Workshop "Critical writing as applied philosophy," 5th meeting, JACAP https://sites.google.com/site/jacapweb/home/annual_conf_5

1. What does “academic writing” mean
in Japanese higher education?
Yuko Murakami
(Tohoku University)

2. Critical writing be a part of applied
philosophy projects?
• How can it help young philosophers under
shrinking job market?
• What sort of pedagogical skills are to be
recommended for young philosophers?

3. Japanese HE
• AY2012: 783 4-year univs/colleges
– National 86, public 92, private 605
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
private
public
national

4. Distorted AO: virtually no academic
assessment to recruit incoming students
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
450000
500000
Nat/pub private
Other
Recommendation
Academic assessment
Nat/Pub Private
Academic 81.62% 49.07%
Recom 17.72% 50.49%
Other 0.66% 0.44%
Fewer subjects required for private
universities: no Japanese/history/geography
for STM, no math/science for humanities
and social science

5. Similar situations to 1980s in US
• Explosion of HE: insufficient preparation for
college education
• Followed by an increasing number of non-
traditional students
• Student supports: academic skill class, life
accomodation
– writing center
– Note taking

6. Still different aspects
• writing in which language?
– Research Universities: writing academic paper in
ENGLISH (while no training given for academic
writing in Japanese)
– Others: in Japanese < much more similar to US
situation

7. Sectors of Japanese HE
national
Research: STM
Competitive
entrance
examination
5 subjects
public
professional
Competitive
entrance
examination
3-4 subjects
private
Social science and
humanities
Half:entrance exam
1-3 subjects/Half:
no academic
assessment at all

8. Fragmented methodology
• TESOL
• Paragraph writing
• Psychology/ social psychology
• Rhetoric
• logic
• Deficiency of Japanese K-12 curriculum

9. Questions to speakers
• To which sector do you think your method
works the best, assuming it has its own
strength?
• Why in higher education? Why not in
elementary/secondary schools?