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Well-being 2030 has become the latest rationale for the OECD's education work. This vision has given rise to new assessments of student well-being beginning with PISA 2015. The OECD, recognising the problems of PISA 2015, conceptualised a wider student well-being construct in PISA 2018, and attempted to measure 'students' feelings'. However, analyses of the OECD's affective turn reveal major problems remain. Our critique is empirically underpinned by an innovative analytical strategy: comparing PISA 2018 student questionnaire translations across different 'economies' that use the same written language (China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan). Our analyses confirm that the OECD imagines a cultural and context-free world, one in which translation and measurements are simply technical problems to be engineered, rather than deeper 'problems' of worldviews that require attunement. To encourage the OECD to recognise these differences in its future assessments, we offer starting points from recent research in cultural psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the sustainability imperative looms, mainstream educational research in the English-speaking world continues a long tradition of failing to see food as integral to education. Japan’s tradition of Shokuiku (food education) stands in stark contrast, providing an external reference point to direct critical attention on Anglo-American school food philosophies, policy, and practice. This article analyses Shokuiku, tracing the genealogy of Japan’s 2005 Basic Law on Shokuiku, a landmark education policy that shifted the 1954 School Lunch Act away from the scientific and nutritional discourses of the mid-20th century and back to Japan’s school food cultural traditions. While still teaching nutrition, Japan’s Shokuiku emerges as distinctive in its broader goals of interdependence, gratitude towards nature, emphasis on culture, and awareness of relations between production, consumption, and sustainability. From a pragmatic perspective, Shokuiku may offer new ways to combat rising obesity worldwide, lessen meat consumption, and reduce humanity’s unsustainable ecological footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The OECD's PISA exercise has by now been widely critiqued. Whilst we agree with most concerns, we begin with the assumption that PISA will remain an enduring and powerful feature of the global educational landscape. Even if the PISA test itself were discontinued, a similar large-scale quantitative assessment exercise would soon arise to take its place. As such, we focus herein on strategies for rearticulating ILSAs such as PISA: the creative use of data to shift the exercise away from dissemination of one dominant worldview towards the recognition of alternatives. To do this, we discuss the approach and findings from our recent papers, and then suggest future directions. Rather than mere accommodation, re-articulation underscores an approach to critique that is generative for theory and practice, one that extends of the horizon of possibility beyond culturally saturated notions of 'good' education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extending recent analyses using PISA data, the current study utilises the OECD's Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) to test the central claims of knowledge capital theory. PIAAC has a distinct advantage over PISA in that it more directly tests levels of purported 'knowledge capital' across an entire national workforce, rather than offering approximations based on the performance of 15-year-old students. Findings from our two original studies reported herein further refute the tight linkage between cognitive levels and GDP growth per capita envisaged by proponents of knowledge capital, most notably the OECD and World Bank. These results suggest that knowledge capital theory is now degenerate. If scholars are willing to extend this reporting of results refuting knowledge capital theory, this will likely accelerate the theory's loss of momentum in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational scholars, particularly those working in comparative education, have largely failed to recognise, let alone discuss, the impending finite-ness of global resources. The field continues to operate on an assumption of infinite resources, an implicit cultural horizon in place since at least the Western Enlightenment. It has missed the epochal shift that is now upon us; unable to contribute to the deep transformation of research and practices that has now become urgent. Herein we discuss how such concerns might be addressed, suggesting an approach that centres ontological alterity through comparative method as means of making the turn towards a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we examine the dominant image of East Asian schools as marked by a darker side of widespread bullying, leading to high rates of youth suicide. First outlining the substantial literature on bullying in the English language, we turn to show how – paradoxically – the rates of bullying and suicide are no higher, or in nearly all cases, lower than both Anglo-American systems (Australia, England, New Zealand, United States) and high PISA performers (Canada, Finland, Estonia). To explain this, we extend a constructivist approach proposed by sociologists of Japanese youth, suggesting that recurrent 'moral panics' such as bullying are determined, at least in part, by underlying differences in self-construal and views of how society functions. This analysis contributes to recent work that has