Abstract
Amid Japan’s rapidly graying population and AI-driven industrial revolution, changes in the social environment surrounding students have an immense impact on school education. The goals of the current High School/University Articulation Reforms are thus multi-tiered: not only to improve entrance examinations and educational systems in high school and university respectively, but at a deeper level to facilitate students’ school-to-work transitions by offering real-life challenges and practical experiences in order to maximize students’ learning potentials and personal growth.
Now, the traditional way of teaching-learning has to undergo a paradigm shift from narrowly defined training academic knowledge: teacher-centered classrooms and rote memorization, to a more student-centered curriculum that is open to society and where students dive deep into learning in proactive, interactive, and inquisitive manners. In an era where society (an exit point) and high school (an entry point) are both changing drastically, how should university education respond to the changes and transform their roles? This study discusses the challenges of university reform efforts by referring to educational policies, statistical data, and practices.
