Improving the Quality of Teaching

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Improving the Quality of Teaching
Teiichi SATO Professor, International University
of Health and Welfare Graduate School
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Improving the Quality of Teaching
With the aim of improving the quality of
teaching, various measures centering around
everyday classroom teaching and the professional
development of teachers are being systematically
implemented at each stage teacher training in
universities, recruitment carried out by boards
of education of prefectures and designated cities
(500,000 population), and continuing
professional development.
Improving teaching quality at each stage
training, recruitment, and CPD
Comprehensive reform of teaching quality
?Teacher training provided by universities in
principle ?Teacher training courses that combine
subject-based training and practical teaching
skills in an approved subject area --gt provide
newly qualified teachers with the minimum skills
necessary to immediately take responsibility for
a class or course of study and to put into
practice the student guidance and curriculum
delivery techniques acquired during training.

? 3 June 2010 Policies to improve teaching
quality across all aspects of teaching submitted
for inquiry to the Central Council for
Education Under discussions at the Central
Council for Education Special Committee for
Imrivement of Teaching Quality ?Overview of the
Report on the Discussions published January
2011 ? Further consideration being given to
realizing a masters level degree in teacher
training ? For the time being, consideration
being given to granting a basic certificate
(provisional name) basic qualification for
those with a bachelors degree and a general
certificate (provisional name) masters level
qualification for teachers completing the
necessary program after being employed as a
teacher ? Consideration being given to
establishing a specialized certificate
(provisional name)
Training
Recruitment
CPD
?Teacher recruitment and selection carried out by
boards of education of prefectures and designated
cities ?Evaluation from a broader perspective
Greater weight given to performance in
interviews and demonstration lessons
Non-teaching experience also taken into account
?Continuing professional development provided by
boards of education For new teachers For
teachers with 10 years experience For
experienced teachers ?Continuing professional
development at the national level (National
Center for Teachers Development) School
management training for staff who play a central
role in education in each region Training
covering pressing issues
Appropriate HR mgt
?Effective management of a system for teachers
performing unsatisfactorily ?New teacher
evaluation system ?MEXT Outstanding Teacher Award
Recent efforts

• Improvement of teacher training courses (incl.
  introduction of a teaching practice element)
• Establishment of postgraduate teacher training
  colleges
• -gt Improve teacher training at the postgraduate
  level and provide high quality and practical
  training.
• Implementation of a teaching certificate renewal
  system
• -gt Enabling teachers to regularly update their
  skills and knowledge will foster confident
  teachers who take pride in their work, as well as
  increase the publics respect and trust in the
  teaching profession
• -gt Teaching certificate valid for 10 years.
  Teachers need to complete at least 30 hours of
  training within the 2 years prior to the
  expiration of the certificate.
• (Particulars of the teaching certificate renewal
  system to be decided during the radical overhaul
  to improve the quality of teaching)

?Improve the quality of teaching by improving
individual teachers skills -gt Provide high
quality teaching
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System of Teacher Development and Teaching
Certification
1. The Principle of Teaching Certification and
Principle of an Open System
Principle of Teaching Certification
Principle of an Open System
Teacher training in Japan is conducted fostering
the particular characteristics of regular
universities and universities specializing in
teacher training.
Teachers shall be those persons possessing one of
the applicable certificates awarded through the
Educational Personnel Certification Act (Article
3, paragraph 1 of the Certification Act).
2. Types of Teaching Certificates
By type of school (by subject for lower and upper
secondary schools)
? Regular certificate (Valid for 10 years)
? Specialized certificate (Valid for ten years)
? Provisional certificate (Valid for three years)
? Authority awarding certificate Prefectural
Board of Education ? Valid scope of the
certificate Regular certificate All
prefectures Specialized certificate
Provisional certificate
Specialized certificate (on completing a
masters degree)
Class I certificate (on graduating from a
university)
Within the prefecture where the certificate was
awarded
Class II certificate (on graduating from a
junior college)
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Framework of Teacher Development in Universities
? The teaching certificate will be awarded
through the acquisition of a degree and the
credits required of the teaching-training
program. ? The university subjects for the
teacher-training program shall be certified by
the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology for each type of
certificate. (Note The teacher-training program
for kindergartens and elementary schools shall be
comprised of subjects whose primary purpose is
the training of teachers.)
Bachelors degree, etc.
Completion of the teacher-training program
Teaching certificate

