It is well known that Sawayanagi Masataro, a prominent educational leader, published A Practical Pedagogy (1909) as a criticism of Japanese scholars’ pedantic pedagogy. However, little has been known about the Educational Instruction Association (hereafter referred to as the EIA) founded soon after the publication. The EIA appointed Sawayanagi as the president and aimed to advance educational research, in particular, by promoting cooperation between theorists (mostly scholars) and practitioners (mostly teachers). This study traces the development of the association, elucidates how the research activities were conducted by its members, and examines its legacy in the history of educational research.
The EIA was originally formed as a small circle of elementary school teachers in Tokyo, but subsequently, through Sawayanagi’s personal networks, it attracted a wide range of members. Monthly gatherings were held to discuss a variety of educational issues. Occasionally, debates lasted for several months, followed by working group members’ further investigations. Although an open-minded, face-to-face interaction was a brand-new experiment, the participants faced difficulty in conducting cooperative research. Against this background, this study highlights the emergence of a group of EIA member practitioners. These practitioners inherited the open-mindedness in EIA’s research style but rejected the conventional demarcation between theorists and practitioners. By redefining the concept of “practitioners,” they came to see their role extend to cover theoretical as well as practical research. Thus, the EIA was a significant catalyst in practitioners’ becoming aware of their role in educational research.
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