The use of ‘Ethos indicators’ in tertiary education in Japan

Abstract

Japanese universities’ total capacity to accommodate new entrants will reach 100% before 2009. Partly to attract students as ‘courted customers’ (Kitamura 1997, 147), and, with a growing trend towards university accountability and assessment to meet the needs of homogeneously skilled students with diverse study backgrounds, administration of Student Evaluation of Teaching surveys (SETs) has become mandatory. This is problematic, however, as the effects of different ‘dominant cultures’ (McKeachie 1997, 1221) may influence students’ attitudes towards evaluation. If ratings reflect how learners feel as well as the way they think (Kulik 2001; Kerridge & Mathews 1998), evaluation results may be influenced by the environment around them on the day of the administration. This questionable discriminant validity of SETs suggests the need to consider additional evaluative measures that address the potential effects of the school environment or ‘ethos’ or culture. This paper examines the dominant culture in a tertiary establishment in Western Japan through an adaptation of an ‘ethos indicators’ questionnaire (MacBeath & McGlynn 2002). Tentative suggestions are offered for how this tool could be adapted for use in tertiary education in Japan and beyond as a counterweight to SETs. Adding another perspective to evaluation is a way to understand the effectiveness of the learning environment for student learning.