Conference Agenda

In Japanese educational settings, learners with refugee or forced-migration backgrounds are increasingly present; however, outward “successful adaptation” does not necessarily imply internal integration or recovery. This presentation introduces a methodological approach for translating a Dialogical Self Theory (DST) analysis into a pattern language tailored to educational and support contexts in Japan.

The study is based on an in-depth narrative analysis of a young adult living in Japan with forced-migration experience, including an application for refugee status within the Japanese institutional context. Anonymized interview dialogues were minimally edited into a coherent, time-ordered narrative and segmented into 25 meaning units. These segments were coded using DST constructs, including I-positions (self-positions), internalized voices (institutional, societal, familial, and support-related), patterns of dominance and marginalization, and the functions of meta-position and promoter positions. Rather than foregrounding detailed analytic findings, this presentation focuses on how these analytic components were translated into a pattern language.

A pattern language is a structured collection of reusable descriptions that link recurring problems in practice with effective ways of addressing them in context. In this study, each analytic insight was translated into an actionable “pattern” using a consistent context–problem–solution–conclusion format and anchored with traceable evidence to maintain transparency between qualitative analysis and practice-oriented guidance. Through iterative refinement, the patterns were organized into an interconnected system of 30 patterns structured around three core patterns: (1) Expanding Dialogical Space, (2) Triggering Self-Reconfiguration, and (3) Protecting Autonomy from Positioning. These core patterns connect three categories addressing environmental design in Japanese schools and support institutions, promoter- and meta-position-driven change, and responses to representational pressure.

The resulting pattern language offers educators and support practitioners a shared, transferable vocabulary for expanding dialogical space, legitimizing help-seeking, reducing representational demands(including the option to speak or not to speak), and supporting forms of growth visibility beyond grades and test scores.