A questionnaire, modeled after the "Japan Education and Longitudinal Study" (JELS), was conducted in Shanghai at the end of 2011 targeting primary and secondary school students and their parents.

In this seminar, Prof. Zhang Xiaopeng (Fudan University), one of collaborators in the Shanghai survey, described the educational climate around Shanghai, the survey response rate, then offered a detailed overview of education outside the regular schools (tutors, cram schools, enrichment classes, etc.) in Shanghai: how many students are involved, how much time is involved, at what cost, and the relationship between this extracurricular work and academic performance.

In the second half of his talk, Prof. Zhang took questions from the audience. Animated discussion revealed differences between Japan and Shanghai in attitudes toward extra-school education, but also a shared commitment to education on the part of Asian parents.

In the last session of the Disciplinary Linkage Project Seminar, which was themed on Welfare Services and Women’s Social Rights, we welcomed Dr. Kim Jimi to give a report on her comparative research on welfare policies of Korea and Japan.

Traditionally, the family (women, in particular) has been tasked with the role of providing care services in Korea. With the recent changes surrounding the family, however, there has been rapid progress in the review of welfare policies since 2000. In her report, Dr. Kim validated the effects of the rapid improvements in childcare services and services for the elderly on women’s social rights, particularly on their rights to work and to give care.

In response to Dr. Kim’s report, many questions have been raised regarding the causes of the changes in family values in Korea and the other aspects pertaining to the right to give care, leading to enriching discussions that continued even after the closing time.(15.Feb. 2012）

The results of the comparative study on children’s QOL in 4 Asian countries(Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand) conducted conjointly by International Inequity Group and Childrearing Inequity Group were presented by researchers from China, Vietnam and Japan.

Significant regional differences in sub-domains of QOL were noted in Vietnam and China, while such regional differences were not found in Japan. Children’s behavioral problems have found to affect their QOL. It is of note that low self-esteem that is characteristic in Japanese children was also present in Thai children.(30. Jan. 2012)

Educational administrators and inspectors of central or local government, and professors of teachers college from four Francophone Central and West African countries – Cameroon, Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso – presented their future action plans of early childhood development and education of their countries. The action plan was based on what they had learned in the three-week JICA training, and Japanese professors provided helpful suggestions to the action plans.

Co-hosted with Ochanomizu University's Global Collaboration Center, the Global COE Program held an international seminar. The seminar examined policies in the current conditions of children and in the development in infants in Burkina Faso.

Co-hosted with Ochanomizu University's Global Collaboration Center, the Global COE Program held an international seminar. The seminar examined policies in the current conditions of children and in the development in infants in Cameroon.

Co-hosted with Ochanomizu University's Global Collaboration Center, the Global COE Program held an international seminar. The seminar examined policies in the current conditions of children and in the development in infants in Senegal and Mali.

On October 30, 2011 (Sunday), the Global COE and Ochanomizu University’s COE Program “Achieving Work and Family Life Balance in Japan: Importance of Interdisciplinary Approach (WORK-FAM)” collaborated in hosting a Disciplinary Linkage Project Seminar entitled “Modern Issues in the Childrearing Environment: Children New Systems in Childrearing.”　

In the keynote speech, Toshihisa Okamoto, who has been involved in the creation of systems related to children and childrearing in the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, talked about the background of past discussions and directions for increases in the volume of childcare services and in the options available, as well as "Kodomo-en" based on an integration of day care centers and kindergartens.















In the second half, Ochanomizu University’s Prof. Nobuko Nagase pointed out that the balance between work and childcare has not yet been sufficiently achieved because of the large burden placed on working women, and emphasized the need for a rapid reexamination of long working hours and the division of roles by gender. Prof. Masumi Sugawara reported that the quality of the childrearing environments both inside and outside the home are closely related to better upbringing for children, and that emphasis should be placed more on providing better quality care than on who is actually caring for the children in question. Prof. Koichi Hiraoka discussed the positioning of systems related to children and childrearing from the perspective of social policy research, and pointed out the need to design future systems that incorporate both monitoring and evaluations.

The theme of the 9th Disciplinary Linkage Project Seminar was “The Role of Early childhood Care and Education in Reducing Educational Disparities”.

First, Prof. Kodama of Ochanomizu University provided a report on early childhood care and education in Europe , especially various forms of boundaries of ECCE in Germany. Next, Prof. Hamano gave a presentation on early childhood development in developing countries, focusing on educational inequality in Vietnam.















Then, Dr. Fukahori made comments for the two presentations based on her research on the preschool programs in the United States. Next, Dr. Kitamura provide comments from the viewpoint of world trends of ECCE, focusing on the discussion in World Conference on ECCE, Moscow.


The seminar drew many participants from both inside and outside the university, who held active discussions, making this conference a successful event. (25. Oct. 2011 ）

When the results from the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) 2009 were released at the end of 2010, the performance of Shanghai surprised the world. At the same time, the recovery of reading literacy of Japanese students to the level of PISA2000 was praised by Japanese education actors. Hong Kong has constantly ranked in the top group in all subjects.

In this symposium, researchers from Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Japan will present on the trend of achievement studies, the findings from achievement studies, and the impact the findings have on educational policies. The extent and mechanism of achievement gap in each society will be highlighted.

DATE
September 25 (Sun) 12:40-15:40

VENUE
Ochanomizu University Inter-Faculty Building 2, Rm. 201

PRESENTARS
1. Esther Sui-Chu HO (Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)
Effect of Family Factors on Students’ Performance: The case of Hong Kong in PISA

2. Xiaohu Zhu (Assistant Professor, Institute for Basic Education Research, Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences)
Findings from Shanghai PISA 2009 and the Related Factors

3. Yuko Tarumi (Assistant Professor, Ochanomizu University)
Achievement Gap in Japan: Findings from PISA2009

*Videos of schools in each society will be shown at the beginning of the symposium.

COMMENTATOR
Kokichi Shimizu (Professor, Osaka University)

MODERATOR
Hiroaki Mimizuka (Professor, Ochanomizu University)

LANGUAGES
Japanese, Chinese(Simultaneous Interpretation)


CONTACTS
Ochanomizu University Global COE Office
TEL&FAX: +81(0)3-5978-5247


EVENT REPORT
On September 21, 2011 (Sunday), The Japan Society of Educational Sociology (63rd meeting) and the Ochanomizu University Global COE Program hosted a joint international symposium on the theme of Ochanomizu University Global COE International Symposium 2011 "Disparities in Student Achievement and Educational Policy: PISA Findings from Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Japan.” The symposium welcomed Professor Esther Sui-Chu HO from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Mr. Xiaohu ZHU, from the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences. Assistant Professor Yuko TARUMI from Ochanomizu University was present for the reports. (Simultaneous interpreting in Japanese and Chinese)
















The symposium began with the video about elementary schools in Shanghai and Tokyo. In the presentations that followed, researchers from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Japan used Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to analyze the current conditions and mechanisms involved in disparities in the academic abilities (reading skills) of high school students in each country, and then discuss the implications from the perspective of government policies.