?
? Classes relating to subjects
Awarded according to the type of school
(according to the types of subjects in cases of
lower secondary schools and upper secondary
schools)
Bachelors degree level of a Class I certificate
(Minimum no. of credits for elementary school
teaching 8, lower and upper secondary school
teaching 20)
? Classes relating to the teaching profession
Junior college diploma Class II
certificateMasters degree Specialized
certificate
(Minimum no. of credits for elementary school
teaching 41, lower secondary school teaching
31, upper secondary school training 23)
Significance of the teaching profession Basic
theory of education Courses of study and
methods of instruction Student guidance,
education counseling and careers guidance
Teaching practice (Elementary and lower secondary
school teaching 4 weeks, upper secondary
school teaching 2 weeks) Teaching practicum
? Classes relating to subjects or the teaching
profession
(Minimum no. of credits for elementary school
teaching 10, lower secondary school teaching
8, upper secondary school teaching 16)
? Chosen from the abovementioned ?or ?
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?The credits are for a Class I certificate
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Composition of teachers by the certificate
ltPercentage of certificate holders by certificate
of current teachersgt
(FY
2007)
Category Specialized certificate Class I certificate Class II certificate
Kindergartens 0.4 21.0 73.7
Elementary schools 3.2 80.2 14.7
Lower secondary schools 5.4 89.4 4.8
Upper secondary schools 24.2 74.9
(Statistical Survey of Teaching Personnel)
Upper secondary schools
Lower Secondary Schools
Upper Secondary Schools
Kindergartens
Elementary Schools
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Composition of teachers by the certificate
ltBreakdown by educational background of teaching
staff of public schoolsgt
(FY 2010)
Category Elementary schools Lower secondary schools Upper secondary schools
Departments/universities for teaching training 41.0 27.3 12.2
Regular universities 49.6 59.8 63.2
Junior colleges, etc. 3.2 1.5 0.6
Graduate schools 6.2 11.4 24.0
(Survey of the Teaching Personnel Division)
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Numbers of persons who acquired certification and
numbers of persons who have been employed as
teachers
Year of certification being granted Number of persons who acquired certification (persons) Number of persons who have been employed as teachers (persons)
FY 1964 49,464 32,936
FY 1969 131,973 36,747 ?
FY 1975 152,915 53,413
FY 1981 168,433 56,591
FY 1987 142,152 44,228
FY 1993 128,342 33,586
FY 1999 115,669 26,895
FY 2005 117,903 40,156
? Number of persons who acquired certification
investigated by the Teachers Division ? Number
of persons employed as teachers School Teachers
Statistical Survey (the year of employment being
the fiscal year following the year of acquisition
of certification) The applicable schools for the
survey were national/prefectural and municipal
and private kindergartens, elementary schools,
lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools,
schools for the blind, the deaf or otherwise
disabled (currently schools for special needs
education) and secondary schools However, the
applicable schools for the survey of the above ?
were prefectural and municipal elementary
schools, lower secondary schools, upper secondary
schools, schools for the blind, the deaf or
otherwise disabled (currently schools for special
needs education) and private kindergartens and
upper secondary schools
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Teacher Training Implementation System

1st year
5th year
10th year
15th year
20th year
25th year
30th year
?Training in school management for educational
personnel such as principals and vice- principals
who will bear a central role in school education
in each region
Training for middle-level teachers
Training for vice-principals
Training for principals management
Training at the national level
Dispatches overseas for training (2 months)
?Training carried out by local governments to
cultivate instructors of training and leaders who
will shoulder planning and proposals about
issues of urgent importance
Cultivation and training of leaders for
promoting education aimed at school organization
management and raising Japanese-language skills

Overseas dispatch program for leaders of
educational issues training (2 weeks)
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Teacher Training Implementation System
15th year
1st year
5th year
10th year
20th year
25th year
30th year
?Legal training(for all teachers)