challenged persistent stereotypes of East Asian education, those images blocking deeper engagement with the underlying differences in approach and philosophy these systems represent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing increasing critique that PISA focuses too narrowly on cognitive achievement and human/knowledge capital, the OECD has recently shifted some of its focus to student happiness. The 2017 Students' Well-Being report distinguishes between 'happy schools' and 'unhappy schools', showing that among students who combined high performance and life satisfaction, northern European countries topped the charts. Meanwhile, students in East Asian countries including Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea registered the lowest 'life satisfaction' scores among all participating countries. This piece points out some of the problems inherent in the OECD's recent turn to happiness, problematizing the OECD yardstick of life satisfaction. Attempting to keep the critique constructive, we suggest that the OECD may want to consider using alternative metrics, then briefly highlight one developed in East Asia from different first assumptions: the Interdependent Happiness Scale. In conclusion we flag, but cannot answer, some related educational questions concerning policy, pedagogy, and priorities for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Founded on several highly influential quantitative studies, the past decade has witnessed the OECD and World Bank increasingly converge on the view that cognitive levels of students and education quality, as proxied by international large-scale assessments (ILSAs), are the primary determinant of national economic growth worldwide. More recent OECD and World Bank pronouncements have further suggested these dynamics are clearly illustrated in East Asia's education and 'Economic Miracle', in particular the cases of South Korea and Singapore. Herein we utilise the OECD's own data to examine this new development narrative, finding little evidence in support of these claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asian dominance in international large-scale assessments is widely known. This is often explained as an outcome of highly competitive, exam-oriented education systems in East Asia, wherein students partake in a fierce competition for limited college entrance. Although achievement scores may be comparatively higher, the argument goes, the relative success comes at a steep price, with the emphasis on high-stakes tests heightening student stress and anxiety. In this paper we refute this persistent and out-dated stereotype by focusing on changes in Japanese education over the past several decades. The two original studies we report herein show that not only do Japanese students feel less school-related anxiety and stress than they once did, but these levels are now comparable to students in America, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In showing that stereotypes do not match empirical realities, we seek to open a richer discussion around East Asian student achievement. We conclude by extending the discussion to recent changes in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. We then raise the possibility that fundamentally different outlooks on the learning process explain both differences in achievement and the persistence of the West’s distorted images of Japanese and East Asian education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several recent, highly influential comparative studies have made strong statistical claims that improvements on global learning assessments such as PISA will lead to higher GDP growth rates. These claims have provided the primary source of legitimation for policy reforms championed by leading international organisations, most notably the World Bank and OECD. To date there have been several critiques but these have been too limited to challenge the validity of the claims. The consequence is continued utilisation and citation of these strong claims, resulting in a growing aura of scientific truth and concrete policy reforms. In this piece we report findings from two original studies that invalidate these statistical claims. Our intent is to contribute to a more rigorous global discussion on education policy, as well as call attention to the fact that the new global policy regime is founded on flawed statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There exists a significant incongruity between scientific knowledge and ordinary perceptions concerning the relation between forest and water (e.g. droughts and floods). Traditionally, forest hydrologists interpreted this incongruity using the deficit model, i.e. this incongruity is viewed as one that must be overcome through efforts to disseminate scientific knowledge more widely across society. However, one previous study suggested an alternative interpretation for the incongruity observed in Japan: the incongruity is induced by an enduring conflict between modern science and indigenous culture, one which purportedly promotes an “emotional” outlook to nature. This review attempts to clarify this alternative interpretation by utilizing a diverse range of disciplinary perspectives. We first clarify, using psychology and philosophy, that the “emotional” outlook of Japanese is rooted in a notion of self which is interdependent. Reviewing historical studies, we then find that the interdependent self was replaced by the notion of the independent self in the West in the Middle Ages. Since modern science was born out of this historical context in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, modern