The Beginning of the Project

 

-Please tell us about the beginning of your project.

As I conducted educational research in Africa, I questioned whether school education captured the knowledge creation of this society. While many African societies were traditionally oral cultures with well-developed methods of knowledge transmission that did not use writing, schooling was introduced with colonial rule. Therefore, the idea that “if you go to school, you can gain knowledge and use it to improve your life” is itself a foreign one.

Then, how do they acquire the knowledge and skills to survive in the field? When I talk to government officials who are interested in the capabilities of industrial human resources, they say, “There are many people who graduate from vocational courses at school but are unable to work. The challenge for our country is industrial development and economic development,” “The human resource development system for this purpose is not working well,” and “There is a mismatch between schools and workplaces.”…… These powerful words are used in every country. Still, it is difficult to talk about the reality of specific people and workplaces.

 

-Why don’t we have the reality of the actual field?

Each ministry and agency is vertically divided, and the information they collect is not connected. School statistics do not reveal the abilities of industrial human resources, labor statistics do not talk about knowledge, and economic and industrial statistics do not show how people’s abilities are related to productivity. These disconnects in information make it impossible to get a comprehensive and cross-sectional picture of the reality of people working and living in the actual world.

I thought we could help by unraveling these problems that governments, industry groups, and companies want to do something about and don’t know how to solve or where the problems lie. This would lead to new prospects for research.

 

-Where did you think the clue to the solution lay?

In analyses such as economics, “education” is used as an alternative variable to indicate a person’s knowledge and abilities. Statistically, the influence of the education variable is strong. Still, our intuition tells us that this does not necessarily mean that a person has a lot of knowledge or is competent. The influence of the education variable is still so strong because employers often use education as a screening tool when hiring people since they cannot know much about each job candidate. In other words, the influence of education is more substantial because employers and others use education as a criterion for selecting and evaluating people rather than ability itself.

To prove that education is not the same as an ability, however, we cannot prove that education and knowledge have different effects on employment unless we have data that measures the individual’s ability. Therefore, the first step in the SKY project was to measure abilities quantitatively. The first step in the SKY project was to develop a tool to measure skills.

 

 

-So, it was essential to start with “measuring.”

By measuring, elusive things like “ability” and “knowledge” become visible. It becomes a stepping stone, an ingredient to send a message that “if we do this, we will find a solution. It is no use setting big goals and talking about subjects if we cannot have concrete discussions. Therefore, communicating, based on data, that “in reality, workers here have such and such abilities, and this is the area where there is a mismatch with the expectations of employers,” maybe like providing a ring where stakeholders from various positions can come together to discuss solutions.

Because of the quantitative data, the governments of developing countries will be able to evaluate SKY. Charts and statistics have a solid appeal to practitioners. However, since we are a university-based research team, our goal is to provide services to governments and companies. At the same time as empirically studying the clinical situation of a particular field, we also hope to build theories from this that are more abstract and can be applied to other conditions.

 

-From what perspective are you thinking of theorizing?

I started with the collection and analysis of quantitative data because I wanted to create a form that would be convincing even if you only picked up the figures and tables in a short report. However, now that several years have passed since we started the project, I believe that we can continue to generate quantitative data and, at the same time, pursue the message of this project using other approaches and research methods. That is, whether from sociology, philosophy, or based on anthropological observations, we can deepen our study of “knowledge” and “ability.”

For example, if empirical research is to understand the abilities of people living in the world today in the context of a society that is changing day by day, then from the perspective of the sociology of education, we might ask the question, “Why do people regard school as the primary site of knowledge creation? From the perspective of developmental psychology, aspects such as, “What causes differences in people’s abilities (as opposed to their educational background)? These can be connected to philosophical questions such as “What does it mean to know?” and economic discussions about how knowledge leads to productivity and economic development.

 

-It’s a multidisciplinary project.

It started with an awareness that a lack of research took a multidimensional view of knowledge. As long as we share the core of “deconstructing knowledge,” it is better to use multiple methods. Whether it is a quantitative or philosophical approach is up to each project member.

