This book presents an in-depth discussion on how to foster creativity and critical thinking (CCT) in the liberal arts higher education context in Japan, where socio-cultural contexts often contradict the perceived values of liberal learning with a highly competitive education system with standardized testing.

By presenting four-year long case studies conducted in two leading private universities in Japan, this book discusses pedagogy, the process of learning, and their impact on students' creativity and critical thinking in a more nuanced and thought-provoking manner. It presents discussions on cultural epistemological differences, advanced technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and research ethics and integrity policies that affect practices to foster creativity and critical thinking practices in contemporary higher education institutions. This book concludes with recommendations for future higher education to foster CCT in a socio-culturally viable manner, paying special attention to the agency development of learners and teachers, and institutional development as an enabling learning community.

Miki Sugimura is a Professor of Education at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. She currently serves as the President of Sophia University and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair in 'Education for Human Dignity, Peace and Sustainability' across Asia, Africa, North America, and Latin America. She was selected as a member of the International Expert Committee for the revision of UNESCO's 1974 Recommendations in 2022, and participated as an observer in the intergovernmental meeting on the revision of the Recommendations in June and July 2023 (held at the Paris Headquarters), as well as in the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Regional Meeting in June 2023. She has a history of developing research exchange activities with various institutions as the Vice-President of Sophia University. Sugimura participated as a principal investigator in the 'Visualization of Learning Outcomes on Creativity and Critical Thinking in Higher Education Project' conducted by OECD-CERI (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - Centre for Educational Research and Innovation) as a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research B), funded by the Japanese Government. Furthermore, as a Visiting Professor at the United Nations University, she serves as the Vice-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Network of Graduate Schools for Environment, for which the University serves as the secretariat, and has participated in the July 2024 meeting of the United Nations Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI).

Mikiko Nishimura is a Professor of Sociology of Education, Director of Institute of Educational Research and at International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, Japan. She is a co-editor of the book series 'Crossing Cultures: Liberal Learning in a World in Flux', and has edited two books on liberal arts education with Springer in 2016 and 2019 respectively. She has also contributed a chapter on liberal arts education in Asia and the Pacific to the 'Oxford Handbook of Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region' in 2022. With Dr. Miki Sugimura, first editor of this book, Nishimura has participated in the OECD's (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) research on creativity and critical thinking (CCT) in higher education between 2019 and 2023 with 14 countries.