Abstract
First-year education is presently expanding rapidly in Japan, with developments taking place over the past 10 years being particularly remarkable. An important factor in this regard may be seen within the results from the 2008 School Basic Survey, which revealed that the rate of students advancing to higher levels of education during the previous year—including figures for junior colleges and technical schools—was 55.3 %, indicating a significant increase in this regard. Thus, first-year education at present already passed through the stage of conceptual dissemination prior to 2000, which was followed by the process of its educational and foundational implementation when research in this regard was launched. First-year education has now entered the new stage of rapid expansion. This chapter analyzes the stage of first-year education by using various kinds of data concerning first-year education in Japan.
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- 1.
While the term “first-year education” or “first-year experience” did not exist in Japan at this time, emphasis was placed upon providing support for the transition period from high school to university—which is now categorized as first-year education.
- 2.
At the time, the term was “freshman education” or “introductory education” rather than “first-year education.”
- 3.
While the term “first-year/introductory education” was in use at the time the research committee was established, Atsushi Hamana points out in “First-year/introductory education, remedial education and career education” (LGESJ Journal, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 36–41) that the presently implemented introductory education is positioned as part of a comprehensive concept of the first-year education. As a result, “first-year education” is utilized as a general term.
- 4.
The 2001 survey was conducted by the introductory education section of RIIHE among a total of 1,170 departments within 4-year private institutions. Among these, responses were collected from a total of 636 departments. The 2007 survey was carried out by the National Institute for Educational Policy Research among a total of 1,980 departments in public and private universities, among which responses were collected from 1,419 departments.
- 5.
Concretely speaking, the content for each of these items (excepting #5) are as follows: (1) how to write reports, utilize the library, and deliver presentations; (2) various aspects of student life (time management, study habits, health, social life, etc.); (3) freshman seminar, course guidance, university learning, etc.; (4) introductory chemistry, basic law, introductory physics, basic specialized exercises, etc.; (5) computer literacy, information processing, etc.; (6) university’s history and development, social role, famous alumni achievements, etc.; and (7) motivation vis-à-vis future work and career options, self-analysis, etc.
- 6.
Since we classified multiple keywords utilizing the first-appearing term, it is possible that such keywords may not match the actual keywords with respect to program content. Since the actual numbers were classified using keywords, they may not be entirely accurate.
- 7.
We conducted surveys at 1,358 4-year US institutions, among which 463 responses were received. The questions included were nearly the same as those for the 2001 study.
- 8.
See Chap. 11 for a detailed results’ analysis from the perspective of the high school–university articulation.
- 9.
The team of RIIHE responsible for educational implementation conducted the study in 2003 among a total of 1,632 first-year students at eight universities known for their progressive first-year and introductory education programs.
- 10.
The SAT examination is divided into two separate types: the SAT Reasoning Test and the SAT test as divided by individual subject. While numerous universities preferred that applicants take the SAT Reasoning Test in the past, more and more universities are today also including the individual SAT Subject Tests within their admissions criteria. The SAT Reasoning Test is divided into the three fields of mathematics, reading, and grammar/essays, with each section worth 800 points (for a total possible maximum score of 2,400). The SAT Reasoning Test is an academic aptitude test that is not connected to university curricula, and anyone who has completed secondary education may take the examination—giving everyone an equal opportunity. The SAT Subject Tests include separate tests in areas including English, mathematics, science, history, and language—each of which is designed to be completed within 1-h time. http://sat.collegeboard.com/practice/sat-practice-questions.
References
Kawashima, K. (2008). Various fields and the spread of first-year experience. The Journal of Japanese First-year Experience, 1(1), 26–32. (in Japanese).
Yamada, R. (2009). Development of Japanese first-year experience: Where we stand and what challenges we have. The Journal of Japanese First-year Experience, 2(1), 3–23. (in Japanese).
Yamada, R. (2010). The current situation of Japanese first-year experience and its future. In: The 30th Anniversary Committee of Liberal and General Education Society of Japan (Ed.) The Research of Undergraduate Education and University Reform during 30 years: From the Perspective of Liberal and General Education Society of Japan (pp. 29–48), Toshindo, Tokyo. (in Japanese).
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Yamada, R. (2014). Development of First-Year Education. In: Yamada, R. (eds) Measuring Quality of Undergraduate Education in Japan. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-81-1_10
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