第７回（in English)
Sustainability, Diversity, and Building Connections
: A Candid Conversation (Part 1)
取材先 Interviewee：Lian Sabella CASTILLO (Lian), Graduate Program in Sustainability Science - Global Leadership Initiative (GPSS-GLI), Research student
インタビュアー Interviewer：Li Yang (Yang), Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, D3
第７回、第８回はインタビュアー、取材先とも留学生による英文の記事です。留学生目線での対話をお楽しみ下さい。
In this interview, Lian shares her research journey into sustainable education, delving into how socio-cultural and economic aspects play a role. She chats about diversity efforts at the University of Tokyo and her experiences as an English-speaking student. The conversation also touches on the importance of making connections beyond academia.
【Part 1】Education and field research for sustainable development (持続可能な開発のための教育と実地調査)
Lian spoke with Yang about her research on socio-economic sustainability education.
Yang: Please tell me about your research. Which topic are you working on?
Lian: My research is about transformative learning for socio-economic sustainability education.
Yang: Wow, there's a lot of words I have no idea about! Maybe we can start with terms I am more familiar with. What is socio-economic sustainability education?
Lian: Sure, the meaning and purpose of being sustainable is that we develop resources while making sure that they are still available for the future. There are three pillars (柱) when we talk about sustainable development: environmental (環境), socio-cultural (社会文化), and economic (経済). The environmental aspect is what we typically think about when we hear the words sustainable development, like green initiatives (環境への取り組み), tree preservation, and such things. But I focus more on education for socio-cultural and economic aspects, like gender equality (ジェンダー平等), justice (公正), good health, decent work (働きがい), etc.
Yang: I see. Your research is about how to educate and train people to have sustainable mindsets (持続可能性を重視する), especially concerning social and economic problems.
Lian: Exactly. Initially, I wanted to focus on all three pillars. But later, I chose to focus more on the socio-cultural aspect.
Yang: Why did you choose this aspect?
Lian: Most studies only cover the environmental aspect. However, I feel that the socio-cultural aspect is also extremely important because it teaches us how to interact towards one another as humans.
Private Elementary School Visit for the promotion of ESD
Yang: How do you typically conduct your research (どのように研究を行いますか) ?
Lian: I engage in project-based fieldwork (プロジェクト型フィールドワーク). For instance, my master’s thesis focuses on ICT integration (ICT統合) in rural Philippines. ICT stands for information (情報), communication (通信), and technology (技術). I aimed to explore ways to bridge the gap (橋渡し), especially in rural areas where access to ICT is not as prevalent as among urban populations (都市人口).
Yang: I understand. You were investigating how to use technology effectively in education.
Lian: Exactly. I visited 11 schools in my home country and assigned ICT scores to each school based on factors such as teachers, resources, curriculum, etc. I conducted surveys and interviews in both top and lower-ranked schools, asking questions about their effectiveness in integration (統合の効果).
Yang: That sounds like a lot of work. What were your major findings?
Lian: My conclusion was that teachers had the most significant influence on the use of technology in education, even more than access to resources (情報資源へのアクセス). There is a case where a school was in the center of the city and had full access to the Internet, but it received a low ICT score because all signals were blocked to prevent students from accessing their social media accounts. On the other hand, there was another school without signals at all. However, the teachers there would download YouTube videos and other materials, resulting in a higher ICT score. Therefore, the open-mindedness (開放的な) of teachers and their training play a crucial role in education.
Last day at San Isidro field work with kids and staff
Lian: When it comes to sustainability education, localization (地域化) becomes even more important. I have been involved in volunteer work for the Global Schools Program of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (国連持続可能な開発ソリューションネットワーク). We implemented pilot projects (試験的プロジェクト) in Ghana, Turkey, and Morocco. This experience was fascinating because it required tailoring (テーラリング) the curriculum of sustainable development education to each region, focusing on what is most relevant. For instance, in Japan, sustainability education might emphasize waste segregation and gender equality but not the refugee crisis (難民危機), as it’s not a prevalent issue here.
Yang: That’s true. Education must adapt (適応), especially when it concerns sustainability. It seems that your research involves a lot of fieldwork and communication with people. This is quite new to me, as I usually spend my days in the lab interacting with cells!
Lian: Hahaha, it was a fun shift! I’m also surprised, considering my background in computer science, that I’m now engaged in fieldwork with people.
Yang: Did you encounter any interesting people or stories during your fieldwork?
Lian: Absolutely! There's an orphanage in the Philippines run by Japanese people. They speak Bisayan (ビサヤン), a local language spoken in the Philippines. It was quite amusing to hear Japanese people speaking Bisayan. Another interesting person I met there was a girl who won the Japanese beauty queen titles of Ms. Grand Japan and Ms. Congeniality.
Yang: That sounds exciting! I’ve never met a beauty queen before.
Lian: Indeed, I really encourage people to step out of the university, make friends, and connect with different individuals. Assuming Japan is a homogeneous society (同質社会) could be detrimental (悪い) both for us and them.
