Research on Final Project Education Integrating Senior Capstone and Undergraduate Research in Japan

Universities everywhere continually aim to improve the education they provide, enhancing students’ knowledge and providing research and training opportunities. At Japanese universities, traditionally a Final Project combining undergraduate research and a senior capstone programme is completed. Associate Professor Takero Nishino, Department of Business Administration, Kyoto Tachibana University, Japan, conducted a survey to gain insights on Final Projects and found that 95 per cent of departments conduct a Final Project, 83 per cent require all students to complete one and 91 per cent of the Final Project results are submitted in the form of research papers. Nearly half are linked to the educational objectives set out by the department, demonstrating that the Final Project effectively measures the final learning outcomes of an institution’s undergraduate programme, promoting quality assurance in the education provided. He believes that promoting the unification of evaluation standards for the Final Project and sharing the results inside and outside the university would improve the quality of undergraduate education and enhance perception of its worth on a larger scale. Nishino’s work to improve higher education through Final Project combines a quantitative approach using a questionnaire survey to gather data; a qualitative approach involving analysis of the interviews and the collection documents related to the evaluation criteria; and an experimental approach based on action research in multiple sites.