Challenges for study abroad in contemporary Japan

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-174
Author(s):  
Dawn Grimes-MacLellan
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Student Mobility ◽  
Social Discourse ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Japanese Students ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Japanese Student ◽  
The Social

Abstract As the number of university students studying abroad has skyrocketed globally, waning Japanese participation stands in sharp contrast. What accounts for this decline? Drawing on ethnographic research, including surveys and semi-structured interviews, conducted in fall 2016 with 14 Japanese undergraduate students majoring in the social sciences, this article discusses current challenges influencing outbound Japanese student mobility. In contrast to contemporary social discourse in Japan that has criticized young Japanese as ‘inward-looking’ and unwilling to take on new challenges, including studying abroad, my results reveal that students continue to aspire to overseas study but are also concerned about costs and other challenges. The article closes with a discussion of how a small but growing number of Japanese students are addressing impediments by taking matters into their own hands, and how this emerging trend may require a reinterpretation of statistics suggesting a decline in Japanese participation in study abroad.

scholarly journals Unique Opportunities: Influence of study abroad on Black students

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmine A. Lee ◽  
Qiana Green
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Black Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Studying Abroad

Higher education scholars argue studying abroad results in multiple positive outcomes for undergraduate students; however, Black students continue to be underrepresented as study abroad participants. Utilizing analytic Afrocentricity as the theoretical framework, case study methodology, and semi-structured interviews, this paper furthers higher education research by exploring the influences of study abroad experiences in South Africa on Black undergraduate students. Findings indicate not only positive outcomes on racial identity development, but also academic and career aspirations, and conducting undergraduate research.

scholarly journals Research Forum: “I Didn’t Know Who Is Canadian”: The Shift in Student Expectations During the Initial Stages of a Study Abroad Program

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 43
Author(s):  
Rebecca Kato ◽  
Kenneth Reeder
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Nonnative Speaker ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Initial Stage ◽  
Language User ◽  
Study Abroad Program

An interview-based case study was used to identify the shift in expectations for 5 Japanese undergraduate students studying abroad at a Canadian university. Using a modified expectancy violation framework, this study examined the initial stage of an 8-month study abroad program, using semi-structured interviews supported by observational data gained in classroom observation. An inductive, qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed that expectation of interaction was the most commonly violated expectation for the participants. Most participants struggled with assuming the identity of a less competent language user but nonetheless sought out opportunities to become competent in their study abroad context, in some cases creating and shaping their own contexts for language use and growth. Further, participants faced the challenge of addressing the native speaker/nonnative speaker dichotomy in a multicultural study abroad environment, particularly outside the classroom. The paper concludes with curricular, policy, and research implications. 本研究は、カナダの大学に留学中の日本人学生5人を対象に、留学先の学校や現地の人々、自身への期待の変化をケース・スタディの手法を用いて調べたものである。8か月間の留学期間の初期段階に授業観察及び半構造的面接を行い、データを修正版期待違反理論の枠組みで分析した。質的帰納的な分析の結果、現地人との交流に対する期待が最も満たされなかったことが判明した。本研究が対象とした留学生は、英語力が劣る話者というアイデンティティーの葛藤を抱えながらも、英語上達の機会を積極的に見出し、英語を使う機会も創出した。さらに、現地の多民族社会の中で、特に教室外で英語のネイティブ・非ネイティブという従来の二項対立の意味を再検討するという課題に直面した。本稿はカリキュラム、政策、本研究の意義についても言及する。

“We Speak the Truth!”

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-80
Author(s):  
Sari Hanafi
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Science ◽  
The Political ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Qualifications

This study investigates the preachers and their Friday sermons in Lebanon, raising the following questions: What are the profiles of preachers in Lebanon and their academic qualifications? What are the topics evoked in their sermons? In instances where they diagnosis and analyze the political and the social, what kind of arguments are used to persuade their audiences? What kind of contact do they have with the social sciences? It draws on forty-two semi-structured interviews with preachers and content analysis of 210 preachers’ Friday sermons, all conducted between 2012 and 2015 among Sunni and Shia mosques. Drawing from Max Weber’s typology, the analysis of Friday sermons shows that most of the preachers represent both the saint and the traditional, but rarely the scholar. While they are dealing extensively with political and social phenomena, rarely do they have knowledge of social science

scholarly journals The Social Patterns of Age Discrimination: An Analysis of the Macro-Perspective-Interpretations

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 327-327
Author(s):  
Stefan Hopf
Keyword(s):  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Discourse ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Interpretation Patterns