science assumes the same grammar of thought, i.e. begins with the notion of an independent self. We finally reveal that contemporary forest hydrology also has reproduced this grammar. We thus conclude that this difference in ontological grammar between contemporary forest hydrology and that of the ordinary public in Japan is a major cause for the incongruity between scientific knowledge and ordinary perceptions there. From this novel ontological perspective, we envision an alternative future of forest hydrology in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Previous studies have demonstrated a clear relationship between diameter at breast height (DBH) and tree transpiration ( Q) in multi-specific broadleaved forests. However, these studies were conducted with a limited range of tree sizes and species, and thus many multi-specific broadleaved forests fall outside these conditions. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between DBH and Q in a warm-temperate multi-specific broadleaved forest ( n = 12 species) with a wide range of tree sizes (5.0-70.0 cm DBH) using the Granier-type heat dissipation method. The results showed that, although sap flow density varied between individual trees and species, there was a significant relationship between log Q and log DBH ( r = 0.66, P < 0.001) because of the strong dependence of sapwood area on DBH. This study confirmed the applicability of the relationship for the stand transpiration ( E) estimates even in a multi-specific broadleaved forest with a wide variation in DBH. Our results also revealed that selecting the sample trees in descending order of DBH effectively reduced potential errors in E estimates for a specific sample size, as larger trees contribute more to E. This information should be useful for future studies investigating the transpiration of multi-specific broadleaved forests, reducing errors during the scaling-up procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stand transpiration ( E) estimated using the sap flux methods is affected by the azimuthal, radial, and tree-to-tree variations of sap flux. Although several studies have examined the relative importance of the three variations in estimating E, the seasonality of the three variations remains unknown. In the current study, we attempted to clarify whether the relative importance of these three variations could show seasonal changes. Using sap flux data measured in a subtropical cloud forest from August 2010 to July 2011, we calculated the differences resulting from omitting the three variations in estimating E. The effects of the three variations in estimating E showed seasonality. The azimuthal and tree-to-tree variations were more pronounced during winter, whereas the radial variation was more pronounced during summer. However, the effect of tree-to-tree variation was consistently much larger than the other two variations throughout the study period. The tree-to-tree variation is more important in estimating E monthly, seasonally and annually than both the azimuthal and radial variations, although all three variations have shown seasonality. In addition, the sensor allocation for summer would be acceptable for the practical estimation of E if aiming at the long time scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seeking to contribute to recent attempts to rethink the deepest foundations of the field, this paper offers news ways of contemplating time, specifically its relations to self, nihilism, and schooling. We briefly review how some leading Western thinkers have contemplated time before detailing Japanese scholars who have offered divergent, original, and arguably more sophisticated, theoretical accounts. We then illustrate these ideas by sketching how Japan ‘borrowed time’ following the abrupt political rupture of 1868, showing howLinear Timecame to be disseminated and diffused, largely through modern schooling. Last, we spotlight the nihilism that has arisen as consequence. Our primary aim is not empirical elaboration, however, but instead disclosure of a complex of relations that the field of comparative education has yet to discuss. We offer both the experience-cum-thought of Japan and this complex itself as reconstructive resources for the field which remains shallow in its parochial presumptions and unwillingness to engage ontologically. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Canopy transpiration ( E) varies among forest stands with different structures. To evaluate different E for Japanese cypress we observed E for 5 months, by use of the sap flow technique, in two adjacent stands of different ages with contrasting structures. Mean diameter at breast height was 13.5 and 44.6 cm and stem density was 2100 and 350 trees ha for the Sakuta and Hiwada plots, respectively. Mean E measured was 1.3 mm day for the Sakuta plot and 0.7 mm day for the Hiwada plot (or 53 % of that for the Sakuta plot). This difference between E was caused by differences between both mean stand sap flux density ( J) and stand sapwood area ( A): J for the Hiwada plot was 69 % of that for the Sakuta plot and A for the Hiwada plot was 75 % of that for the Sakuta plot. The difference between J was primarily caused by different reference J for given meteorological conditions, not by the different response of J to meteorological conditions. Previous studies of coniferous plantation forests in Japan reported that differences between E among stands with different structures were mainly caused by different A. This study revealed this is not always true, and that differences between J should also be considered when predicting