The purpose of the Japanese Educational Research Association is to “advance and promote educational research -- through the presentation of its theory and application, exchange of knowledge, and collaboration with relevant associations, both at home and abroad -- and thus contribute to the development of our nation’s academia” (see the Regulations and Rules of Operation). Founded in 1941, the Association now has some 2800 individual members as one of the leading Japanese research associations with a focus on research areas involving educational studies.
As well as holding a yearly conference every August, the Association publishes a Japanese journal (Kyoikugaku Kenkyu) quarterly and an English journal (Educational Studies in Japan) yearly. Various symposia, research gatherings, and seminars for young researchers are also held frequently, along with research activities and meetings focused within seven geographical sectors of Japan, in order to work toward the further development of educational studies research in this country. Last year, a new term began with the re-election of board members in August 2023, and based on the achievements of the previous term (August 2021 to August 2023), we are trying to develop our activities from the following four points.
The first is to create an association that members want to join, and to expand the range of researchers who can play a leading role in pedagogy. The number of members of our association fell below the 3,000 mark in 2012, and in recent years has even fallen to the 2,700 range, which has been a factor putting pressure on the association's finances. In order to respond to this situation, we are working on reforming academic journals with the aim of increasing the paper acceptance rate and thereby creating a virtuous cycle of knowledge. Additionally, the Research Promotion Committee and Public Relations Committee have worked together to promote video distribution of online roundtable discussions, which have become popular during the covid-19 pandemic, in an effort to improve accessibility to research. By further promoting these initiatives, we hope to encourage more and more people to take an interest in our association and find it interesting.
The second is to improve work efficiency and convenience through the introduction of the system. In the previous term, we moved the membership management system and the journal editorial and peer review system online. This term, based on these achievements, we would like to further improve the efficiency of the association's operations and at the same time improve convenience for all members.
Third, by having high school and undergraduate students participate in academic conferences, we hope to bring new perspectives to academy and lead to innovation in knowledge. Last term, the Public Relations Committee took the initiative in realizing a project in which undergraduate students participated, and it was very well received. This term, we hope to expand this framework to include high school students as well, so that high school students and undergraduate students can participate in academic activities. We would like to build the foundation that will enable them to participate in our association.
Fourth, we will further strengthen the internationalization of academic activities. Our association has already been working to create a forum for international collaboration, such as by holding the annual meeting of the World Educational Research Association (WERA) in Tokyo in parallel with the JERA conference in 2019. We will further strengthen these activities and actively pursue the international expansion of educational research in collaboration with the ESJ editorial, international exchange committee, and research promotion committee. We would also like to increase the opportunities for our members to access such activities.
Now in the world, there are trends that threaten democracy at home and abroad, including wars in Ukraine and Palestine, and how we should academically confront them is being seriously questioned. In light of this situation, for example, in 2022, the International Exchange Committee took the lead in publishing War and Education in the Light of the Ukraine Crisis. We would like to continue to actively promote activities as an academic association while reflecting diverse opinions.
We will continue to strive to make our association an even more meaningful place for our members. We sincerely hope that many people will participate in this association and be involved in deepening and revitalizing educational research.
January 31, 2024
The record of the Presidential Symposium of Educational Research Associations in East Asia on Education Reform in East Asia: Prospects for International Linkage among Educational Research Associations has been published. The symposium, hosted by President Teruyuki Hirota of JERA, was held at the 78th Annual JERA Conference in 2019, featuring the presidents of educational research associations in China and Korea as speakers. The record, available in three languages (Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) is downloadable from the following URL.
-Japanese (PDF)
-Korean (PDF)
-Chinese (PDF)
Our English journal, Educational Studies in Japan (ESJ) welcomes manuscripts related to the topics of particular special issues,
as well as general submissions in all fi elds and disciplines of educational research.
For details, please refer to the following URL:
ESJ Manuscript Submission (PDF)
Call for Papers (ESJ No.19) (PDF)
Submission deadline: August 31, 2024
For details, please refer to the following page: A Joint Statement to Protect the Independence of the Science Council of Japan
For details, please refer to the following page: Webinar series on “Pandemic and Education”
WERA Focal Meeting 2023, Singapore: 22-24 November 2023
For details, please refer to the following URL:
https://2023eraswera.dryfta.com/
Submissions for the Call must be completed by:
First submission round deadline: 15 March 2023; 23:59 Singapore (GMT+8) [Notifications by 30 May 2023]
Final submission round deadline: 28 July 2023; 23:59 Singapore (GMT+8) [Notifications by 1 September 2023]
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