An inductive content analysis of international social welfare syllabi at national and public universities in Japan: Towards a glocal subject design

ABSTRACT

To address global and local issues, the development of education on international social work and international social welfare is required in Japan. This study aims to identify the trends in and content of subjects related to international social welfare at national and public universities in Japan and use the findings to develop subject design. National, prefectural and other public universities that offered subjects related to international social welfare (n = 11) were selected for a syllabi analysis. The objectives and goals of each subject and the content of each planned class were coded through inductive content analysis by using qualitative data analysis software (MAXQDA). Common perspectives and topics were found despite the varying subject content. The findings concerning subject objectives and goals indicated that sample syllabi tended to include a multifaceted perspective and a view of relativisation. Based on the findings, we developed a subject design that includes a ‘glocal’ perspective on international social work.

KEYWORDS:

• International welfare
• international social work
• multiple perspectives
• SoTL
• qualitative data analysis

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to the academic staff of Aomori University of Health and Welfare for their advice and assistance with this study. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the university. The author would also like to express his sincere gratitude to Dr Tatsuru Akimoto of the Asian Research Institute for International Social Work, Shukutoku University, for sharing valuable information. Some content of this study was orally presented at the 56^th conference of the Japanese Association of Mental Health Social Workers held on 11 September 2021.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2022.2107194

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. The Kanji characters that denote ‘certified social workers’ (社会福祉士) consist of ‘social welfare’ (社会福祉) and ‘certified’ (士).

2. Akimoto (2004) also states the following: ‘(1) International Social Work is ... social work which is concerned with national boundaries … (2) International Social Work thinks of and acts for the well-being of all people on this earth … (3) International Social Work does not attach any special meaning or importance in value to any specific country or people. It requires not egocentrism and ethnocentrism but “compound eyes”. (4) Ignorance and innocence, including those of the history, will jeopardize international social work … ’ (p. 1).

3. As of the end of December 2021, approximately 260,000 people registered as certified social workers or Shakai-Fukushi-Shi (Social Welfare Promotion and National Examination Centre, Japan, 2021). The qualification requirements are complex; however, the most common way to obtain certification is to complete a set of designated courses (including placement field training) at a university and take the national examination (Matsuo, 2020; Social Welfare Promotion and National Examination Centre, Japan, 2021). The pass rate for the national examination, held once a year, is approximately 30%. Certified social workers, mental health social workers and certified care workers are often referred to as the three welfare qualifications in Japan.

4. Mori (1996) includes some descriptions about the early days of international social welfare education in Japan with reference to articles or reports of some researchers including Yoshihiro Ashikaga (1991), Yoko Kojima, Toru Furuse and Mariko Kimura. Additionally, Tatsuru Akimoto (1997), for example, discusses the concept of international social work critically.

5. In the JASWE's (2018) survey, international welfare (Kokusai-Fukushi) subjects are regarded as those that include any of the following three categories: (i) subjects focusing on welfare issues abroad; (ii) global welfare issues within Japan and (iii) cross-border welfare issues.

6. In Japan, it is common for the target year to be set for each course.

7. Some private universities, for example, have set up international social work courses in conjunction with overseas fieldwork (JASWE, 2018).

8. Moreover, as an introduction to the subject, we tried to set up a class on the theme of ‘Multicultural Life and International Social Work’ in the ‘Introduction to Social Welfare’ subject for first-year undergraduate students in 2021.

9. A critical discussion on the relationship between the Empire of Japan’s colonial policies and social work (or Shakai-Jigyou) in Asia before and during the Second World War would also be required (Mishima, 2016; Otomo, 2018).

10. This issue would not be limited to English. For instance, Akimoto (2010) critically discusses the controversial issues of dominant and official languages, including Japanese, used in international social work organisations.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP21K13477 and JP21KK0039.

Notes on contributors

Masateru Higashida

Masateru Higashida, PhD, has been a head researcher at the Asian Research Institute for International Social Work, Shukutoku University, as well as a part-time lecturer at Aomori University of Health and Welfare, since April 2022. He obtained a Master of Social Welfare degree from the Osaka Prefecture University, Japan, in 2005; a Master of Public Health degree in International Development with Distinction from the University of Sheffield, UK, in 2016; and a doctorate in Human Sciences from Osaka University in 2020. He has extensive practical experience in the disability sector in Japan, Sri Lanka and Mongolia for more than 10 years in total.