This study aims to clarify the suggestion that phenomenological education theories in North America have brought about a movement of "reconceptualizing" North American curricula so that they focus on the questions asked by two scholars, Ted Tetsuo Aoki (1919–2012) and Max van Manen (1942–), who engaged in curriculum studies rooted in phenomenological methodology at the University of Alberta, in Canada.

The paper opens by showing how trends in phenomenology and curriculum studies in North America are connected, according to Brown (1991). Then, it evaluates the positioning of Aoki and van Manen's phenomenological educational theories within the movement to reconceptualize curriculum studies in North America. Special attention is paid to an assessment of Pinar's curriculum reconceptualization movement and evaluations of it by Aoki and van Manen, who converged theoretically with Pinar and examined their connection to phenomenological education theories. Finally, the paper addresses the questions directed toward curriculum studies by Aoki and van Manen, who have each played a central role in the development of phenomenological educational research at the University of Alberta.

This paper aims to clarify the specific elements of activities that generate a sense of purpose in the lives of elderly people by examining the case of Community Interaction Plaza ("Fureai Hiroba"), in City B, Prefecture A, where interactive activities between elderly people and their grandchildren, and among elderly people themselves, are conducted. We observed these interactive activities and conducted interviews with eight elderly staff members who have been involved in the management of "Community Interaction Plaza" since its establishment. The results indicated that those elements of these activities that generate a sense of purpose in elderly people's lives include the promotion of autonomy, continuity in participating in shared activities, trust built through long-term interactions with others, and self-confidence. Additionally, activities that promote personal growth may contribute to elderly people's sense of purpose. Further examination of this point is a task for future research.

This study analyzes and discusses policies concerning enrollment conditions and cost-sharing in kindergartens across the 16 districts of Shanghai, focusing on ensuring enrollment opportunities for children of non-local permanent residents. The findings reveal two key points: First, only affluent non-local families can afford to send their children to public kindergartens, while others are forced to rely on non-profit private kindergartens. Moreover, financial support for these private kindergartens is insufficient, compared to the support available to public schools, which results in a greater financial burden on parents. Second, as each district is primarily responsible for the cost-sharing of pre-school education, disparities in fiscal spending across districts are evident. These disparities highlight the inadequacy of current policies to ensure equal enrollment opportunities for all children. From the perspective of guaranteeing enrollment opportunities for children of non-local permanent residents, the policies regarding kindergarten enrollment conditions and cost-sharing in Shanghai expose inequalities between public and (non-profit) private kindergartens, as well as among districts, which ultimately fail to ensure equal access for all children.

The purpose of this study was to implement a learning program on the theme of solving local issues in physical education classes at the high school level, to measure the practical results, and to obtain basic data-related research. A practical class was conducted for third-year students at a technical college, with the goal and curriculum equipping students so that they would be "be able to discover local issues related to physical education and sports and to implement an action plan that can contribute to the resolution of such issues." We found that students' self-evaluations improved in their "awareness of local issues," "willingness to solve problems," "awareness of participation in social activities," and "awareness of the ability to communicate with others," suggesting that the practical classes may have been effective. However, since only the results of the students' self-evaluation were used as the basis for this analysis, further study of evaluation items and methods, analyses of free descriptions and interview answers, and other detailed analyses are needed in the future. Furthermore, the interaction with the local community in these classes was not a method that could be implemented in other schools, so the findings of this study cannot be generalized to other settings.