Event

Forging Educational Careers in Japan: Four Narratives from Tertiary Education

Saturday, October 31st, 2020, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Speaker: Panel discussion: Kathleen Brown, Kristie Collins, Jo Mynard, and Louise Ohashi

Online: The Zoom link will be posted on the Fukuoka JALT website ( https://fukuokajalt.org) the day before.

This presentation will begin at 18:30.

Preceding this, we will hold our Fukuoka JALT Annual General Meeting, starting at 18:00.

The four panelists introduce their experiences of building careers in tertiary education in Japan. Based on the narratives presented in the recently published volume, "Foreign Female English Teachers in Japanese Higher Education: Narratives from our Quarter (LIfe and Education in Japan)Foreign Female English Teachers in Japanese Higher Education" (Nagatomo, Brown & Cook, 2020), each panelist brings a different perspective to her own unique career path. This is followed by a lively interaction with audience members for discussion and a Q & A.

Panelist Topics: (in speaking order)

• Kathleen Brown provides background to the development of a book centered on women's experiences in working in higher education in Japan. She also introduces her work on women's leadership roles and challenges for these roles in Japanese universities.
• Jo Mynard talks about some turning points and 'aha' moments in her career in academic leadership. She introduces some tools that could be helpful for others who may also be navigating academic leadership in Japan. She also talks about how she became interested in academic publishing and about her decision to work with the editors to publish this recently released book.
• Kristie Collins shares her long and winding road to tenure, and considers how the categories of gender, age, and nationality work for or against non-Japanese and/or women seeking a permanent post in Japanese higher education. Drawing from narratives and statistical data of other foreign female academics in Japan, this talk explores to what extent these women are welcomed into Japanese universities, and considers what obstacles may be impeding their progress.
• Louise Ohashi reflects on her experiences within JALT and shares how she has balanced her volunteer work with her roles as a teacher, researcher, PhD student and mother. She also explains how she went from feeling out of place at her first JALT International Conference to leading the conference team, and offers advice for others who want to get involved in JALT.

Panelist Bios:
Kathleen Brown (EdD) is a Professor in the Institute of Foreign Language Education at Kurume University. Her research interests include needs assessment and program development as well as women's leadership roles in higher education.
Kristie Collins (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Foreign Studies at Reitaku University. Her research focuses on the media representation and lived experiences of single women in the US, Japan, and Canada.
Jo Mynard (EdD) is a Professor, Director of the Self Access Learning Center (SALC), and Director of the Research Institute for Learner Autonomy Education (RILAE) at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan. She is also the co-founder and Managing Director of Candlin & Mynard ePublishing.
?Louise Ohashi (PhD) is an Associate Professor at Meiji University. Her research interests include use of digital technology in language teaching/learning and learner autonomy. She is currently JALTCALL's publicity officer and JALT2020 Conference Co-chair.

Organization: Fukuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Fukuoka JALT)

Cost: free

Venue: Online: The Zoom link will be posted on the Fukuoka JALT website the day before

Location: Online, Online Events, Online Event

Contact Fukuoka JALT

Trevor Holster