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Naoshi Kira

    Department of Education　Professor
    Course of Education　Professor
Last Updated :2025/04/19

Researcher Information

Research funding number

  • 80327155

J-Global ID

Research Interests

  • comparative and international education   John Dewey   alternative education   philosophy and practice of democratic schooling   education reform   comparative education   teaching assistants (TAs)   Preparing Future Faculty (PFF)   アカウンタビリティ   the United States   Standards-based Reform   federal education policy   

Research Areas

  • Humanities & social sciences / Education - general

Academic & Professional Experience

  • 2016/04 - Today  Toyo University, TokyoDept. of Education, Faculty of LettersProfessor
  • 2024/04 - 2024/09  Sophia UniversityFaculty of Human Sciences / Department of EducationPart-time Lecturer
  • 2021/04 - 2023/03  Gakushuin Women's CollegeFaculty of Intercultural Studies Gakushuin Women's College Department of Intercultural CommunicationPart-time Lecturer
  • 2020/09 - 2021/03  The University of TokyoGraduate School of EducationPart-time Lecturer
  • 2014/04 - 2016/03  The University of TokyoFaculty of EducationPart-time Lecturer
  • 2006/04 - 2016/03  Japan Professional School of EducationProfessional Program of School EducationProfessor
  • 2003/04 - 2016/03  Jiyu Gakuen最高学部Part-time Lecturer
  • 2009/09 - 2010/03  International Christian UniversityFaculty of Arts and SciencesPart-time Lecturer
  • 2007/08 - 2007/11  Nagoya UniversityCenter for the Studies of Higher EducationVisiting Research Fellow
  • 2000/04 - 2006/03  Shukutoku UniversityFaculty of International CommunicationAssociate Professor
  • 2003/07 - 2003/09  Nagoya UniversityGraduate School of International DevelopmentVisiting Research Fellow
  • 1998/09 - 1999/06  Harvard UniversityGraduate School of EducationLecturer
  • 1992/09 - 1994/08  The World BankEA3PHEducation Consultant

Education

  • 1994/09 - 1999/06  Harvard University  Graduate School of Education (HGSE)  Doctoral Program in International Education / Administration, Planning, and Social Policy

Association Memberships

  • John Dewey Society of Japan   Comparative and International Education Society   JAPANESE EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATION   JAPAN COMPARATIVE EDUCATION SOCIETY   THE JAPANESE SOCIETY FOR THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION   THE JAPAN EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION SOCIETY   LIBERAL AND GENERAL EDUCATION SOCIETY OF JAPAN   アメリカ教育史研究会   

Published Papers

Books etc

Conference Activities & Talks

MISC

Research Grants & Projects

  • 日本学術振興会：科学研究費助成事業
    Date (from‐to) : 2023/04 -2027/03 
    Author : 間篠 剛留; 長嶺 宏作; 佐藤 仁; 原 圭寛; 岸本 智典; 吉良 直; 石嶺 ちづる; 古田 雄一; 宮口 誠矢
  • 文部科学省：科学研究費補助金(基盤研究(B))
    Date (from‐to) : 2018/04 -2022/03 
    Author : 栗田 佳代子
  • 文部科学省：科学研究費補助金(基盤研究(A))
    Date (from‐to) : 2014/04 -2016/03 
    Author : 大桃 敏行
     
    日本を含めて多くの国で多様化や競争、成果に対するアカウンタビリティを重視するガバナンス改革が行われてきた。また同時に、単なる知識や技能の習得からそれらを活用する力や課題解決力、コミュニケーション能力などの育成に向けた教育の質の転換の必要性に関する議論が展開されてきた。本研究の目的はガバナンス改革と教育の質保証との関係を検討しようとするものであり、成果志向の改革では、広い能力概念に基づく教育において評価がどこまでまたどのように用いられるのかが重要な課題となってきていることなどを示した。
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research
    Date (from‐to) : 2014 -2016 
    Author : Kira Naoshi
     
    The main purposes of this study were to examine preparing future faculty (PFF) initiatives that have been implemented in a variety of forms at research universities in the U.S since the 1990s and to learn some lessons for Japan. This study found through visits of the Council of Graduate Schools and a few research universities that the new PFF program to assist graduate students aspiring to be professors to develop skills to assess student learning was developed in response to an emphasis in the higher education circle on visualizing learning outcomes, implementing objective-driven curriculum, etc. Moreover, the study also found the prevalence of assistance for graduate students to develop their teaching portfolios and statements through a questionnaire survey, which suggests that research universities in Japan may also need to assist graduate students to develop at least their teaching statements as they are often required in the academic job market now.
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(C))
    Date (from‐to) : 2011 -2013 
    Author : Toshiyuki OMOMO; Naoshi KIRA
     
    The purpose of this study is to clarify the process of contentions of different political ideas in relation to governance reforms in federal education policies since the 1960s. Some research results are as follows: 1) among antagonisms between liberals and conservatives, moderates promoted standard-based governance reforms, 2) the idea of guaranteeing equality of education has been inherited as a policy goal through the reauthorizations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and 3) therefore, the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, which demanded strict accountability for results, was supported even by civil rights groups.
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(C))
    Date (from‐to) : 2011 -2013 
    Author : Naoshi KIRA; Akio KITANO
     
