“The Period for Integrated Studies” was introduced as education that looks toward the 21st century, and it is currently a required class in all elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools across Japan. However, at the high school level, some teachers have expressed their opinion that there is a big difference in how the class is implemented between schools. The purpose of this study was to try to further understand how the class is being implemented at different schools by conducting a questionnaire and then examining the results. Results showed that schools in Western Japan are doing better at upholding the aims of the class as outlined in Educational Ministry guidelines than their counterparts in Eastern Japan are. Furthermore, results revealed that students most desired “the Period for Integrated Studies” to be a time when they could “develop the skills to find issues to tackle on their own, learn by themselves, and then come up with solutions to those issues”.

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This study focuses on comparing Course of study for Kindergarten revised in 2017 to Course of study for Kindergarten revised in 2008. Based on the comparison, characteristics of “aim” and “content” in the “environment” are discussed in relation to “how children should be at the end of their early childhood.” Furthermore, A teaching method on “Tanabata decorations” is devised as a part of teaching methods on “environment.”

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This study discusses how students enhance their skills and attributes as a teacher through creating and reviewing lesson plans in the subject of “ technique and method of education.” Students realize the importance of planning lessons from the standpoint of both a teacher and students after the process of planning lessons, demonstrating lesson, and then reviewing them, that is, they develop views of the course such as views of teaching materials and teaching based on the view of children, and the development makes a significant contribution to the improvement of the course.

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The practical seminar for teachers is one of the final courses studied by students who have selected a teacher training course. Its purpose is to make students aware of areas in the teacher training course where their knowledge is lacking, while giving them the opportunity to overcome these weak points. However, as it is a new course, first introduced in 2010, effective ways to make up for these deficiencies are yet to be sufficiently discussed. How should students go about filling these gaps in their knowledge? To address this issue, we attempted to clarify what significance this course has in the teacher training course as a whole, and what sort of educational methods should be used. We concluded that the use of multiple teaching methods in combination is key to the course's success―specifically, we are referring to the concepts of triangulation and bricolage, the latter a theory of Claude Lévi-Strauss. （To maximize the potential of the course, then, it will be important to make use of both triangulation and bricolage, while also looking at ways to bring practical seminars and research seminars together.）

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The purpose of this study was to consider how the ereas of “nature” and “society” were thought of and what implications they had in the process leading up to the establishment of the new erea “environment” found in the Course of study for Kindergarten guidelines published by the Monbukagakusho. “Society” showed a tendency toward the economy and industry which resulted from the internal values of individuals and groups, such as normative consciousness, morality, and public-mindedness. It has become evident that “nature” has changed from the place of life for young children to one of being a teaching material for scientific thinking. This change can be seen in the revisions made to today's “environment” erea.

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In this study, we researched the relationship between the terms “curriculum” and “Course of study”, as well as explained the background and key principles of the Course of Study that was revised in 2017. Based on these things, we explored the common subject matters considered when formulating the curriculum for special needs education. In addition, we reflected on the formulation of a flexibly organized curriculum for students with multiple handicaps.

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In the early Meiji era, military bands performed not only at military events but also travelled to perform at Imperial household events, greeting and sending off state guests, and school events （such as graduation ceremonies）. Their travelling performances became more well received year by year, and by the third decade of the Meiji era civilian bands had been formed to shoulder some of the demand for travelling performances the military bands were commissioned for. Furthermore, during the First Sino－Japanese War （1894－1895） and the Russo－Japanese War （1904－1905） troop send－off events, funeral services, and victory－related events started to be held, and the number of civilian bands suddenly increased. Previous research has gradually clarified the creation of civilian bands in Tokyo and Kansai, but there has not been sufficient research into the creation and spread of civilian bands in provincial towns and cities. This paper clarifies trends in civilian bands in the provincial city of Kumamoto, referencing articles from the Kyushu Nichinichi newspaper （1888－1912） published in Kumamoto. Furthermore, drawings with a band motif were frequently used in newspaper advertisements during this period.

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In 2003, the author carried out a survey on the lives of working women during their pregnancy period. Based on the findings obtained from this survey, ideas for maternity wear which combine the features of safety, functionality, and fashionableness were suggested. In recent years, the maternity wear market has greatly transformed. Now there is an abundance of various types of maternity wear, such as one-piece dresses. Thus many pregnant women seem to be able to wear clothes with the same fashion sense as before their pregnancy. On the other hand, there still appears to be some maternity wear which doesn’t consider comfort or safety. With this in mind, there exists a clear need to reconsider the maternity wear market and this paper attempts to address the existing circumstances and challenges facing it.

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According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), the percentage of management positions in Japan held by women is 12%, lowest of all G7 countries. This paper attempts to explore what key events lead to management positions and what implications such events have on further investigation into the subject. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women in management positions at companies listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Results were analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA), which differs from the analysis method used in the author's previous research. It was reconfirmed that the key lies in five categories. In addition, it was found that it is necessary to continually revise key categories and accumulate key data for entry-level management positions.

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Theodore Dreiser is famous as an American naturalist who wrote such novels as Sister Carrie（1900） and An American Tragedy（1925）. Dreiser also produced two collections of short fiction, Free and Other Stories（1918） and Chains（1927）, but he has not been appraised highly as a short-story writer in general. “Sanctuary” is one of the stories contained in Chains. There are some remarkable similarities between it and Stephen Crane's first novel Maggie: A Girl of the Streets（1893）, a pioneer work of American naturalism. Both works have a New York slum setting, and both of the heroines Madeleine and Maggie are compared to flowers, seduced by flashily dressed young men, and become prostitutes. This paper attempts to evaluate “Sanctuary” and consider its importance in Dreiser's literature by comparing the story with Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.

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Idiomatic expressions are expressions with both the communication power and the influence power. In particular, NV type idiomatic expressions appear on many dictionaries and educational teaching materials variously. In actual language life, the linguistic forms with synonym are often used. But the materials which carried this type of forms are rare. So such materials are not enough as teaching materials for practical Korean education. I define 'word form - thought - referent = determinative' as the structure 1, and 4 kinds of pattern classified by synonym as structure 2 of the NV type idiomatic expressions. Based on this standard, I will set 91 expressions as expressions for Korean education.

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To clarify acoustic features related to speech naturalness of non-native speakers of Japanese, 22 Japanese native speakers rated naturalness of Japanese words spoken by 10 each of Japanese, Chinese（Taiwanese）, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and French speakers. Multiple regression analysis showed that an absolute value of standardized partial regression coefficients is large for a relative fundamental frequency or a relative duration of the word-initial or word-final vowel. This result suggests that speech naturalness of nonnative speakers relates to these acoustic features.

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Bringing Up Father by George McManus was one of the most popular comic strips in the U.S. in the 20^th century. The strip was syndicated starting in 1913 by The Star Company which William Hearst owned, and people in the U.S. could read it in their local newspapers. However, the actual circumstances of its syndication is hardly known. This paper attempts to explain how it was actually syndicated from 1913 to 1914 by researching newspapers from that time period which have been digitized by the Library of Congress. The findings of the author's research show when and where each episode of it was run. Furthermore, by introducing ads and news about the theater adaptation of it, this paper will attempt to show how it was received by people at the time. This research is a starting point for a more comprehensive understanding of Bringing Up Father, which can help in the appreciation of its Japanese translated version.

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