Faculty
Nobuhide SAWAMURA (Professor)
Education is recognized as one of the most important pillars in development. I have carried out research on a wide range of educational issues in developing countries. My recent research interests are in the multiple realities in primary schooling in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Kenya.
- Research Keywords:
- comparative and international education, international development, Africa
- Career:
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My first exposure to Africa was in 1982-84, as a secondary school science teacher of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers in Malawi. I then worked for Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for more than 11 years, obtaining M.Phil. from the University of Edinburgh and a Ph.D. from Osaka University. My academic career started at the Center for the Study of International Cooperation in Education (CICE) at Hiroshima University in 1997. I have been a Professor of International Development and Education at Osaka University since 2009.
- Publications:
- Challenges of Quality Education in Sub-Saharan African Countries (co-authored). Nova Science Publishers, 2010.
- Education of Children Facing Difficult Circumstances in Developing Countries: Insights from Field Studies on Refugees, Disabilities and Poverty (edited, original in Japanese), Akashi-shoten, 2019.
- “Universal Primary Education in Africa: Facets and Meanings.” In The Palgrave Handbook of African Education and Indigenous Knowledge, edited by J. Abidogun & T. Falola, 637-655, Palgrave, 2020.
Water is inevitable for life, as is sanitation and hygiene. Understanding those issues within a social context is my research focus. I also do research on menstrual management (MHM) and school health as well.
- Research Keywords:
- development anthropology, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), menstruation, international development, African studies
- Career:
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Worked for JICA (Social development dept. and Kenya Office). Received M.A. in Anthropology from University of Florida. Also got the Certificate of Public Health & Tropical Diseases at Johns Hopkins University. Acquired Ph.D. in Anthropology from University of Florida. Worked as American Redcross volunteer, WSP（Water & Sanitation Program) consultant、JICA visiting senior advisor, and a faculty member at Toyo University before taking a position at Osaka University.
- Publications:
- For the learners of International Cooperation. Kyoto: Sekaishioso-sha. 2024. (in Japanese)
- Anthropology of Menstruation: “Periods” of female students and development assistance. Kyoto: Sekaishioso-sha. 2022. (in Japanese)
- “Gender and Culture Matters: Considerations for Menstrual Hygiene Management.” In Yamauchi, T., Nakao, S., Harada, H. (eds) The Sanitation Triangle. Global Environmental Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7711-3_5
- “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Japanese Elementary Schools: Current conditions and practices.” Pediatrics International, 64(1): e15062
- “Increasing Quantity of Water: Perspectives from rural households in Uganda.” Water Policy, 8: 529-537, 2006.
Based on sociology of education and comparative education as academic disciplines, I am conducting studies on ‘living together society’ and education (especially school education) in the era of globalisation.
- Research Keywords:
- Theory of living together society, Theory of education for living together, School education in the Republic of South Africa, Education regarding people who are related to foreign countries in Japan, School teacher preparation and training
- Career:
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Graduate from Doctoral Program in Human Care Science, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba in 2016 (PhD in Pedagogy). Started working at the current position since April 2024 after working as a lecturer at Graduate School of Education, Hyogo University of Teacher Education, as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) research fellow (DC1), etc.
- Publications:
- Kyoseishakai to Kyoiku: Minami Africa Kyowakoku no Gakko ni okeru Torikumi ga shimesu Kanousei (‘Living Together Society’ and Education: The Possibilities Shown by Practices at Schools in the Republic of South Africa) (single author), Shumpusha Publishing, 2021 (in Japanese)
- SDGs Jidai ni Miru Kyoiku no Fuhenka to Kakusa: Kakkoku no Jirei to Kokusai Hikaku kara Yomitoku (Educational Universalization and Inequalities in the Era of SDGs: Country Case Studies and International Comparisons) (co-author), Akashi Publishing Company, 2023 (in Japanese)
- Shinjidai no Sports Kyoikugaku: Neo Sport Pedagogy and Andragogy (Sport Pedagogy in the New Era: Neo Sport Pedagogy and Andragogy) (co-author), Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, 2022 (in Japanese)
- Koronaka ni Sekai no Gakko wa Do Muki Attanoka: Kodomo, Hogosya, Gakko, Kyoiku Gyosei ni Semaru (How Schools Around the World Tackled the Corona Disaster?: Approaching Children, Guardians, Schools and Educational Administrations) (co-author), Toyokan Publishing, 2022 (in Japanese)
- Kyosei no Syakaigaku: Nationalism, Care, Sedai and Syakai Ishiki (Sociology for Human Coexistence: Nationalism, Care, Generation, Social Awareness) (co-author), TaroJiro-Sha Editus, 2016 (in Japanese)
Chihiro SHIRAKAWA (Professor, dual appointment
with the Department of Anthropology)
Inspired by the experience of helping malaria control activities in Vanuatu as a Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JOCV), I stayed on for some time to conduct an anthropological fieldwork on traditional medicine and culture. Since then, my research field has expanded to include Lao PDR, and my research has grown to include the relationships between international cooperation and cultural anthropology, and NGOs and voluntarism.
- Research Keywords:
- international medical cooperation, international cooperation volunteer, community development, malaria control
- Career:
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Worked as a JOCV in Vanuatu from 1991 to 93. Acquired Ph.D from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies(Osaka, Japan). Worked as a WHO short term consultant for the lymphatic filariasis control project in Samoa and Fiji in 2000, and a JICA short term expert for the malaria control project in Myanmar from 2004 to 2014.
- Publications:
- Anthropology of Global Assistance. T. Nobuta, C. Shirakawa and T. Udagawa (eds.), Showado, 2017. (in Japanese)
- “A Malaria Control Project and Anthropology in Myanmar.” MINPAKU Anthropology Newsletter 23: 5–6, 2006.
- “Dengue Fever Outbreak and the Place of Traditional Medicine among the People of Tongoa, Vanuatu.” Man and Culture in Oceania 15: 45–64, 1999.