 

Current Situation of the Project

 

-What are the results of the project so far?

We have developed a tool that allows us to quantify, consistently measure, and compare the relationship between the actual capabilities of industrial human resources and the expectations of employers.

Another significant achievement of the project was the publication of a book. Individual papers are essential to be evaluated in the academic world. Still, they do not convey the whole picture because they focus on a specific theme within a certain number of words. Even if you accumulate them, it takes time to be recognized as a SKY project. After a few years, when the message we wanted to say started to take shape as a consistent message, people gradually began to understand what the team was trying to do.

 

-What is the current stage of the project?

First of all, based on our research, we have an image of what we want to say or should be able to say, and we are working towards that image as we consider the path to get there. There is no established framework for analysis or methodology for doing such research in a new field, so although we can see the goal, we cannot trace the path created by predecessors to get there. In other words, there may be many ways to reach the goal, but we need to have the creativity to find them. Creativity is not unleashed by just coming up with ideas but also requires learning a lot of research recipes to know what ways are possible. It can be quite a challenging environment for young members.

On the other hand, from my side, as long as we work as a team, we need to share our goals and show our direction. Still, it is difficult to communicate with people what stage we are at and what we are trying to do until it takes the form of a paper or book to some extent. In the beginning, I was always worried about whether I would convince people to come on board ……. This may be a unique challenge of collaborative research in the humanities, where it is challenging to share goals.

 

-Is there anything you are conscious of in project management?

In the humanities, where individuals can research without expensive machines or large budgets, a research project involving multiple researchers is only possible if a sparkle effect makes people want to participate in it. I want to show them the possibility that they can come up with something interesting if they are involved or that there is something in the project that they cannot do alone.

I’ve always thought that research should be fun. Still, now that I’m working on this project while enjoying myself, I’ve come to believe that it’s better to wait for young people to take an active role here or that I shouldn’t tell them what to do. Since each person is a researcher, collaboration must be an extension of that person’s motivation. In that sense, the division of labor may be easier to see the whole picture. I’ll set the direction and take the responsibility, and each of you can have fun.

 

-Has your position changed?

When I started my research, I didn’t link what I wanted to collaborate in a horizontal relationship with researchers. Most of my research was done on my own, on airplanes, visiting sites, ……, but as time went by, I began to feel that if I wanted to conduct research that would have an impact on society, I needed to collaborate with people outside my field of expertise. As I climbed the stairs, the scenery I saw changed, and perhaps it was no longer something I had to deal with on my own. I want to share the fun of expanding what I can do, and I want people to share it with me. It was fortunate that energetic young researchers gathered there.

 

-The word “young” is impressive.

If we want to create a new research field, we need young people. They respond acutely to new and exciting things, and they are interested in experimental things. People who have already established themselves in some field may be less likely to dare to be adventurous. Their research time is much more limited than when they were younger. On the other hand, some young people who are in fields with established research methodologies and career paths think that they do not have time to deviate from their area of expertise to get a stable research job as soon as possible. In that sense, the people who are now working on SKY projects such as “Make Intellectual Pursuit Interesting” are the ones who are the most adventurous among the young and can venture into the unpredictable.

 

-Is there anything that you are conscious of in your relationship with young researchers?

Nurturing researchers is inseparably linked to the creation of research fields. Their energy and interest in the methodology are what activate our projects, so I want to provide a lot of opportunity and stimulation for them.

As young researchers, him/them must create the core of their research by him/themselves. If we look at it another way, a person who is a competent researcher may be selfish. In other words, they have a strong feeling that “this is the kind of message my research is going to send. Because they have such a strong desire, they try every possible method, make every effort, and give shape to what they have fumbled. Creating a field may also mean attracting such people with strong feelings without uniting them too much. This requires respect for each person’s identity as a researcher, their persistence, and the thought, “This is my opinion.”

 

-There seems to be a difference with student teaching as well.

