This study explores the formation process of the contents of the "Radio no Tsudoi" at Matsuyama Central Broadcasting Station, a substation of the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai or NHK), during the Occupation period, focusing on "political education" and the cultivation of "thinking farmers."

 The paper consists of the following sections:

 1. The range of “civic education” of the early "Radio no tsudoi" at Matsuyama Central Broadcasting Station

 2. The formation of a system to foster “thinking farmers”

 3. The coexistence of “political education” and fostering “thinking farmers.”

 The above examination finds that the "Radio no Tsudoi" at Matsuyama Central Broadcasting Station was not only initiated with the central government's concern of "political education" as its "civic education" target, but also included the fostering of "thinking farmers" through cooperation with the Social Education and Agricultural Improvement Divisions of Ehime Prefecture. In other words, the contents of Matsuyama's "Radio no Tsudoi" were formed by incorporating the interests of both the central and local governments under "civic education." As a result, participants were expected to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to become members of a democratic nation and to discuss rural life and rural technology. In the region, the intermingling and coexistence of these two purposes in the promotion of "Radio no Tsudoi" led to the formation of the federation(Radio no Tsudoi Rengokai) as a comprehensive organization.

 Finally, the following points have become clear through this examination. The "Radio no Tsudoi" at Matsuyama Central Broadcasting Station was, on the one hand, a continuation of the prewar government-led popular indoctrination. On the other hand, while it may not have been in response to popular demand, it was formed to some extent through the guidance of the Social Education Section and Agricultural Improvement Division, addressing the educational demands that were emerging in the local communities.

 The public library, a social education facility, has long been lauded as a facility "equally accessible to all" and a “local gateway to knowledge.” The purpose of this study is to examine from the perspective of equal access who uses public libraries and who should be using them, based on analysis of a large-scale online survey. Since the function of libraries has largely shifted from lending books to providing a place to stay, user analysis has important implications for the future of libraries.

 Public libraries, which have a history of being called "the people's university" or "the poor people's university," have operated under the principle of equal access for all people in the community. However, most usage surveys focus on users of each library, and there are only a few national surveys that include non-users.

 In 2020, the National Diet Library conducted a nationwide survey of Japanese residents, for which raw data are available. In this study, we conducted a secondary analysis with the following two analytical viewpoints.

 (1) Who uses the public libraries?

Examine the actual use of public libraries. Clarify the relationship among social attributes such as educational background and library usage.

(2) Who should use the public libraries?

From an ideal and hypothetical perspective of who needs libraries, clarify the relationship between the raison d'être of libraries and social attributes such as educational background.

 The findings are as follows.

(1) Those who did not use public libraries in 2020 accounted for two-thirds of all respondents. When social attributes, reading habits, and other basic variables were put into multivariate analysis as determinants of library use, it was found that educational background had the strongest influence.

(2) First, respondents perceived the significance of libraries on an altruistic (for the community) basis in greater numbers than on a selfish (for themselves and their families) basis. Next, examination of the determinants of the significance of libraries from both a selfish and an altruistic perspective found that more college graduates than non-college graduates altruistically value the significance of libraries, as well as those with higher expectations for new stay-type services.

Based on the results of these analyses, we found the following two issues for future public library management in a lifelong learning society.

(1) In order to reduce the strong influence of educational background on the use of public libraries, it is not enough to provide educational facilities; more in-depth outreach is needed.

 (2) The ideal future of public libraries faces, on the one hand, the risk of being run for the well-educated under the guise of equal access (“reproduction of inequal access”), and on the other hand, existence as a "local gateway to knowledge" through residential services (“production of equal access”). To achieve equality, however, critical examination of services related to non-educational activities and correction of regional disparities in library facilities are essential.

 This paper examines Elliot W. Eisner's theory of curriculum construction. Previous studies have not discussed the connection between Eisner's engagement in curriculum development practices in the new curriculum movement in the U.S. and his concepts of educational connoisseurship and educational criticism. Therefore, this paper explores Eisner's theory of curriculum construction and the process of its formation by focusing on the period before he published his major work, The Educational Imagination (1979).

 First, this paper examines Eisner's experiences with the Kettering Project. Eisner criticized the Tyler Rationale from two points of view: (1) the Rationale does not offer concrete measures for its operation, and (2) it takes a value-neutral position. In response to the former, Eisner argued that a distinction should be made among the three curriculum levels (academic level, subject matter level, course level) and that a theory should be created to contribute to the third (course) level. With regard to the latter, Eisner distinguished two curriculum theories, descriptive theory and normative theory. He then argued that curriculum decision as a value judgment should be theorized. Furthermore, his experience with the Kettering Project made Eisner realize the limitations of teacher-proof materials.