Abstract Modern societies can be regarded as service economies, consequently accessing services is an essential part of social and economic participation. Direct and indirect indiscrimination act as barriers to accessing and using services and one way to address these barriers is to implement anti-discrimination legislation and policy. From a sociological point of view, such policies and legal frameworks can be described as elements of the social discourse in these areas. These texts, along with their implicit and explicit interpretations of the problem, represent the official and legitimised stake of the socially available stock of knowledge of what constitutes age discrimination. Hence the shape and contribute to the general understanding of age discrimination. The study aims to investigate the interpretation patterns offered by the “supply” side, that is by those actors who in their work refer to but also (re-) shape and disseminate the problem interpretation contained in the official texts. To address this aim, focus groups with stakeholders and semi-structured interviews with legal and policy experts were conducted in Austria and Ireland. The findings highlight that experts and stakeholders’ definitions of age discrimination usually extend past legal and policy concepts. The expert and stakeholder approaches differ in their starting points for describing the problem, ranging from vulnerability considerations to human rights-based concepts and more structurally orientated needs-based criteria. Finally, the analysis also reveals a central distinguishing feature of age discrimination, namely the “de-temporalization” and “de-historicization” of the person, which is of equal importance as the de-individualization as a consequence of stereotyping

scholarly journals The Uses and Disuses of Doctoral Degrees in the Social Sciences and the Humanities: The Case of Hungary

Triple Helix ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Annamária Inzelt ◽  
László Csonka
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Doctoral Degrees ◽  
Social Environments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Phd Education ◽  
Education Process

This study offers a contribution to our existing knowledge of the impacts of Hungarian social science and humanities PhDs on the graduates themselves and on their own personal and social environments. We employ new empirical findings—gained from an e-survey and from structured interviews—in an attempt to understand and explain impacts and lacks. Empirical analysis allowed us to identify certain differences in terms of usefulness in several respects, such as the specific sector of employment, mobility or the actual level of impact. The PhD education process and the degree itself have a more positive impact on personal satisfaction and on an individual’s career than on the employing organisation. A PhD degree in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) fields seems to generate more in the way of benefit and impact in the academic field than in non-academic jobs—a difference which reflects on the academic orientation of Hungarian PhD education. All stakeholders need to devote further major efforts into developing the “dual” form of PhD education, so clearly benefitting the whole of the Hungarian economy and society.

scholarly journals Teach a Student to Fish? International Relations Scholars in the Classroom

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (01) ◽  
pp. 214-220
Author(s):  
Nina Srinivasan Rathbun ◽  
Brian C. Rathbun
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Practical Skills ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACT American higher-education institutions are under increasing pressure to prepare their students with practical skills for the workplace, and the social sciences—including political science—are not immune. Political figures have suggested—sometimes seconded by academics themselves—that research distracts academics from imparting practical skills to undergraduate students. Using a survey of international relations (IR) scholars, this article shows that this is not the case. Those who spend more time on research actually devote more time to policy-relevant research in their courses than more abstract and theoretical work, and they incorporate more contemporary issues. Research seems to encourage academics to teach their students to fish.

scholarly journals Students’ Stories of Studying Abroad: Reflections Upon Return

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Costello
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Student Participation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Inform Decision Making

Study abroad brings an enriching experience to students’ academic and personal lives. This narrative essay relays two students’ experiences with study abroad sojourns and touches upon their technology use during their study abroad as recounted in semi-structured interviews. Details of their cultural experiences and reflections thereof as well as the impact these experiences had on their lives are presented. Student participation in study abroad semesters is increasing each year. Understanding previous students’ experience studying abroad, how this impacted their studies and life afterwards can inform decision making of other students considering this option. Additionally, awareness of the technologies used to stay in touch with those at home informs administrative and technical decisions for institutions to consider.

scholarly journals Professors’ and Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions and Attitudes Toward the Use of Code-Switching and Its Function in Academic Classrooms

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Raghad Y. Alkhudair
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Target Language ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Given

This paper aims to determine the usefulness and functions of code-switching in the classroom when used by both lecturers and students. The study was conducted at a Saudi university campus and follows a quantitative approach using sets of questionnaires to collect the data. Then, the data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). Based on the analysis, the given study shows that professors and students consider code-switching from English into Arabic in the classroom as a beneficial instrument in enhancing the learning process. That is because it allows otherwise insurmountable problems for two-way communication in the L2 target language (English) to be overcome. Also, the findings of the current study reveal a range of positive attitudes toward using code-switching in two ways, Saudi-English immersion classrooms. Specifically, the majority of the professors use this technique in certain situations to achieve a better understanding by the students. In the same vein, students in this study show huge acceptance and prove how such a phenomenon has worked as a learning facilitator. It is hoped that the results of this study will be useful for professors and researchers investigating the importance of code-switching in the classroom.

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