    The main purpose of this study was to clarify the formation processes and current conditions of developmental functions for young educators aspiring to be professors at research universities in the U.S. This study found that developmental paths consisted of the initial training for new TAs, mentoring of new TAs by veteran TAs, and preparing future faculty programs, and clarified the processes through which TA development, merely focused on TA training, was transformed into a more comprehensive function, called "graduate student professional development"(GPSD).These developmental paths with increasing responsibilities may need to be developed as well in Japan, where TAs are not substantially utilized, and professional development for graduate students aspiring to be professors is confined to the third stage above and is called "pre-faculty development."
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(B))
    Date (from‐to) : 2009 -2012 
    Author : Akio KITANO; Kousaku NAGAMINE; Hidemasa ISHI; Satoshi TAKAHASHI; Naoshi KIRA; Taketoshi GOTOU; Toshiyuki OOMOMO
     
    The purpose of this research is to analyze the actual conditions of the education reform centering on the testing policy currently implemented in the United States. Keywords are "standard," "accountability," and "assessment." In this research, the actual conditions of the education reform based on the testing policy at the federal, state, and local levels were analyzed from diverse and structural perspectives.The results of the research over the past three years were presented at 3 roundtables at annual meetings of the Japanese Educational Research Association. The contents of the roundtable presentations were (1) the Analysis of the No Child Left Behind(NCLB) Act, (2) the NCLB Act and the Teacher Policy, (3) Theories and the Actual Conditions of the "Grass-roots," Alternative Education Reform in Opposition to the NCLB Act.Overseas research trips were also carried out. In those trips, testing policy in states such as Washington, California, Massachusetts, Texas, etc. were researched in detail. The trend of the testing policy of the United States was presented at the annual meeting of the Japan Comparative Education Society in 2011(Waseda University).Moreover, the results of the research over the past three years were published in the following books : (1) Kitano, Akio 2009 The Development of the Educational Assessment Administration in the United States Today(Toshindo); (2) Kitano, Akio 2011 Japan-U. S. Testing Strategies(Kazama Shobou); (3) Ishii, Hidemasa 2011 Development of Theories on Educational Objectives and Assessment in the United States(Toshindo), etc.
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(C))
    Date (from‐to) : 2007 -2009 
    Author : Naoshi KIRA; 北野 秋男; Akio KITANO; Akio KITANO
     
    The purpose of this study is to clarify the current conditions and future challenges of teaching assistant (TA) systems and TA training systems in universities in the United States, as they were modeled after in Japan when introduced in 1994. In this study, the researchers closely examined the current conditions at major universities in the Midwest and clarified the differences between campus-wide programs and departmental programs and the differences across disciplines in TA training, while finding a well-established, consistent system for developing graduate students' teaching abilities. The researchers presented the findings at conferences in Japan and the U.S., and published several articles in academic journals in Japan.
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(C))
    Date (from‐to) : 2006 -2008 
    Author : Akio KITANO; 吉良 直; Kousaku NAGAMINE; Hidetoshi ISHI; Toshimitsu TABE; Takahiro ENDOU; Yuki KURODA; Takeshi SHINOHARA; Katura SAITOU; Demura DEMURA; Ryouta NAKAJIMA
     
    本研究は、現在のアメリカ教育改革の実態を構造的に解明することを目的とするが、とりわけ米国北東部のマサチューセッツ州におけるテスト政策と教育アセスメント行政の構造解明を実証的に解明することである。研究成果は、過去3年間の研究成果を(1) 研究会活動、(2) 学会活動、(3) 研究論文に区分し、その研究実績内容を記載する。この研究成果は、これまで日米両国において未着手であったテスト政策に基づく教育アセスメント行政の実態解明を州や学区の実情に基づきながら、その具体的な政策内容を詳細に検証し、その政策内容と各学区・学校における教育実態を総合的・構造的に解明したものである。
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology：Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research(基盤研究(C))
    Date (from‐to) : 2004 -2006 
    Author : Naoshi KIRA; Akio KITANO
     
    The purpose of this research study was to investigate the actual conditions and problems of teaching assistant (TA) systems, as well as systems of training and development for TAs in universities in the United States, which became the basis for those introduced in Japanese universities. To this end, the three researchers visited five universities in the northeast and three universities in the west, and interviewed TAs and staff of the center for teaching and learning at each university, along with some professors. The researchers presented major findings of the research at national education conferences in 2004,2005,and 2006.In terms of TA systems, this study found that, although TAs had far more substantial responsibilities, such as teaching sessions and labs by themselves than the Japanese counterparts, and made great contributions to the improvement of undergraduate education, there were still many TAs who taught without sufficient training. This study revealed that the TA systems and training programs for TAs were quite different in different universities, and that differences existed between natural science majors and humanities and social science majors in terms of job descriptions, the degrees of financial reliance on TA positions, the amount of stipend, etc. Therefore, this study attempted to make an analytical framework to compare and contrast different TA training systems employed by the centers of teaching and learning and departments in different universities. Further research is needed to complete the analytical framework, as well as to investigate on preparing future faculty programs, unionization of TAs, etc., which are to be conducted during the next 3-year phase of this study.

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