 Eisner focused on the fact that the curriculum that emerges in the classroom is ultimately controlled by the teachers, defining curriculum decision as a concept of "educational imagination." Educational criticism did not only describe educational practices, but also functioned to present alternatives to educational practices. Eisner regarded the classroom teacher as a curriculum maker. The educational imagination of the classroom teachers was a device that transformed visions of teaching into concrete educational programs. The educational imagination of the educational critics as curriculum specialists was a device for disclosing the null curriculum and offering alternatives to practice. Eisner advocated that collaboration between the two would contribute to curriculum improvement at the course level.

 This paper argues for the significance of Eisner's theory of curriculum construction from three points of view. First, Eisner's theory of curriculum construction was not a dichotomy between curriculum construction based on educational objectives and emergent curriculum construction, but raised curriculum-level issues in the differences between the two. Emergent curriculum construction works well as a unit and lesson planning theory that is granular and close to the classroom context. On the other hand, curriculum construction based on educational objectives may work better in some cases of granular curricular decision, such as policy decisions on subject matter content. Second, it is educational critics as curriculum specialists who support curriculum construction and improvement at the course level. Eisner finds a way for researchers to contribute to course level curriculum improvement by developing the role of curriculum specialists from curriculum developers to educational critics. Third, the concept of educational imagination evokes the need for intentional curriculum design and planning in emergent curriculum construction. The paper suggests that emergent curriculum construction does not mean unintentional and unplanned practice, but rather constant curriculum improvement rooted in the classroom context.

 The number of non-regular teachers is increasing. This paper classifies non-regular teachers, who are becoming more diverse and complex, based on the relevant legal system, and clarifies the increase in their numbers and percentages.

 Reasons for the increase in the number of non-regular teachers include reductions in salaries for teachers, responses to educational needs, restraints on regular employment, increases in maternity leave, childcare leave, and sick leave, and the enhancement of alternative replacement systems.

 The non-regularization of teachers and staff is characterized by (1) the non-regularization of regular teachers, (2) the shift from full-time to part-time, (3) the rapid increase in reappointments, and (4) the increase in alternate substitutes.

 Given that the non-regularization of teachers causes the deterioration of educational conditions, it is an important issue related to the system of compulsory education expenses covered by the national treasury.

 The purpose of this paper is to describe how the process leading to the leave of absence is constructed as a narrative in life story interviews with two middle school teachers.

 The normalization of work that exceeds the "death line of overwork" and the significant increase in the number of teachers on sick leave have attracted considerable attention to the way teachers work. At the same time, however, there has not been a sufficient expansion of research. In discussions of teachers' work, it has undoubtedly been assumed to be a priori established by busyness and stress/burnout, with leave of absence as a consequence. In other words, the diverse and complex processes that lead teachers to leave schools have been completely overlooked.

 Therefore, this paper reveals how the leave process on the part of research collaborators is constructed, based on insights into the "narratives" that express the process and experiences of individual teachers. This is a pioneering attempt to open up new possibilities for research and discussion of labor issues concerning teachers in Japan by overlapping and setting up blind spots in previous studies as issues that have also been faced in teachers' life history studies.

 This paper's research collaborators are two public middle school teachers in their late 20s who have taken leaves of absence. The author has been interviewing teachers working in schools on their life stories in order to conduct life history research. The two teachers, who met through these interviews, agreed to and were given the opportunity to take part in the study. Except for their close age, the two teachers differed in many ways, including their work styles, their subjects, their schools, and their school duties. The individual life-story interviews included semi-structured exchanges on a wide range of topics related to the teaching profession, in addition to the processes of becoming a teacher and taking a leave of absence.

 The analysis revealed the following two points. First, the teachers did not/were not able to limit themselves to a single "narrative" in explaining their different and unique processes of leave. Second, on the one hand, their "narratives" were also used to express the anguish they allegedly experienced at the schools where they worked, that is, the reality of "not being protected" and "not being able to share their problems" in a situation where it was difficult for them to perform their own agency as teachers. This suggests that these are realities faced by all teachers involved in school education in Japan today. Therefore, in the future, the discussion of educational labor should be based on the context (and how it is formed) that makes it narrated in this way.

 This study examines the issues and practical challenges of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) by analyzing the process of reflection of Norwegian teacher educators. The findings suggest that culturally responsive teacher education should move beyond merely promoting superficial intercultural understanding and tolerance of diversity, to focus on comprehensive transformative practices supported by teachers as agents of social justice who question the inequality embedded in social structures. Additionally, the findings indicate that reflection in teacher educators' practice is a vital process for decolonizing school knowledge and culture as well as for individual improvements in CRP practice.