The purpose of this paper is to reveal the process that students at correspondence senior high schools go through when forming their careers during their school days. Correspondence senior high schools in Japan are sometimes treated as a kind of alternative school. Therefore, a majority of the students that attend these kinds of schools are those who have dropped out of so-called traditional schools. One of the problems for these students is forming their future careers after their graduation from correspondence school. This paper investigates semi-structured interviews with two students living in urban Japan. These interviews illustrate the impact meritocracy has on career development for these non-traditional students. When they enter their respective schools, they manage to change the trajectory of their future careers. However, as they come to grips with what they want those careers to be, they find employers place significant emphasis on academic achievement. Meritocratic structures can be so pervasive that they find that they can't form their careers without those academic achievements. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the necessity of providing such students with a chance to rejoin our meritocratic society.

This study focuses on the functions and characteristics of "the boundary" connecting classrooms playgrounds. "The boundary" is a unique, ambiguous, multi-functional, semi-outdoor space. Two kindergartens and two nurseries were observed, and data was collected about children's uses of "the boundary." The study clarified the commonalities and differences and the features of "the boundary" for every institution. The data were analyzed using a method modeled after Modified Grounded Theory Approach. The following four common characteristics of "the boundary" emerged: the junction of life and activities; strong relationships with the neighborhood; flexible life and activity space; and the periphery of life and activities. Seven common functions related to these characteristics were also identified. There are also related restrictions that make living in each facility difficult; therefore, it is revealed that "the boundary" has a unique meaning in each facility.

This study clarifies the following three points: (1) Kindergarten teachers' difficulty in sharing their opinions on in-school staff development, (2) The impact of the KJ Method on in-school staff development, and (3) How implementation of the KJ Method changed the difficulty of discussing ideas of their own on in-school staff development. Six kindergarten teachers who participated in in-school staff development sessions which utilized the KJ Method were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed using qualitative research method known as Steps for Coding and Theorization (SCAT). The results of the analysis revealed three points. First, kindergarten teachers are under pressure regardless of their years of experience when they are conscious of how one is thought of by other teachers, making it difficult for them to openly discuss crucial issues during in-school staff development opportunities. Second, employing the KJ Method helps prompt kindergarten teachers to discuss these issues with each other more openly, but can also impede discussion at in-school staff development in some instances. Finally, some steps of the KJ Method prompt kindergarten teachers to discuss with each other; Writing on a sticky note enables them to frankly express their opinions. Moreover, putting the sticky notes together enables them to increase the chances for expressing their opinions.

The purpose of this study is to examine the validity of Michiyo Mori's criticism of the acceptance of Habermas's theory in language pedagogy. Mori examined the communication theory of Habermas and denied its validity as an analytical framework of language activities. Mori offered a number of objections, not only regarding the area of "speaking-listening," but also about the incorporation of communication theory into language education. An examination of these discussions revealed three results contrary to Mori's objections. First, Habermas's communication theory has significance as an analytical framework of language activities. Second, emotion is positioned in the communicative act. Third, the communication theory considers "otherness." Additionally, this research illustrates that communication theory has significance because it includes the opportunity to receive "otherness."

The economic gap between urban and rural areas caused by reform and the opening policy implemented in 1978 is a well-known problem in China. This economic gap has a serious impact on the nutritional status of children, as well as the Chinese education system. The Chinese government introduced special school lunch systems as a part of policy measures dealing with the process of economic development in both urban and rural areas. The school lunch system in rural areas has been legislatively implemented for the last five years. The Chinese government recognized the current status and issues of the school lunch systems, initiated" The Second Student Nutrition and School Feeding Conference" and held an exchange meeting on the school lunch system. This meeting, held November 15-16, 2014, included lectures on the current status of school lunches, delivered by speakers from China and other countries. It also included exchanges of opinions and a question-and-answer session. This paper discusses issues of the school lunches in rural areas of China and explains the current situation from information gathered during the conference.

Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) was proposed as a foreign language teaching method to help learners gain proficiency in the target language outside the classroom. TBLT differs significantly from other teaching methods in that the syllabus of TBLT is based around tasks that provide goals for learners to master grammar points, while other methods focus on the grammar points themselves. Thus, since TBLT was proposed, scholars have been discussing what kinds of tasks should be used and how these tasks should be sequenced in order to enhance language learning.

Within the research framework of Robinson's Cognition Hypothesis, this paper reviews research regarding the ordering of pedagogical tasks in order to identify those aspects of task sequences that should be examined in the future. The authors argue that tasks should be ordered based on increasing cognitive complexity. After reviewing the existing discussions regarding task order, the relationship between task sequencing and cognitive complexity through the Triadic Componential Framework and the SSARC model are explored. There is little empirical research on task sequences based on the Cognition Hypothesis, since this area of the field is still relatively new. Therefore, by focusing on the order in which tasks are presented to learners in the empirical research on the Cognition Hypothesis and contrasting their results, this paper explores how different sequencing affects language acquisition.