Continuing professional education for Japanese government officials in graduate and professional schools: A comparative study between the U.S. and Japan

The study explored the perceived outcomes of the Japanese government Continuing Professional Education (CPE) program participants. It compared two groups of CPE program participants, those who attended U.S. graduate/professional schools and others trained in Japanese graduate/professional schools. The research questions were: (1) the reasons why participants choose to study in U.S. graduate schools as opposed to Japanese graduate schools, (2) what participants perceive they gained from U.S. graduate schools as opposed to Japanese graduate schools, and (3) how applicable CPE training in the U.S. is to professional performance in Japanese government offices as opposed to CPE training in Japan.An umbrella framework of the study, Human Capital Theory, claims the government CPE programs through graduate and professional schools are viewed as an investment in people. Under this holistic framework, two models, (a) Boshier's (1977) Motivational Orientation theory and (b) Ottoson's (2000) Situated Evaluation Framework (SEF), were applied to investigate the research questions.The study employed a qualitative research method, relying on interviews, transcripts, and text analysis. Approximately one and a half hour in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty participants from the CPE program in the U.S., and ten participants from the CPE program in Japan. Then, perceptions of two groups of CPE participants who attended masters' programs in the U.S. and Japan were compared.The findings provided six motivation factors for CPE training: (a) escape and stimulation, (b) professional advancement, (c) external expectations, (d) cognitive interests, (e) CPE itself is a reward, and (f) upgrading personal general market value. Perceived learning outcomes were examined in domains of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and social network. Regarding the applicability of the outcomes, the majority of CPE participants in both the U.S. and Japan believed that their CPE experiences have not been specifically applied to their job for a short-term, however, they thought that the experiences might be beneficial for a long run. The findings also indicated that the CPE experiences seldom influence human resource allocation, job promotions or salary raises, and that The Japanese government does not necessarily value academic knowledge, skills, upgraded degrees gained through the CPE programs.