The Achievements of Comparative Studies in Research on Higher Education and Future Issues

Focusing on Papers in the Japanese Journal of Higher Education Research

Abstract

　 This paper aims to examine trends in comparative research over the past decade within the framework of the Japanese Association on Higher Education Research, to identify the contribution made by research on higher education in Japan, and to offer a perspective on future issues and prospects. With these aims in mind, the paper asks firstly what comparative research is, then examines the meaning and significance of comparative research within the field of research on higher education, and concludes that a knowledge of historical details and contemporary trends are both indispensable factors in comparative research. Furthermore, the paper categorizes the directions of comparative research from 3 perspectives, and through this kind of analysis, clarifies the characteristics of comparative research over the past decade as well as hopefully offering thoughts on issues that will occur over the next 10 years.

　 In terms of the specifics of the comparative research studies that constitute the data for this paper, the author has limited himself to the papers contributed to the Japanese Journal of Higher Education Research. The reason for this is that the papers that make up the contents of the Journal, regardless of whether they are solicited or unsolicited, can be thought of as reflecting, to a greater or lesser extent, in line with the passage of time, the collective values of the Association as a body of researchers.