Tracing the developments of the “global education effect” in Japanese higher education: Discourses, policy, and practice

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“…While there is an expectation that some of these international students will remain in Japan after graduation and, therefore, continue to contribute to the country's economic competitiveness (Yamamoto, 2018), the primary focus of EMI is the development of gurobaru jinzai (global human resources) among the domestic student population. The competencies of gurobaru jinzai extend beyond English ability; for example, Poole et al (2020) note that it also includes the capacity to think independently and develop cross-cultural understanding. Nevertheless, English ability is seen as crucial, so much so that Hashimoto (2017) argues that English proficiency is often equated with gurobaru jinzai.…”

“…Furthermore, MEXT (2020) reported that approximately 40% of universities now have some credit-awarding courses taught in English. However, as Poole et al (2020) note, this quantitative approach has led to university administrators simply playing "a numbers game" (p. 40). This has led some to argue that "a broad chasm can … be seen between policy intentions and the ways in which policies are actually put into practice by universities" (Ota & Horiuchi, 2018b, p.19).…”

“…The majority of EMI courses are taken by domestic students (Bradford & Brown, 2018), and most of these tend to be part of Japanese-medium degree programmes. In fact, there are few full-degree undergraduate English-taught programmes (ETPs) at Japanese universities (Rakhshandehroo & Ivanova, 2020), and there is a limited number of places for international students on these courses (Poole et al, 2020). Shimauchi (2017)…”

“…However, there are significant concerns that curricula in these courses are not being modified to contain more international and intercultural dimensions as called for in de Wit et al's (2015) definition of IoHE; rather, the course content tends to be what current faculty are able to teach in English (Takagi, 2017). Moreover, these courses tend to have a peripheral role within the university (Poole et al, 2020).…”

“…The drive to internationalise higher education through the promotion of EMI is apparent in Japan. This drive is to compensate for the shrinking population of university-age students and to ensure that young Japanese people have the skills needed to compete in the globalised economy (Poole, Ota & Kawano, 2020). Ninomiya, Knight, and Watanabe (2009) described IoHE in Japan as "a pervasive force, shaping and challenging the higher education sector" (p. 117).…”