The aims of the present study were to clarify the changes in higher education and liberal arts education policies in Japan since the Meiji era, using reliable sources, and to present the findings, along with any challenges identified, to those interested in creativity education and educational reform. In addition, the study aimed to outline individual research topics as a starting point for subsequent examination of creativity education and educational reform.
Specifically, the contents are as follows.
(1) First, the origin of the author’s awareness of the problem is briefly recounted.
(2) Next, using reliable evidence-based research on the history of education policy, the characteristics of catch-up modernization since the Meiji era are examined, focusing on the transition of liberal arts education in higher education, and the fundamental problems are clarified. The findings reveal that the national education policy since the Meiji era has been a failure.
(3) In order to explore and construct new educational policy directions, an outline of future research topics is
presented that draws on (1) the author’s awareness of the issues and (2) the findings from this study, so that those interested in creativity education and educational reform can use it as a starting point for exploration. Among the proposed items are a thorough elucidation of the Fukushima nuclear accident, a fostering of scientific thinking skills among citizens, a re-examination of the status of various types of thought during the latter half of the Edo period, the importance of educational elements derived from the Japanese way of life (michi), liberal arts education in the sustainable development goals era, and elucidation of the conditions for creativity education.
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