An inductive content analysis of international social welfare syllabi at national and public universities in Japan: Towards a glocal subject design

Figures & data

Table 1. Frequency of codes on the objectives and content of international social welfare subjects.

	Rank*	Code name	Frequency of schools	Frequency of codes
Objectives and goals^†	1	Problem-Solving and Practices	8	19
	2	Multiple Perspectives and Relativisation	8	13
	3	Social Security Systems and Policies	7	39
	4	Social Development Issues	7	33
	5	Globalisation and Global Views	7	28
	6	International Comparison	7	22
	7	Social Welfare in Japan	7	16
	8	Developing Countries	5	14
	9	Social Work (General)	5	13
	10	Active Learning	5	12
	11	Global Issues in the Local Context of Japan	5	7
	12	Developed and Western Countries	4	34
	13	Context, Background and Social Structure	4	10
	14	Multiculturalism	4	9
	15	Life-Related Issues	4	4
	16	Foreign Residents and Workers in Japan	3	6
	17	Research and Theory	2	8
	18	Implementing Body	2	6
	19	Socially Vulnerable Groups	2	3
	20	International Social Work	2	2
Content of each class^‡	1	Developed and Western Countries	8	50
	2	International Comparison^§	8	16
	3	Developing Countries	7	22
	4	International Social Work and Welfare	6	17
	5	Immigration, Refugees and Border Crossing	5	7
	6	Gender and Women’s Issues	5	6
	7	Foreign Residents in Japan	4	13
	8	Multicultural Symbiotic Societies (Tabunka-Kyosei-Shakai)	4	7
	9	Theory (Welfare State and Social Security)	4	5
	10	Poverty	3	7
	11	Children and Education	3	4
	12	Social and Community Development	2	7
	13	International Cooperation	2	4
	13	Development Implementation Body	2	4
	15	Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)	2	3
	16	Indigenous Practices	2	2

Codes that were included in more than two schools were extracted from the samples.

*Each code was ranked according to the frequency of the school concerned first and then according to the frequency of the codes in all relevant texts.

^†General words, such as ‘learn’ and ‘this subject’, were excluded in the coding process.

^‡General classes, such as ‘orientation’, ‘recap’ and ‘summary’, were excluded in the coding process.

^§This code includes the comparison with Japan.

Figure 1. Code co-occurrence model for objectives and goals of international social welfare subjects.

Note: This figure was generated using a code co-occurrence model (code-intersection) on MAXMaps (MAXQDA ver. 2022). The number in brackets after a code name indicates the frequency of each code in all documents. The line width reflects the frequency of co-occurrence; however, the positional relationship and distance in-between do not have meaning.

Figure 2. Code co-occurrence model for the class contents of international social welfare subjects.

Note: This figure was generated using a code co-occurrence model (code-intersection) on MAXMaps (MAXQDA ver. 2022). The number in brackets after a code name indicates the frequency of each code in all documents. The line width reflects the frequency of co-occurrence; however, the positional relationship and distance in-between have no meaning.

Table 2. Objectives and learning outcomes of a course on international welfare.

This course introduces the theory and practice of international social welfare and international social work in a changing and uncertain world. Although the broad term ‘international social welfare’ has multiple meanings in Japan, this course will focus on international social work practice, in developed and developing countries, while considering global and local issues and strategies. By the end of the unit, students will be able to confidently: (1) analyse and synthesise core debates in perspectives required for international social work considering the interaction between global and local issues, (2) critically discuss one or more examples of collaborative practice in international social work, (3) prepare a draft of a project plan for international social welfare by using the Project Design Matrix (PDM), (4) demonstrate critical understanding of the possibilities and challenges of social work in a global society through the study of perspectives and practice cases that can be applied to the domestic context.