2017 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Investigating the employment of international students as teaching assistants for the purposes of university internationalization
| Project/Area Number |
17K13502
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
ハズウェル クリストファー 九州大学, 言語文化研究院, 准教授 (90536088)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
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| Keywords | Teaching assistants |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The first stage of the plan has been completed, with 30 TAs, 14 teachers, and 3 program coordinators interviewed. These interviews have been transcribed and analysed using the MaxQDA software. Findings from this first stage and a review of the methodology and analytical methodology was presented at the ALLT Conference in Dubai in March 2018. This presentation preparation helped to focus my efforts for the coming year, because the recruitment of future comparison sites will require an effective and professional presentation.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
At first, there was a delay in recruiting interviewees for the project, but this was overcome with assistance from the teachers at Ritsumeikan APU. The first stage was completed on time and so I was able to progress to the next stage in Year Two, which was always my plan.
Unfortunately, it has proven difficult to recruit interviewees from other universities. Despite some interest from a professor at Fukuoka University and two TAs from Nanzan University, there has been little forward momentum past the initial contact.
To improve the progress of project from now, I intend to give two research presentations in Tokyo in May and June of this year to publicize the project more widely and, hopefully, spur interest from other researchers in the field.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The project stands ready to proceed to stage 2 at Kyushu University and Ritsumeikan APU, with a further round of interviews focusing on the positives, problems, and recommendations raised in stage 1. These recommendations include improved communication between the program stakeholders, so the plan is to investigate how this can be achieved.
The continually updated findings will also be presented at two conferences in early AY2018 with the intent to more widely publicize and add comparison sites to the project. These comparison sites can then progress through the first and second stages though AY2018 into AY2019. My hope is to add at least one more university to the project, although more would be preferable.
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