differences between E among stands with different structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have revealed that the sapwood area at stand scale ( A) is an important factor determining changes in transpiration by canopy trees ( E). This study examined changes in A for four to six years after thinning of two Japanese cedar and two cypress plantation sites, each having three or four plots with different thinning intensities and one control plot. We focused on whether there was a difference in A (δ A) between a thinned plot and a control plot during the experimental period. We observed increased radial stem growth for plots with low stem density ( N) due to intensive thinning. However, δ A did not decrease to zero during the experimental period for any plot. The increased radial stem growth was not large enough to cancel the effect of low N due to thinning. These results imply that a lower E for thinned plantations as compared to non-thinned plantationsis remains for several years (more than 10 years, according to our results) after thinning and that thinning could be an effective method of reducing water consumption by canopy trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sap flow techniques are practical tools for estimating tree transpiration. Though many previous studies using sap flow techniques did not consider azimuthal variations of sap flux density ( F) on xylem trunk to estimate tree transpiration, a few studies reported that ignoring the azimuthal variations in F could cause large errors in tree transpiration estimates for some tree species. Therefore, examining azimuthal variations in F for major plantation tree species is critical for estimating tree transpiration. Using the thermal dissipation method, we examined azimuthal variations in F in six trees of Japanese cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa (Sieb. et Zucc.) Endl., which is one of the most common plantation tree species in Japan. We recorded considerable variations among F at four different azimuthal directions. The F value for one aspect was more than 100% larger than those for the other aspects. We calculated differences between tree transpiration estimates based on F for one to three azimuthal directions and those based on F for four aspects. The differences relative to tree transpiration estimates based on F for four aspects were typically 30, 20, and 10% in accordance with the F for one, two, and three measurement aspects, respectively. This finding indicates that ignoring azimuthal variations could cause large errors in tree transpiration estimates for Japanese cypress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, moso bamboo ( Phyllostachys pubescens) forest areas in Japan have rapidly expanded, and bamboo is now invading nearby natural or plantation forests. To date, only one study has examined the rainfall interception of a moso bamboo forest. In that study, it was reported that the interception ratio (interception/rainfall) of the bamboo forest did not exceed the interception ratios of other natural and plantation forests ( n = 4) in Japan. To expand the current state of knowledge about rainfall interception of bamboo forests, we measured throughfall and stemflow at another bamboo forest site. Annual rainfall ( Rf), throughfall ( Tf), and stemflow ( Sf) during the measurement period were 2,105, 1,556, and 322 mm, respectively. Annual rainfall interception at the plot ( I) was 228 mm. Tf/Rf, Sf/Rf, and I/Rf were 73.9, 15.3, 10.8%, respectively. I/Rf was less than 20% throughout the year except in October, the month with lowest rainfall. We also summarized rainfall interception data from 19 other natural and plantation forests. The I/Rf value of our site did not exceed the I/Rf values of these natural and plantation forests ( n = 19). Our data will be useful for assessing changes in water resources that result from replacement of natural or plantation forests by bamboo forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil CO2 levels reflect CO2 production and transport in soil and provide valuable information about soil CO2 dynamics. However, extracting information from soil CO2 profiles is often difficult because of the complexity of these profiles. In this study, we constructed a simple numerical model that simulated soil CO2 dynamics and performed sensitivity analyses for CO2 production rates, soil water content and temperature, and gas diffusivity at the soil surface to clarify the relationships among these parameters. Increased soil surface CO2 flux did not always coincide with higher soil CO2 concentrations; increased CO2 production at shallow depths had little effect on soil CO2 concentrations, while the opposite may be true for high levels of soil water content. Higher soil CO2 concentration did not always coincide with greater soil surface CO2 flux; under high soil water conditions, soil surface CO2 flux sometimes decreased despite increased soil CO2 concentration. Increases in soil water content did not always enhance both soil surface CO2 flux and soil CO2 concentration. Under high soil water conditions, increases in soil water content could lower soil surface CO2 flux and increase soil CO2 concentration. Increases in soil temperature resulted in greater soil surface CO2 flux and higher soil CO2 concentration in our simulation (extremely high temperatures were not assumed in this study). Gas diffusivity in very shallow layers did affect, albeit weakly, soil CO2 concentration. The findings of this study may help direct future observations and aid in the interpretation of their results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]