A Debate Course for the Readiness of Liberal Arts Education: In Search of the Ideal Articulation between Secondary and Higher Education

Abstract

Numerous research attempts have been made to study and compare contemporary liberal arts education in Japanese and American higher education. However, nobody has paid attention to the differences between these types of secondary education, the foundations of college education. Because Japanese and American secondary educations are obviously different, high school graduates’ readiness for college education is also different in these two countries. In this study, therefore, I deal with how to lessen the gap between Japanese and American secondary educations by sharing the experience of delivering a logical thinking course to 29 Japanese high school students and the resulting educational effect. The effect was calculated by BEVI, a scientific tool based on a psychological theory and used all over the world. The result shows favorable accomplishments stemming from the logical thinking or debate course provided and the limitations it certainly had.