Open universities

University of the Air, Japan has no entrance examination requirements and accepts students on a first-come-first-served basis

Japan's University of the Air daily transmits 18 hours of television and radio courses nationwide.

In Japan the 1997 University of the Air second semester enrollment was 66.730. of whom over 55% of were female (The University of the Air, 1997). The UAJ's highest achievers are 35-44 year-old female homemakers (Takahashi. 1997) and over 60% of the 10.495 1989-1997 Bachelor of Liberal Arts graduates were female. The UAJ also attracts a higher percentage of students of 60 years and over than any other open university in the world (Iwanaga. 1994). In a country where conventional university entrance is closed to adults, the University of the Air provides a unique educational opportunity for adult learners to improve their knowledge. qualifications and career prospects, re-orientate themselves intellectually, or simply enrich their lives (Takahashi & Iwanaga, 1998).

Culture

Sakamoto (1996) cites the 1995 Japan Federation of Employers' Association Report, University Education and Industry for the New Age, which concluded that the country' s graduates needed to have rich character and vision and be capable of original and creative thinking, identifying and resolving problems, adapting to globalization and providing leadership. Such expectations require assertive and autonomous learners and a curriculum and methods adapted to individual needs. However, as Sakamoto observes, in Asian societies, 'the word' - as for example in the Confucian Analects - has traditionally flowed from those whose authority came from their seniority, wisdom and knowledge to those whose role it was to accept, remember and act in accord with their teachings. The prime goal of Japanese education is to achieve an efficient and harmonious society. In Japanese classrooms, students are expected to be passive recipients of what is taught, not to stand out or challenge authority, especially the teacher. Sakamoto suggests that widespread acceptance of the teacher as 'guru' and the examination-directed curriculum run counter to the development of the attributes now sought in the students

Action research

Shukla (1995) observes that there is need for far more situational action research and analysis of experiences by administrators and academics alike to develop better understanding of the policies and procedures needed to attract, teach and graduate large numbers of dispersed and mixed-ability students. Much of the research expertise is currently vested in the major providers such as the University of the Air, working in cooperation with National Institute of Multimedia Education in Japan.

References

Iwanaga, M. (I 994). Elderly students learning through the University, of the Air system in
Japan. Educational Gerontology (2), 473482

Takahashi, K. & Iwanaga, M. (1998). The University of the Air as a vehicle of life-long and continuing education in Japan. In University for all: A decade of the University of the Air, Chiba City,: The University of the Air. Japan. 14-24.

The University of the Air 1997 (1997). The University of the Air, Chiba: Japan.