SDGs-related Research Grant Program: Selected projects for FY2023
CLIL-based SDGs Education: Considering the Relationship between Cultural Diversity and Critical Thinking
Researcher: Yuka Yamamoto
In today's world, there is a demand for English education that aims to develop not only communication skills, but also comprehensive abilities that take a broader social perspective and emphasize intercultural understanding and thinking skills. In this study, we will use the framework of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLI) educational approach to investigate how learning about the SDGs develops cultural diversity and critical thinking. By exploring whether it contributes to students' acquisition of intercultural competence, we can expect to make a wide-ranging contribution not only to the field of English education but also to the field of general education.
Intra-country inequality in Thailand and Mexico: A multifaceted comparative study
Researcher: Kaoko Sakikawa
Thailand and Mexico have several things in common. Both countries underwent structural adjustment after falling into a foreign debt crisis, and the successful shift to economic liberalization policies attracted foreign direct investment, particularly in the automotive and electrical and electronics industries, leading to economic growth. Although they were actively incorporated into the "global value chain," a cross-border division of labor between processes, they are also both caught in the "middle-income trap," stagnating and unable to join the ranks of developed countries while facing the social problem of large domestic disparities. In this study, we use Thailand and Mexico, which share commonalities but have not been comparatively studied, as examples to clarify the structure of domestic disparities through a multifaceted comparison and to consider what policies are needed to reduce the disparities.
Developing Global Leadership in University Students: Through Facilitation of International Collaborative Learning in the JEARN Youth Project
Researcher: Eriko Katsumata
There is a growing interest in developing global leadership among university students in order to develop human resources who can play an active role in the international community. This study aims to clarify how to deepen learning and improve abilities through practice in developing facilitation skills and global leadership among university students.
The subjects of the research were university students who participated in the "International Education and Resource Network (iEARN)," which promotes online international collaborative learning based on a project connected to the SDGs with elementary school to high school students overseas. The students became facilitators of a project on the theme of war and peace, learning about war and the atomic bomb with children from around the world and thinking about "what is peace?"
Empirical research on the development of Japanese language educational resources for JSL children that contribute to a multicultural society
Researcher: Yusuke Tanaka
As school education becomes increasingly internationalized and diversified, the number of foreign children with overseas roots and returnee children with overseas experience is increasing. In this research, in order to realize inclusive education where everyone can learn together, we will work on selecting essential learning terms for children to use in school and developing application-type Japanese language teaching materials to learn them. Our goal is to correct the problem of educational disparities caused by children's lack of Japanese language proficiency, and to realize the ideals of the SDG "Quality Education for All" and its sub-goals "Ensure that everyone receives equitable and free quality education and graduates from primary and secondary school," "Ensure that all children can read, write, and do basic arithmetic," and "Ensure that no one is left behind in their learning environment," from the perspective of Japanese language education research at Aoyama Gakuin University.
Environmentally friendly synthesis of useful organic compounds
Researcher: Ryo Takeuchi
In this research, we aim to synthesize useful organic compounds with more complex structures and various functions from easily available general-purpose chemical raw materials using environmentally friendly molecular transformations that do not place a burden on the environment. Specifically, we focus on 1) environmentally friendly carbon chain elongation reactions from unsaturated hydrocarbons, which are general-purpose chemical raw materials, and 2) environmentally friendly synthesis of optically active heterocyclic compounds, which are raw materials for optically active pharmaceutical ingredients.
SDGs Food Loss Regeneration Project through Industry-Academia-Government-Private Collaboration and Student-Participation Joint Research
Researcher: Kinya Tamaki
This research aims to promote the following activities in order to reduce and utilize food loss, such as post-harvest losses, which correspond to the upstream supply chain (SC) of food services, and food loss at the retail and consumer levels, which correspond to the downstream SC.
① Investigation into the causes of food loss in upstream and downstream shopping centers and the obstacles preventing their resolution.
② Developing new strategies and tactics for reducing and reusing food waste from an SDG perspective.
③ Building a CSV (Creating Shared Value: a balance of economic and social value) business model to ensure the sustainability of that strategy and tactics.
④ To address these social issues, we will develop organizational structures for industry-academia-government-citizen collaboration and student-participatory joint research.
⑤ Empirical research at Aoyama Gakuin University: Event planning and implementation, public relations activities, research and development and implementation of SDGs food education programs.
⑥ Demonstration experiment for commercialization and social implementation at Aoyama Gakuin University
⑦ Raising awareness about the "SDGs Food Loss Regeneration Project".