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This book presents a researcher’s work on reflective practice with a group of high school teachers of English in Japan. Beginning with a series of uncomfortable teacher training sessions delivered to unwilling participants, the book charts the author’s development of new methods of engaging her participants and making use of their own experiences and knowledge. Both an in-depth examination of reflective practice in the context of Japanese cultural conventions and a narrative account of the researcher’s reflexivity in her engagement with the study, the book introduces the concept of ‘the reflective continuum’ – a non-linear journey that mirrors the way reflection develops in unpredictable and individual ways.
This book is the first attempt to comprehensively introduce Japanese geopolitics. Europe’s role in disseminating knowledge globally to shape the world according to its standards is an unchallenged premise in world politics. In this story, Japan is regarded as an enthusiastic importer of the knowledge. The book challenges this ground by examining how European geopolitics, the theory of the modern state, traveled to Japan in the first half of the last century, and demonstrates that the same theory can invoke diverged imaginations of the world by examining a range of historical, political, and literary texts. Focusing on the transformation of power, knowledge, and subjectivity in time and space, Watanabe provides a detailed account to reconsider the formation of contemporary world order of the modern territorial states.
In an ever more globalized world, sustainable global development requires effective intercultural co-operations. This dialogue between non-western and western cultures is essential to identifying global solutions for global socio-political challenges. Modern Japanese Political Thought and International Relations critiques the formation of non-western International Relations by assessing Japanese political concepts to contemporary IR discourses since the Meji Restoration, to better understand knowledge exchanges in intercultural contexts. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of this dialogue, from international law and nationalism to concepts of peace and Daoism, this collection grapples with postcolonial questions of Japan’s indigenous IR theory.
"This book examines teacher reflection in three main areas: policies, practices and the impact of teacher reflection on teachers' practices and professional development. The chapters shed light on concerns and challenges experienced by teachers in diverse international contexts and institutions"--
This edited book has been compiled in honor of Thomas S.C. Farrell, one of the most distinguished scholars in theorizing and researching language teacher reflection. It examines teacher reflection in three main areas: policies, practices and the impact of teacher reflection on teachers’ practices and professional development. The data-driven chapters shed light on concerns and challenges experienced by teachers in diverse international contexts and institutions, and discuss the practical implications of their findings across a variety of policy settings. The book addresses aspects of reflective practice including macro and micro policies and constraints, as well as opportunities in the engagement of reflective practice. In addition, it explores teachers’ identity, cognition, emotion and motivation, areas which are relevant but often not discussed in the literature on reflective practice.
Cultivating Professional Development through Critical Friendship and Reflective Practice: Cases from Japan, edited by Adrianne Verla Uchida and Jennie Roloff Rothman, shows us an innovative bottom-up approach to professional development for educators. A critical friendship is where “two teachers come together willingly to explore facets of their development as decided by the friends” (Farrell, Foreword). These individuals might be colleagues, close friends or acquaintances who are an “invaluable, integral aspect of your personal growth as a professional” (Verla Uchida & Roloff-Rothman, Introduction). This volume enhances our knowledge of reflective practice and makes a valuable contr...
This book presents a series of empirical case studies illustrating many different ways of implementing the reflective practice cycle, and how they can be researched by practitioners and academics. This book explains a range of options for implementing the reflective practice cycle in educational settings in various international contexts. Written by international academics, these studies show how reflection can be interpreted in different cultural contexts. The book concludes with a discussion by Anne Burns of the implications of these case studies for action research.
Inspiring stories of 10 people who left urban Japan to live ‘the simple life’ in the rural mountains—for anyone interested in sustainable living, Japanese counterculture, and Eastern spirituality “Subversive in the best possible way.” —Bill McKibben, New York Times–bestselling author The Abundance of Less captures the texture of sustainable lives well lived in these ten profiles of ordinary—yet exceptional—men and women who left behind mainstream existences in urban Japan to live surrounded by the luxuries of nature, art, friends, delicious food, and an abundance of time. Drawing on traditional Eastern spiritual wisdom and culture, these pioneers describe the profound personal transformations they underwent as they escaped the stress, consumerism, busyness, and dependence on technology of modern life. This intimate and evocative book tells of their fulfilling lives as artists, philosophers, and farmers who rely on themselves for happiness and sustenance. By inviting readers to enter into the essence of these individuals’ days, Couturier shows us how we too can bring more meaning and richness to our own lives.
11 portraits from rural Japan to inspire choices in meaningful work, art, and sustainable living