Abstract
This chapter examines how Japanese researchers’ contributions to the international scholarly community in the fields of sociology of education or related fields have transformed over the years. It does so by examining the trends and patterns of Japanese researchers’ articles in key international journals in these fields since the 1990s. The analysis of 90 articles revealed that Japanese researchers’ presence in the international scholarly community of the sociology of education and related fields has steadily increased since the 1990s, particularly through their active publications of English language articles in the field of comparative education, international education development, and higher education. The regions and themes of focus have also changed, from the dissemination of the particularities of Japanese education to the world in the 1990s to the investigation of contemporary educational issues through either single -country or comparative study and in more recent years to active engagement in theoretical and epistemological debates.
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- 1.
The Japan Society of Educational Sociology (JSES) has published special issues on research trends in its journal, The Journal of Educational Sociology, i.e., “The Current Status and Future Challenges of JSES” (vol. 6, 1958), “Achievements in Sociology of Education Over the Last 5 Years and Future Challenges” (vol. 19, 1964), “Prospects for Sociology of Education” (vol. 34, 1979), “Critical Review of Sociology of Education” (vol. 47, 1990), “Paradigm Development in Sociology of Education” (vol. 50, 1992), and “Self-reflection Upon and Prospects of the Field of Sociology of Education” (vol. 64, 1999).
- 2.
- 3.
In this section, Japanese scholars in the field of sociology of education have been divided into four main generations basically according to their age.
- 4.
For 2015–2016, only articles published by the end of October 2016 are included.
- 5.
The number of articles on Japan in each time period has remained somewhat unchanged to date, except during the period from 1995 to 1999.
- 6.
In Japan, the sociology of education was established as a full-scale academic discipline after the end of World War II under strong American influence. In 1949, courses and programs in the sociology of education were established at universities during the reorganization of the education system. In the following years, the Japan Society of Educational Sociology (JSES) was established. The society organizes a national conference every year and publishes its journal, The Journal of Educational Sociology, twice a year.
- 7.
From 1990 to 1999, a total of 12 papers by Japanese authors were published in Higher Education, of which 10 were in the special issue on Japan; from 2000 to 2009, a total of 12 were published, of which 8 were in the special issue.
- 8.
Note that the Japanese authors’ article published in Higher Education basically concerns Japan only, addressing such themes as the Japanese university system and the internationalization of Japanese higher education. A small number of article that treat other countries do so in comparison with Japan, and no paper addresses other countries alone (the number of papers studying Japan alone, 29; comparing Japan with other countries:
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Okitsu, T., Yagi, E., Kitamura, Y. (2018). Beyond National Frameworks: Patterns and Trends in Articles by Japanese Researchers Published in International Journals of Sociology of Education and Related Fields Since the 1990s. In: Yonezawa, A., Kitamura, Y., Yamamoto, B., Tokunaga, T. (eds) Japanese Education in a Global Age. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 46. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1528-2_14
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