Special Issue
University Reform and the Policy-making Process
2007 Volume 10 Pages 151-163
Details
2007 Volume 10 Pages 151-163
Recent university reform in Japan can be seen as something close to a jump from an elite model to a universal one, as described by Martin A. Trow, because it is the first major structural change since the postwar reform of 1949. The deregulation of university establishment criteria has led to progress in curriculum reforms and to the dissolution of many liberal arts faculties. The papers presented at the annual meetings of this association have covered many elements of the composition of university reform. A summary of research trends selected from among these follows below.
1. University evaluation : Three main themes are involved in this topicinternal review, quality assurance, and the provision of information on the university including evaluations. In the first instance, case studies of American and European university evaluations are presented in Japan, and these are then utilized in efforts to introduce and gain acceptance for the practice of university evaluation in Japan.
2. Universities and science and technology policy : The Basic Law on Science and Technology promulgated in 1995 has served as the impetus for the expansion of Japanese government investments in research and development. Although some research deals with industry-academia cooperation in the area of science policy research, only a few examples touch on academic research activities conducted in universities.
3. Policy process and its development : The following three items have been taken up. The first is the process of transfer from university to work. The issue is made more complicated because it spans both industry and two ministries with jurisdiction over education and labour matters respectively. The second is the issue of new relationships with government ministries with responsibility for welfare, industry and so on, and with international organizations such as the World Trade Organization. The third issue is that of developments in the analysis of the policy-making process in the field of higher education.
In conclusion, it is noted that areas where this association is particularly able to contribute to policy-making efforts are those involving comprehensive investigative research and those involving multiple government agencies.
