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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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)

14. Challenges II
Effective curricula & teaching (ranked 58th by IMD in relevance to future careers – followed by South Korea & Indonesia – in a 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

15. 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

16. 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