Ogawa Seminar student received the “Outstanding Research Presentation Award” at the 35th Japan Society for Africa Educational Research Conference

On Saturday and Sunday, April 19–20, 2025, the 35th Annual Conference of the Japan Society for Africa Educational Research was held at Soka University. Over the course of the two-day event, more than 20 researchers presented their work. From Professor Ogawa’s seminar, two alumni and three doctoral students delivered oral presentations.

Notably, Mr. Yudai Ishii, a doctoral student from Professor Ogawa’s seminar, received the “Outstanding Research Presentation Award.” His presentation, titled “Women’s Intrahousehold Decision-Making on Household Expenditure for Primary Education in Malawi: Cases of Lilongwe, Blantyre, and Zomba Districts,” was based on his doctoral dissertation, which is scheduled for submission this academic year.

The conference began with opening remarks from Professor Kentaro Shimada of Soka University, who also served as the executive committee chairman of the conference and is an alumnus of Professor Ogawa’s seminar. A special session titled “Human Security and Africa” featured a keynote speech by Professor Emeritus Ryoichi Horie of Soka University. Professor Keiichi Ogawa of Kobe University offered insightful commentary on the keynote address. Designated discussants included Professor Taro Komatsu of Sophia University and Professor Mikiko Nishimura of International Christian University. The two-day event concluded with closing remarks and a summary by Professor Mikiko Nishimura, President of Japan Society for Africa Educational Research.

Below is a list of the students from Professor Ogawa’s seminar, including alumni, who presented their research at the conference:

Bengo, N.A. “Formative Program Evaluation in Organizations: Enhancing Primary School In-Service Teachers’ Training in Angola”, Proceedings of the 35th Japan Society for Africa Educational Research, p.10, 2025. (E)
Ishii, Y. “Women’s Intrahousehold Decision-Making on Household Expenditure for Primary Education in Malawi: Cases of Lilongwe, Blantyre, and Zomba Districts”, Proceedings of the 35th Japan Society for Africa Educational Research, p.32, 2025. (E)
Sanfo, J.M.B. “Analyzing Bias and Fairness in Teacher Professional Development Access in French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa: An Explainable Machine Learning Approach”, Proceedings of the 35th Japan Society for Africa Educational Research, p.36, 2025. (E)
Uno, K. “The Role of Early Childhood Education in School Readiness in 11 Sub-Saharan African Countries: Exploring the Interaction Effects with Socioeconomic Status and Home Learning Environment”, Proceedings of the 35th Japan Society for Africa Educational Research, p.33, 2025. (E)
Yagi, A. “Unraveling Heterogeneous Effects of Pre-primary Education on Children’s Development Outcomes in Kenya”, Proceedings of the 35th Japan Society for Africa Educational Research, p.35, 2025. (E)

The next Japan Society for Africa Educational Research is scheduled to be held on October 11–12, 2025, at Kanto Gakuin University.