VIRTUAL EVENT: How has the perception of public good of higher education changed in post-war Japan

Few people link the public good with higher education issues in Japan.

One reason seems to be that private universities, which charge expensive tuition fees, outnumber the public sectors in Japan. This makes it difficult to perceive higher education as a public good which has the attributes of being non-rivalrous and non-excludable. 

But is it true that the vast majority of private universities has hindered the discussion of public good in higher education in post-war Japan?

In this talk, Kiyomi Horiuchi and Futao Huang will discuss a CGHE working paper which explores the public good of higher education in Japan. The working paper 56 is part of the CGHE’s larger study of the public good role of higher education in ten countries.

The paper argues that for a long time national universities were reluctant to acknowledge their social contribution. But in the last 15 years, the three key actors (government, industry and universities) have synchronised their approach to three key public functions of the higher education sector in Japan, in relation to knowledge creation, human resource development, and the social contribution. 

Speakers

• Kiyomi Horiuchi, Hiroshima Cosmopolitan University
• Futao Huang, Hiroshima University

Links

• Centre for Global Higher Education
• Department of Education, Practice and Society

Image: Abby Chung via Pexels