In a bid to encourage young students to study abroad, the Japan Association of Overseas Studies has produced a guidebook for high school teachers.
The book, entitled Guiding High School Students to Study Abroad, will guide teachers on how to provide the right advice to students who might want to travel overseas.
“It gives not only basic knowledge on study abroad but also practical know-how for study abroad counselling”
It covers practical information on the types of study abroad, as well as funding and scholarships available and how academic credit obtained overseas will contribute to students’ existing study programmes.
It also includes country-by-country profile of what study abroad is like in major study destinations.
In addition, the book tackles the benefits of study abroad, equipping teachers with tools to use during study abroad counselling such as a list of personal strengths developed during study abroad experiences.
It is the first book of its kind to be produced, according to Tatsu Hoshino, executive secretary of JAOS.
“It will definitely be a great tool for teachers,” Hoshino told The PIE News, explaining that “more and more high school students and their parents show interest for studying abroad”.
“It gives not only basic knowledge on study abroad but also practical know-how for study abroad counselling,” he added. “Teachers need both study abroad basic knowledge and counselling know-how.”
The book has been published in response to this rising interest in study abroad, as well as the recent government push to increase outbound student mobility, JAOS said.
In 2013 Prime Minister Abe made international education a cornerstone of his flagship Abeduction plan, which includes a target to double the number of Japanese students studying abroad to 120,000 by 2020.
As a result, a number of initiatives in recent years have been introduced to encourage outbound movement, including an agreement establishing mutual recognition of academic qualifications signed with Australia last week and a new study abroad website launched by the Japan Student Services Organisation earlier this year.