As a university professor, I want my students to realize how interesting it is to look at things critically and think in their way. I want them to feel that they are in a university not because they need a degree to succeed, but rather because it is interesting to think for themselves like “it’s exciting to use the deepest part of your brain. isn’t it?” Nurturing researchers start from there, and I find the abilities that emerge from the students.

In some respects, SKY is the fruit of what started in student mentoring. For example, if we can get students who have the seeds of good research to participate in SKY as part-timers, and if they find it fun to join in SKY, other students will become interested.

 

The Future of the Project

 

-What do you plan to do next?

Having the empirical data was a breakthrough, and the next step is to develop a model case for data analysis. If we have a model, we can apply it, and people interested in the project will easily imagine that they can bring out their originality by doing this. If you follow the same pattern and apply parts of it or change the data, it will be easier to write a paper and have it replicated and spread. You can even have your dissertation thesis writ with SKY’s tools instead of having to build it from the beginning by yourself.

Not everyone has to be an adventurous and creative researcher to get a degree and pursue various careers.

We also want to make the measurement tools themselves easy to implement so that people will recognize that they are instrumental. I believe that people in different countries and regions should be able to use this tool.

 

 

-Is there any impact from the spread of COVID-19?

We have been developing manuals and applications to do this without having to go to the factory. If we can collect data remotely, we can do research even if we can’t visit.

There was a part of us that thought, “We have to go there ourselves. There was a culture throughout Japanese humanities and social sciences that emphasized putting oneself in the field and sharing one’s feelings with the people there. I used to feel my identity as a researcher in collecting data by myself. Still, when it became impossible to visit the field, I had to ask myself, “Then what is the originality of the research? COVID allowed me to reconsider the “first principles” that I could not question in the research world for a long time, and to think, “If I think about it calmly, what’s wrong with that?

 

-The data collection is also becoming more flexible.

If you answer a question on a tablet, it becomes data. The convenience and speed of data collection have also improved.

We are also working on sharing the collected data in an online system. Currently, we are working on sorting out the data so that new people can understand it. Even if we use the same data set, there are many ways to use the data depending on the variables, so I would like to proactively tell people outside the project that ” If you want to do analysis using SKY data, please feel free to do so.”

 

-Is it possible to join SKY from outside?

Yes, of course. New people bring something new to the team and expand our ideas. It’s essential for us to have different opinions from what we would have said in a conventional group.

It would be interesting to have a project that brings together people interested in data, conceptual research, practitioners, and others who share different perspectives on the theme of “knowledge” and “ability. Partial rather than total interest, experienced researchers and students are all welcome, as long as they are adventurous and creative.

 

-So participation is not limited to researchers?

Practitioners, for example, may not speak in a researcher’s way, or they may think they are just sharing their experiences. Still, from our point of view, they may contain essential elements. I think it is also necessary for the research team to grasp such aspects, and if they catch our antennas, we can map them and say, “This is the way you can relate to us.”

 

-What kind of person is SKY looking for?

We are looking for people who can enjoy discussions with various perspectives and appreciate the fun of different points of view. To think in terms of “that’s what happens when you look at it that way, and that’s how it looks like to me,” you need to have the analytical skills to understand the ideas behind other people’s ideas and the ability to understand people who think differently than you do. There is no clear framework for this, so it is good to have people who can think, “There are many areas where I can create possibilities,” while understanding what is being shared.

 

-So people can participate from their perspectives and interests.

I think it’s great that the core of the project is now easier to share. It becomes visible from the outside, and people think, “This is a project that engages in these things.” At the same time, there was a growing momentum among the team members to “send out messages to make it easier for various people to participate. They think, “We can’t do this alone” because the young people are also gaining abilities and have confidence and achievements.

 

-So, what are your plans for the project?

The work to theorize the results is gradually taking shape. We want to take the consistent message in our minds and put it out there as the team’s opinion through various outputs.

From here on, I would instead devote my energies to setting up the environment and creating a situation where the members can have fun, rather than me pulling the strings directly. The driving force behind the SKY project is “interesting.” The driving force behind the SKY project is “interesting,” and I hope that we can be a team that develops in a multifaceted way in the dynamism of our interests.