What is the initiative and where is it implemented (city or country, for example)?
The COVID–19 pandemic put a severe strain on the Japanese education system. School and university teachers had to move their pedagogical activities online full-time. Conducting classes digitally is not standard in Japan and put a lot of pressure on teachers used to classic traditional methods of pedagogy. However, the following case study highlights several efforts that proved to be effective and raises questions and concerns about the future of classic higher education in the post-pandemic era.
How was the initiative established? How was it implemented?
Efforts to combat viral spread bore national characteristics; the regulations and restrictions were implemented according to governmental decrees. Universities had little to no independence or flexibility implementing the transition to digital learning; however, the government provided substantial support to smooth the transition (Yamada and Nakamura, 2021).
Which stakeholders are involved in the design and/or implementation of the initiative? Which sectors do they represent?
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology led the governmental response to the pandemic. Government officials implemented regular lockdowns and provided financial support to struggling businesses and individuals to ease the negative impact of the crisis. Private higher education institutions had certain flexibility in implementing governmental measures; nevertheless, the response to the pandemic was mainly uniform.
What are the impacts of the initiative in terms of facilitating lifelong learning? Who does it benefit and how?
Only a few times in Japanese history has it been necessary to implement institutional and educational reforms. Yamada and Nakamura (2021) maintain that the coronavirus crisis will open up opportunities to implement significant structural changes and leverage the disruption of the pandemic.
The Crisis Leveraged Actions for Revitalization (CLEAR) project is one of the initiatives implemented with the aim mentioned above. It was introduced on Tokai university campuses to improve learning conditions offline and online.
The government offered a one-time stipend to support struggling students financially in improving their learning-from-home conditions. The health promotion department provided online counselling.
A new LMS server was installed to allow a large number of students to log in simultaneously. Additional electronic resources and online databases ensured effortless access to resources supporting individual learning.
As of June 2020, most classes are now provided online or as a blend of online and in-person instruction. According to the Ministry data, only 10 per cent of classes are provided entirely in-person. In comparison, Tokai University offers all classes online to accommodate a large number of international students who have been denied entry into Japan due to travel restrictions, as well as for Japanese students staying off-campus.
To accommodate digital learning needs, the Ministry of Education removed the cap on the maximum number of credits that can be earned through online classes, allowing students to graduate in a timely manner despite the pandemic. Removing restrictions that no longer apply to current conditions has been one of the most effective practices to support student learning during the crisis. Tokai campuses also improved conditions by restricting smoking across the university.
Despite treating the pandemic as a necessary push to create room for improvement and implement essential educational and institutional reforms, the authors of the article share their concern about the future and value of the higher education institutions. The complete digitalization of education might lead to higher education institutions' devaluation due to the uniformity of instruction offered. Class content and pedagogical knowledge should be updated to accommodate the growing needs of personalization and student-centeredness (Yamada and Nakamura, 2021).
References
Yamada, K. and Nakamura, K. 2021. Leveraging the COVID-19 crisis to advance global sustainable universities: re-creation of valuable higher education. In: Bergan, S. et al. eds. Higher education's response to the Covid-19 pandemic - Building a more sustainable and democratic future. s.l., Council of Europe, p. 173–180.