<研究ノート>So you want to be Senkoka : Through your choice, what have you become?

Abstract

Although the role of women in Japan has recently become an area of research interest, a predominantly female institution-the junior college-has received little attention. According to McVeigh, (1997) although one third of the Japanese female workforce's training takes place in junior colleges there has been little research done on that setting in Japanese and none in English. He goes on to suggest that such a lack of research is indicative of "a lack of interest in-indeed, a low regard for... women's higher education." (p.18) If the role of women in Japan is to change, we need to a have a better understanding of one of the major institutions in many young women's lives. This pilot study focuses on how junior college graduates at one school in Japan end up engaging in a third year of intensive English study. What factors influence their decision to do so? How do they feel about their decision once it is made? How does the content of a Senkoka education affect the students?