2005 年 14 巻 p. 139-149
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with a strong belief in the importance of human resource development for nation-building, started the Long-Term Training Program as a part of the technical training of overseas participants. In fiscal 1999 JICA began a new system of long-term training that allows participants to undergo training for two years. The point of the system is to allow young administrators, researchers and business people to study at Japanese universities for further degrees (MA, PhD, etc.). Under the program, our university has also accepted three to four mathematics and science teachers a year from developing countries in our graduate programs. The university administration had agreed with JICA to offer courses and academic support in English, and accepting JICA Long-Term Trainees was the official manifestation of the university's intention to ensure courses and academic guidance/support in English as circumstances demand. As of October 2004, there are a total of 16 JICA Trainees from 9 countries, mainly from Africa. In the Fall Semester of 2004, there were eleven trainees enrolled in the master's degree program in mathematics and science education. They study in the same classroom with Japanese students, and they must meet the same requirements for successful completion of the program.
The purpose of the paper is to reflect on the experience of JICA trainees enrolled in a teacher education institution as well as that of its faculty members who were involved in supporting their professional development. Based on the data from an interview and questionnaire surveys of the JICA trainees and faculty members, the paper explores the three research questions: 1）how faculty members tried to ensure the right of learning of JICA trainees in and outside regular classes; 2) what JICA trainees believed that they had learned and acquired in the Changing Curriculum Workshop, which is a voluntary, independent learning opportunity; 3）how JICA trainees contributed to "globalization of the university". The paper concludes with discussion about the context of globalization of higher education, and the value and challenges of receiving students from developing countries in schools of education and teacher education institutions.
