大学助手職の研究者養成機能に関する研究  [in Japanese] A Study on the Function of the Position of the University Research Associate in Japan  [in Japanese]

In Japan, many of those seeking an academic career first enter the academic marketplace as research associates (RA), but there has been a precipitous drop in the numbers being promoted within the academic marketplace. The duties of the RA have expanded from research to auxiliary jobs, office work, and so on. But on the other hand, high weight is attached to research in promotion within the academic marketplace. This study aims to analyze the function of the position of the RA as a training ground for the position of full professor. The main findings are as follows. 1) Classifying the contents of the duties, there exist four types of RA : A) research RA, who concentrates all his resources on research activities ; B) research and teaching assistant RA, the duties of which are researching and assisting professors with teaching ; C) all-round RA, doing all kinds of duties from research to office work ; D) auxiliary RA, whose duties are auxiliary jobs and office work. 2) Pairing the mobility pattern and the contents of duties, the diversity of the RA is summarized as follows. A) Many all-round RAs appointed from graduates of their own college or graduate school get higher positions at other universities ; this is specific to the fields of social sciences and humanities in the national universities. B) Graduates of their own college or graduate school are trained as research RAs to be promoted inside (inbreeding) and other auxiliary RAs make outward movement through resignation ; this is characteristic of the fields of social sciences and humanities in private universities. C) Many research and teaching assistant RAs are promoted within the academic marketplace ; this is often observed in the fields of the natural sciences. 3) In the fields of social sciences and humanities, the contents of duties have some influence on the function of the position of RA. The heavier the duty of auxiliary jobs and office work, the lower the rate of RA promotion within the academic marketplace. Conversely, the influence is less in the fields of the natural sciences.