Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Universities in Modern Japan: A Historical Outline
- Chapter 2 From Showa to Heisei: The Formation of Japan’s Contemporary Higher Education System
- Chapter 3 The Heisei Period: Plus Ça Change?
- Chapter 4 National Universities: Autonomy in Their Governance; Ideology and Practice
- Chapter 5 Public Universities: Prefectural, Local Higher Education
- Chapter 6 Private Universities: Diverse and Adaptable
- Chapter 7 Foreign Universities in Japan: Opportunities Taken and Missed
- Chapter 8 The Financing of Higher Education in Japan
- Chapter 9 Undergraduate Admissions: Shifting Trends
- Chapter 10 The Hensachi: Its Dominant Role in University Rankings
- Chapter 11 Self-Assessment: How Japanese University Students Assess Their Learning Outcomes
- Chapter 12 Policies for Hosting International Students: Issues for the Post-300,000 International Students Plan Era
- Chapter 13 Regional Cooperation in East Asia: Shifting Reality
- Chapter 14 International Students: Inbound Mobility at “Elite” and “Mass” Universities
- Chapter 15 Academic Support and Advising: Historical and Contemporary Issues
- Chapter 16 Women’s Universities in Japan: Life Choices
- Chapter 17 Junior Female Academics: Experiences and Challenges
- Chapter 18 Women of Color Leading in Japanese Higher Education
- Chapter 19 International Faculty: Increasing Mobility
- Chapter 20 Research Universities: Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
- Chapter 21 Liberal Arts Education: The Japanese Way
- Chapter 22 The English Language in Japan: A Historical Overview 1809–2020
- Chapter 23 Languages Other Than English: Mysterious Eclipse
- Chapter 24 Critical English Curriculum Enactment: A Policy Planning Perspective
- Chapter 25 The Dawn of Reiwa: Waves, Revolutions and an “A.I. Society”
- Appendix 1 Chronology of Japan
- Appendix 2 Japanese National Universities, by Prefecture
- Appendix 3 Japanese Public Universities, by Region
- Glossary
- Index
Chapter 21 - Liberal Arts Education: The Japanese Way
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 May 2023
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Contributors
- Abbreviations
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Universities in Modern Japan: A Historical Outline
- Chapter 2 From Showa to Heisei: The Formation of Japan’s Contemporary Higher Education System
- Chapter 3 The Heisei Period: Plus Ça Change?
- Chapter 4 National Universities: Autonomy in Their Governance; Ideology and Practice
- Chapter 5 Public Universities: Prefectural, Local Higher Education
- Chapter 6 Private Universities: Diverse and Adaptable
- Chapter 7 Foreign Universities in Japan: Opportunities Taken and Missed
- Chapter 8 The Financing of Higher Education in Japan
- Chapter 9 Undergraduate Admissions: Shifting Trends
- Chapter 10 The Hensachi: Its Dominant Role in University Rankings
- Chapter 11 Self-Assessment: How Japanese University Students Assess Their Learning Outcomes
- Chapter 12 Policies for Hosting International Students: Issues for the Post-300,000 International Students Plan Era
- Chapter 13 Regional Cooperation in East Asia: Shifting Reality
- Chapter 14 International Students: Inbound Mobility at “Elite” and “Mass” Universities
- Chapter 15 Academic Support and Advising: Historical and Contemporary Issues
- Chapter 16 Women’s Universities in Japan: Life Choices
- Chapter 17 Junior Female Academics: Experiences and Challenges
- Chapter 18 Women of Color Leading in Japanese Higher Education
- Chapter 19 International Faculty: Increasing Mobility
- Chapter 20 Research Universities: Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
- Chapter 21 Liberal Arts Education: The Japanese Way
- Chapter 22 The English Language in Japan: A Historical Overview 1809–2020
- Chapter 23 Languages Other Than English: Mysterious Eclipse
- Chapter 24 Critical English Curriculum Enactment: A Policy Planning Perspective
- Chapter 25 The Dawn of Reiwa: Waves, Revolutions and an “A.I. Society”
- Appendix 1 Chronology of Japan
- Appendix 2 Japanese National Universities, by Prefecture
- Appendix 3 Japanese Public Universities, by Region
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
To examine liberal arts education in Japan is not an easy task, because its concept and idea had already undergone many fundamental transformations over centuries by the time it was introduced in the late 19th century. The differences between the liberal arts education of ancient Greece and Rome, on the one hand, and the ones practiced now in North American colleges and universities and also new institutions in Asia and Europe, on the other hand, are so great that they do not show much more than a family resemblance. The liberal arts education since the time of ancient Greece has been transformed every time it was reintroduced in successive periods, for instance, in ancient Rome, the European Middle Ages, the European Renaissance, the 19th century in Prussia, the 20th century in the United States, and in the new millennium in Asia and Europe, reflecting cultural, ideological and social demands of each region. This chapter examines the development of liberal arts education, its roles, and its successes in Japan.
Introduction
Liberal arts education is in any case a term that is prone to invite confusion, namely because it refers to two separate concepts. It could simply mean the curriculum such as the Seven Liberal Arts of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and the quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, music, and astronomy) of the medieval European university, or the curriculum made of humanities, social science, and natural science subjects practiced in modern universities. “Liberal education” is, however, concerned with attitudes towards teaching and learning. John Henry Newman states the objective of liberal education is to give young people “the force, the steadiness, the comprehensiveness and the versatility of intellect, the command over our own powers, the instinctive just estimate of things as they pass before us.” A hundred years after this statement the Association of American Colleges (AAC) comprising some 550 higher education institutions issued a report entitled “The Nature and Purpose of Liberal Education,” which defines liberal education as a system to inculcate individual freedom, personal fulfillment, intellectual discipline, and social responsibility as well as the “skills and abilities … to use intelligently and with a sense of workmanship some of the principal tools and techniques of the arts and sciences.”
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- Handbook of Higher Education in Japan , pp. 290 - 308Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2021