Internationalization as driver of university reform in mature systems? Mixed evidence from Japan Christopher Pokarier Waseda University Tokyo

Internationalization’s impacts Much academic & professional attention given to the positive impacts of border-spanning mobility, curricula & cohort diversity upon students in higher education Hence internationalization of institutions pursued as educational outcome (& source of institutional competitive advantage) Less analytical attention is given to the impacts on general academic & administrative practice DESPITE popular commentary on the subject

Internationalization driving change? Historical national particularity & path dependency in conception & conduct of academic work How much convergence? How much owing to international mobility of students & staff? How much owing to ‘cognitive internationalization’? =looking to foreign practice or/and sensing international competition amongst the teaching & research outputs of higher education

The Japanese case Late C19th of ‘foreign borrowing’ in both state & private HE initiatives + openness to foreign HE NPO entrepreneurs (missionaries) 2nd period, more limited, postwar foreign borrowing Solidification of particularistic national HE system and institution-level practices 70% of postwar demand for HE met by private institutions; with heavy input-oriented regulation But over half now can’t fill their student quotas

Internationalization of Japanese HE Stages in policy priorities: + Postwar promotion of understanding of Japan: some institutions respond effectively in helping to train foreign ‘Japan specialists’ + Outbound mobility: modest public funding & growing privately-funding initiatives by institutions + Larger-scale inbound student mobility: 1983 PM Nakasone’s 100,000 foreign student target 2008 PM Fukuda’s 300,000 target

Inbound student mobility Over 85% of foreign students are privately funded Only 15% approx of foreign undergraduates in national universities while some 60% of postgraduates are Degree-seeking students overwhelmingly from East Asia, esp. China & other NEA Study abroad & short course students mostly from North America, Australia & New Zealand, & Europe 2005: 104, 427 foreign students (including permanent residents in Japan)

Inbound demand Japanese language as major barrier Some offer vocational advantages, reflecting Japanese FDI patterns, but strongest in NEA. Yet perceived Japanese economic weakness Some recent rising demand for study abroad in Japan owing to ‘soft power’ factor in Europe, USA – likely policy priority under new PM Aso

Outbound student mobility Total outbound numbers roughly balance inbound numbers USA is prime destination, followed by Europe Degree-seeking: talented graduate students + plus a minority of UGs not fitting the domestic system Large numbers of self-funded ESL & short courses Semester & year abroad, often through private channels if not mediated by domestic university

Outbound demand In general, university credit systems etc have not ‘incentivized’ study abroad: lack of Faculty-level commitment Participation rates in study abroad programs generally low in elite institutions (having students most qualified to undertake Faculty-based study) More recent growth in short study tours etc in less prestigious institutions Foreign experience as domestic status good

Impacts of inbound student mobility Strong institutional supports for visiting students But ‘ghetto effect’ in specialist ‘ryugaku bekka’ Little incentive for either staff to teach in English or domestic students to take such classes with foreign students Much less done for degree-seeking students in regular faculties + curricular innovation is rare Some belated development of staff specialization

Constraints on outbound demand Established practices of lifetime employment and OJT diminished ‘human capital formation’ imperative in university education –curtailing both demand for, & supply of, supported study abroad New growth of professional graduate schools in law, accounting etc impacts on demand for study abroad Impacts of stagnant economy, weak exchange rates But demand for ‘English+’ is significant

Staff internationalization Low proportion of foreign staff: 5062 of 161,690 fulltime staff, most providing foreign language instruction More open recruitment but Japanese language ability still generally expected Foreign doctoral training has increasing currency in the academic labour market Few Japanese academics have experience of foreign HE teaching and/or management positions

Challenges I ‘mainstreaming’ programs hosting inbound visiting students Changing HR systems to support recruitment & development of specialist administrative staff Incentives for academic staff to teach & publish in English, & perhaps other languages 2nd tier institutional ‘pinch’ between academically weaker student cohorts and internationalization imperatives (market & policy)

Challenges II Effective curricula & teaching (ranked 58th by IMD in relevance to future careers – followed by South Korea & Indonesia – in a 2005 60 country sample) Ongoing impacts of entrance system on schooling & HRM practices on HE student incentives Ongoing reform of established collegial governance practices which weaken incentives for innovation & make performance management profoundly difficult to implement

Cognitive internationalization I Public policy emphasis on enhancing ‘international competitiveness’ of Japanese higher education Boosting inbound student numbers & foreign staff numbers are seen as impetus to change Visiting students from other institutions present the best pressure for higher standards International rankings, with domestic stature, provide incentives but risk of attempts ‘to game’ the system & tokenism

Cognitive internationalization II Good track record of international research collaboration in scientific and engineering fields, enhancing standards Policymakers and leaders of HE institutions do recognize the need to extend such gains from an international orientation throughout institutions While trying to address notoriously low undergraduate student mobility in the very fields Japanese researchers are strongest internationally