Since the “Project of Accepting 100,000 Students from Abroad” was proposed by the Japanese government in 1983, the number of international students in Japan has increased dramatically to reach ten times the level of 23 years ago. Yet, despite the enhanced opportunities for international and local Japanese students to interact, there is evidence that meaningful intercultural interactions between the two groups have not taken place consistently (Hicks, 1988; Jou & Fukuda, 1995; Tanaka, et al., 1997). The aim of this research was to develop a better understanding of the process of intercultural relational development between international and Japanese students in a Japanese context. More specifically, the research aimed to identify elements which facilitate or inhibit the two groups' intercultural relational development over a period of time, the nature of socio-emotional challenges that are experienced along the way, and how these are interpreted by students themselves. Several interpersonal relationship theories, cross-cultural communication theory, and research on cross-cultural and intercultural relational development were reviewed to form the conceptual background of the research. In combination, they contributed to provide a holistic approach to studying the complex dynamic, interactive and reciprocal nature of intercultural relational development. Using naturalistic inquiry at a single site over a period of nine months, an empirical study investigated the intercultural relational development taking place among a small number of Australian and Japanese students who lived at the International House of a private Japanese university. Research methods included four semi-structured interviews with each participant, the use of various stimulus materials, including critical incidents to elicit multiple interpretations, as well as the researcher's continuous field observations. The study revealed some of the factors that facilitated and alternatively inhibited social interactions between the two groups, at different stages of their relational development. Students' spontaneous accounts of critical incidents, combined with their subjective interpretations of the same incidents provided insight into the socio-emotional challenges experienced by students in the process of intercultural relational development. Whereas most students' accounts and interpretations could be related to cultural background and experience, there was also evidence that some strategies for developing intercultural relationships as well as some interpretations of socio-emotional challenges were related to gender rather than cultural background. Unexpectedly, the research also found that social drinking was perceived by many students, across the two groups, as a facilitating factor at the early stage of intercultural development. Overall, the empirical study revealed that Japanese students experienced more socio-emotional challenges than Australian students. Differences in sense of humor and in perceived appropriateness of introducing conversational topics of a private nature were given special attention as these appeared to present major socio-emotional challenges for Japanese students. Both cultural background and gender seemed to have an impact on students' interpretations of these challenges. The thesis concludes with some suggestions for future research and for how intercultural learning between international students and host nationals could be enhanced in the Japanese context. Finally, the study makes a unique methodological contribution to research related to international students, through the use of a longitudinal design, a focus on situated experiences and socio-emotional challenges, and more generally, through a reciprocal approach to the study of intercultural relational development in the context of the internationalisation of higher education.

Universities, facing both pressures and opportunities created by globalisation, are currently seeking a way to reinforce their capabilities by enhancing their academic strength through internationalisation. In such a setting, the development of international partnerships has been increasingly recognised as a central strategy for the success of internationalisation. Understanding the increasing importance of international partnerships for universities, this study will attempt to understand what could make a successful partnership and identify which management approach is most likely to realise a successful international partnership between universities. A successful international partnership in this thesis is assumed to be the one that is able to function smoothly and effectively towards achieving the goals set by the partnership. This thesis argues that the best management approach for successful international partnerships is a phase- and principle-based management approach. This approach enables a partnership to facilitate the essential ‘phases’ of development and sustainable growth by embedding some critical principles into its management practices to facilitate those essential ‘phases’. This study proposes there are three essential phases and three critical principles. The three essential phases are ‘building a partnership’, ‘consolidation and catalysing maturity’ and ‘maintaining a positive cycle between growth and consolidation’. The three critical principles are accountability, transparency, and learning capacity. While discussing a phase- and principle-based management approach, this thesis develops the premise that an international university partnership is an organic and dynamic phenomenon and the success of an international partnership is underpinned by entrepreneurial culture. This thesis involves case studies with multiple universities from Japan, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden, and Australia, engaging in different types of international partnerships. Through the case studies, this thesis explores whether existing universities consider the three phases and the three critical principles as important, and how they have developed and improved their management structures and processes to implement their international partnerships. To be more precise, two types of international university partnerships are studied, namely a partial and task-specific double degree programme (DDP) partnership between a Japanese university and its partners, which is an example of a standard management model, and a comprehensive and organised strategic alliance between multiple universities from different countries, which is an example of the best management model. Those two models are compared using the phase- and principle-based model as comparator criteria. International university partnership development in a Japanese context is another key theme. This thesis examines the state of international partnerships recently developed by Japanese universities. It makes a comparison of the current situation of Japanese universities using the best identified management model. At present, the most popular type of international partnership in Japanese higher education is that of a DDP, which is a basic and task-specific type of partnership. Many universities around the world are developing DDP partnerships. Such partnerships are therefore appropriate for a case study of a standard management approach. To examine the DDP partnerships developed by a Japanese university, this thesis focuses on the case of Kyushu University, Japan and its partners; the aim is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a basic and task-specific partnership model with respect to current and future circumstances. This thesis studies the strategic alliance between Monash University and the University of Warwick for the best management approach. The Monash Warwick Alliance is an advanced comprehensive partnership with diverse projects involving wide range of stakeholders including researchers, educators, students, administrators, and outside stakeholders. Considering its broad range of scope and stakeholders, it could embrace greater complexity in terms of management, thereby more mature and sophisticated management structures and processes could be required. Based upon understanding the essential features of the best management approach, this thesis attempts to figure out whether and how the limitations of a partial and task-specific DDP partnership, could be rectified and provide recommendations for universities in Japan to aid the further advancement of their international partnership projects and the overall internationalisation of universities. Possible improvements suggest that their management structure should possess the capability to steer and coordinate a partnership by developing accountable management structures and implementing effective communication and information strategies, developing a vigorous system of quality and performance review, creating a mechanism to institutionalise learning, and integrating expertise in the management structures and processes.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第22102号 / 地環博第188号 / 新制||地環||37(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎地球環境学専攻 / (主査)准教授 SINGER JANE, 教授 佐野 亘, 講師 BAARS ROGER CLOUD / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Global Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

The purpose of this study was to determine which types of student application information, as well as demographic information obtained through a questionnaire after matriculation, best predicted later academic performance in an international English-medium university in Japan, and to examine the "big picture" of how cognitive and non-cognitive variables interact over time in accounting for student success in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program and in the regular university program. The study was divided into three parts that separately examined student application information, university entrance examinations, and the larger picture of student success. In the first part of the study, a hierarchical multiple regression was employed to determine the extent to which a variety of variables derived from application information predicted grade point average (GPA) in the EAP program, as well as first-year GPA and final GPA in the regular university program. The independent variables examined in the main regression analysis were: high school grade point average (HSGPA); ITP TOEFL scores obtained in April of the students' first year at the university; and hensachi rankings of the students' high schools. Results indicated that HSGPA was a consistently significant predictor of all levels of university GPA. ITP TOEFL scores significantly predicted EAP GPA, and <italic>hensachi / CITE/Language Arts