NEWS

The First Symposium at Osaka Kyoiku University International Center

The First Symposium at Osaka Kyouiku University International Center The Light and Shadow of the Bologna Process – Institutional Reforms of Teacher Training in Germany, Switzerland, and Japan was held on February 20th (Sat) at the Millennium Hall on Tennoji Campus. There were approximately 70 participants, both internal and external members of the university. Vice President Sumio Kuribayashi gave the keynote speech Reforms of higher education and teacher training system in Europe: pros and cons of their introduction in Asia, followed by the lectures given by four experts: Professor Eckart Liebau (University of Erlangen-Nürnberg); Ms. Gisela Meyer Stüssi (Instructor at Freies Gymnasium Bern and Freie Universität Berlin); Mr. Yutaka Kido (Special Researcher, Research and Legislative Reference Bureau of National Diet Library); and Professor Fukuyo Tomita (Kansai University of International Studies), regarding the influence of the Bologna process, a common scheme of European higher education, on the teacher training system. In the Q&A session, participants actively exchanged their views.This symposium provided a good opportunity to consider the relevance and effectiveness of implementing the European practices in Asia, especially in the East Asian cultural region, including Japan.