Japan Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education Launched

The Japanese Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education (JASCE) was formally inaugurated on May 7, 2004. Ninety people have joined the organization so far, and more than 30 attended our opening ceremony. We are a diverse group: teachers from various levels of education, researchers, students, counselors, administrative staff, workshop organizers, discussion group leaders, and commercial group members. Researchers are from such disciplines as sociology, psychology, education, nursing, and linguistics.

JASCE has been established as a common platform to exchange ideas across disciplines and teaching/learning contexts relative to the theory and implementation of cooperative learning in Japan. Our goal is to learn from each other, work dynamically, and implement our ideas for education based on a humanistic and cooperative ethic both in our classrooms and beyond classroom walls.

Both the ceremony and the party afterwards were like a family occasion. Some of the participants met for the first time, but made friends on the spot and discussed with each other our beliefs, ideals, goals, projects, and future plans.

For inquiries in Japanese, please contact the JASCE president Prof. Satoru Yasunaga at
yasunaga_satoru@kurume-u.ac.jp. For inquiries in English, please contact JASCE board member Jane Nakagawa at jane@auecc.aichi-edu.ac.jp.