Law schools in Japan face admissions retrenchments and calls for improvement. Two stories in English-language newspapers here explain:
Law schools in Japan face admissions retrenchments and calls for improvement. Two stories in English-language newspapers here explain:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20090424TDY02302.htm
excerpt:
>>The number of students to be admitted to 74 law schools throughout the nation will be slashed by about 18 percent during the 2010 and 2011 academic years, it has been learned.
The widespread plans will see a cut in the current total intake of 5,765 students nationwide to between 4,700 and 4,800, sources said, although they added that six schools were not planning any cuts.
It has been pointed out that an excessive number of students at law schools has resulted in a lower percentage of students passing the national bar examination.
A special panel of the Central Council for Education has called for drastic cuts in the number of students allowed to enroll at law schools to improve the quality of education at them.
As the Japan Federation of Bar Associations also has proposed that the intake of students should be cut to around 4,000, it is expected there will be further calls for cuts in the number of law students accepted by schools, the sources said.<<
See full story at Yomiuri online.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20090420a2.html
excerpt:
>>Raising the bar at law schools
In April 2004, 68 law schools were established in accordance with the nation's legal reform. Since then, the number has increased to 74. Earlier this month, about 5,800 people enrolled in these schools. Those who have not studied law at undergraduate level will have to complete a three-year course and those who did, a two-year course.
These schools were created to help satisfy a national demand for legal professionals who can provide high-quality services, in particular lawyers. But criticism persists that some of these schools fail to offer high-quality education.
The Japan Law Foundation, the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation and the Japan University Accreditation Association have recently evaluated 68 of the law schools and determined that 22 of them have problems with their curricula and teaching methods.
Problems identified include a shortage of basic subjects, a lack of balance between theoretical studies and practical application, a lack of transparency in the evaluation of students' performances in tests and under-qualified teachers.<<
See full story/editorial at Japan Times online.
Showing posts with label graduate education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label graduate education. Show all posts
27 April 2009
Are graduate programs relevant and worthwhile?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
End the University as We Know It
excerpt:
>>GRADUATE education is the Detroit of higher learning. Most graduate programs in American universities produce a product for which there is no market (candidates for teaching positions that do not exist) and develop skills for which there is diminishing demand (research in subfields within subfields and publication in journals read by no one other than a few like-minded colleagues), all at a rapidly rising cost (sometimes well over $100,000 in student loans).<<
Comment: It's true of university education here in Japan too, right down to the undergraduate, four-year university level. Although I'm uncertain about their delivery of courses, it's still the case that university faculty in Japan are largely set up as if their main task was to train the future generation of university faculty. If this expands to a larger pool, it would be a future generation of public and private school teachers and civil servants. This hardly reflects a forward-looking plan for a country in demographic stagnation and decline run by governments elected on 'less government, more free market liberalization' platforms.
In short, Japan's HE is locked into an approach that seems to ignore the serious intellectual and vocational develpment of nearly 100 percent of the students who pass through for 4-8 years of their life. I hope that is medical school notwithstanding.
As for the irrelevance (and huge expense) of US graduate education, read the rest of the NYT opinion piece here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
End the University as We Know It
excerpt:
>>GRADUATE education is the Detroit of higher learning. Most graduate programs in American universities produce a product for which there is no market (candidates for teaching positions that do not exist) and develop skills for which there is diminishing demand (research in subfields within subfields and publication in journals read by no one other than a few like-minded colleagues), all at a rapidly rising cost (sometimes well over $100,000 in student loans).<<
Comment: It's true of university education here in Japan too, right down to the undergraduate, four-year university level. Although I'm uncertain about their delivery of courses, it's still the case that university faculty in Japan are largely set up as if their main task was to train the future generation of university faculty. If this expands to a larger pool, it would be a future generation of public and private school teachers and civil servants. This hardly reflects a forward-looking plan for a country in demographic stagnation and decline run by governments elected on 'less government, more free market liberalization' platforms.
In short, Japan's HE is locked into an approach that seems to ignore the serious intellectual and vocational develpment of nearly 100 percent of the students who pass through for 4-8 years of their life. I hope that is medical school notwithstanding.
As for the irrelevance (and huge expense) of US graduate education, read the rest of the NYT opinion piece here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
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