279, 8 pages.
- Katsuno, M. (2010). Teacher Evaluation at Japanese Schools: an examination from micro-political or relational viewpoint, Journal of Education Policy, 25(3), pp.293-307.
- Katsuno, M. (2003). The ideas and policies of teacher evaluation, Tokyo: Eidell Kenkyujo, 172p. (in Japanese)
Yusuke MURAKAMI
Associate Professor (Politics of Education, Education Policy)
My research interests include the politics of education, and the education policymaking system and process in Japan. Education policymaking requires both democratic control and a high degree of professionalism. However, these elements do not always work in conjunction and we have to balance between the two. I have examined the school board system in Japan that aims for the checks-and-balances system, and have analysed how the dynamic between democracy and professionalism cause different policy outcomes.
I’m also interested in political science theory and the case study and statistical analysis research methods. In the future, I’d like to examine cross-national research and clarify the patterns in politics of education and educational policymaking.
Publications
- Murakami, Y. (2011) Political Science of Educational Administration, Tokyo: Bokutaku-sha, 328p. (in Japanese)
- Murakami, Y. (2013) Rethinking a Case Study Method in Educational Research: A Comparative Analysis Method in Qualitative Research, Educational Studies in Japan, (7) 81-96
- The Japan Educational Administration Society. (2012) Local Politics and Reforms of Educational Administration and Finance, Tokyo: Fukumura Publisher. (Co-editor) (in Japanese)
Akihiro HASHINO
Associate Professor (Education Policy and Education Administration)
My research field is education policy and education finance. I am engaged in theoretical and empirical research on education policy and its policy and administrative processes, with an interest in how democracy and efficiency can be achieved in the education sector.
Specific research topics include the policy process of education finance, efficiency analysis related to education expenditure, education policy evaluation, and teacher supply and working conditions. I am also strongly interested in “evidence-based policy making,” and my research focuses not only on methods of policy evaluation, but also on the influence and role of research (and researchers) in policy and political processes.
Publications
- The Concepts of Educational Administration and Policy, Tokyo: Yuhikaku. (Co-author, in Japanese)
- Politics and Policy of Contemporary Education Finance, Okayama: Daigaku Kyoiku Shuppan. (in Japanese)