Training implemented by prefectural Boards of
Education
Training for newly hired teachers
Training for teachers with 10 years of job
experience
?Training in accordance with job experience
Training for teachers with 5 years of job
experience
Training for teachers with 20 years of job
experience
?Training in accordance with ability
Training for students guidance superintendents
Training for persons in charge of newly appointed
office workers concerned with instruction
Training for vice-principals/principals
?Training through longer-term dispatching
Training through long-term dispatching to
private sector companies, etc.
?Training related to specialized knowledge/skill
Specialized training related to course guidance/
student guidance
?Training for teachers lacking teaching skill
Training to acquire high-level teaching skill
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99 of elementary schools and 98 of lower and
upper secondary schools implement lesson study
Implementation of Lesson Study in Japan?
NIER, Survey Report on Improving Quality of
Teachers (2011)
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90 of elementary schools and 79 of lower
secondary schools have school-wide organization
for study
Implementation of Lesson Study in Japan ?
NIER, Survey Report on Improving Quality of
Teachers (2011)
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95 of elementary, 86 of lower secondary and 65
of upper secondary schools produced survey
reports in the past 5 years
Implementation of Lesson Study in Japan ?
NIER, Survey Report on Improving Quality of
Teachers (2011)
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Outline System of Graduate Schools for Teacher
Education (professional degree courses)
1. Characteristics (in contrast to existing
masters degree courses) ? Legal requirement to
have teachers with practical experience comprise
at least 40 of required full-time teachers ?
At least 10 credits of a total 45 must be
training/practice conducted on-site in schools,
etc. (mandatory) ? Existing graduate courses
require students to partake in field-specific
research, while graduate schools for
teacher education do not require research
guidance or submission of a masters thesis ?
Universities are required to go through
accreditation evaluation every seven years but
graduate schools for teacher education
are required to receive an additional
field-specific accreditation every five years
2. Current state (as at FY2010) ? Teacher
rate of recruitment 90.0 (including temporary
recruitment FY2010) national
teaching universities/department 59.6) ?
Maximum enrollment rate 95.5 (5.1 increase
over previous fiscal year) ? Applicants 1,198
(increase of 73 over previous fiscal year) ?
Enrollees 802 (increase of 55 over previous
fiscal year) in-service (current)
teachers -- 391 (increase of 8 over previous
fiscal year) new
departmental graduates, etc. -- 411 (increase of
47 over previous fiscal year)
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Current State of Graduate Schools with
Teacher-Training Programs (FY 2010)
Year of establishment Name of the university Student admission capacity Location
1 2008 Hokkaido University of Education 45 Hokkaido
2 2008 Miyagi University of Education 32 Miyagi
3 2009 Yamagata University 20 Yamagata
4 2008 Gunma University 16 Gunma
5 2008 Tokyo Gakugei University 30 Tokyo
6 2008 Joetsu University of Education 50 Niigata
7 2008 University of Fukui 30 Fukui
8 2010 University of Yamanashi 14 Yamanashi
9 2008 Gifu University 20 Gifu
10 2009 Shizuoka University 20 Shizuoka
11 2008 Aichi University of Education 50 Aichi
12 2008 Kyoto University of Education 60 Kyoto
13 2008 Hyogo University of Teacher Education 100 Hyogo
14 2008 Nara University of Education 20 Nara
15 2008 Okayama University 20 Okayama
16 2008 Naruto University of Edcuation 50 Tokushima
17 2009 Fukuoka University of Education 20 Fukuoka
18 2008 Nagasaki University 20 Nagasaki
19 2008 University of Miyazaki 28 Miyazaki
20 2009 Seitoku University 30 Chiba
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Current State of Graduate Schools with
Teacher-Training Programs (FY 2010)
21 2008 Soka University 25 Tokyo
22 2008 Tamagawa University 20 Tokyo
23 2009 Teikyo University 30 Tokyo
24 2008 Waseda University 70 Tokyo
25 2008 Tokoha Gakuen University 20 Shizuoka
Total 25 universities 840 students
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Outline of System for Teacher Certification
Renewal
The objective of this system is to secure
societys trust and respect for professionals who
teach with confidence and pride, cultivated
through the maintenance of qualifications and
abilities by periodically upgrading knowledge and
skills. The system was adopted on April 1, 2009.
1. Renewing the validity of certificate
(1) Both regular and special certificates are
valid for 10 years. (2) Prefectural boards of
education can renew certificates in cases where
those who applied for renewal have/are ?
Completed at least 30 hrs of new courses for
certificate renewal certified by the minister of
MEXT ? Exempt from the requirement in ?
? Those in a position to instruct teachers ?
Outstanding teacher awardees
?Not applicable to those without required
knowledge/skills
(3) An identical system is applicable to
in-service (current) teachers ? Old
certificates are not subject to validity
limitations (conferred on/before 3-31-2009).
? Teachers, etc., with old certificates who do
not complete the new courses for certificate
renewal within the required time period risk
being in possession of an expired
certificate. ? Approximately 85,000 to
89,000 people are expected to partake in the new
courses every year.
2. New courses for certificate renewal
(1) Entities permitted to administer new courses
for certificate renewal universities,
designated teaching/testing bodies, prefectural
boards of education, independent
administrative/public interest corporations, etc.
(2) Contents of the new course ? Reflections on
the teaching profession generational changes in
children trends in educational policy
understanding cooperation/coordination
in and out of school (at least 12 hours) ?
Instruction in subjects, student guidance, and
other issues related to enhancement of
education/teaching, etc. (at least 18 hours)
3. Efforts at implementation
? Allocated 140 million yen from the FY2011
budget plan for use in the support of
professional teacher training at universities,
such as assistance to universities in
remote locations that administer the new courses,
etc.
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Diagram The Current Path of Teacher Improvement
20 years of age
30 years
40 years
50 years
Selection test for employment (usually Board of
Education)
Awarded certificate (Prefectural Board of
Education)
Training for new teachers (Board of Education)
Continuing professional development (Board of
Education)
Provisional period of employment (Board of
Education)
Certificate renewal course (usually university
age 35)
Certificate renewal course (usually university
age 45)
Certificate renewal course (usually university
age 55)
Junior College Class 2 certificate
Attainment of university degree/credits
4-year university course Class 1 certificate
CPD for teachers with 10 years
experience (Board of Education)
Post-graduate Specialist certificate
Acquire high-level teaching certificate (usually
university course)
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Stipulated by Special Rules for the Public
Educational Personnel and Staff Act
Stipulated by Educational Personnel
Certification Act
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Central Council for Education - Special Committee
for Improvement of Teaching QualityOverview of
the Report on the Discussions
System of Teacher Certification Reform of the
System to Support the Improvement of Teaching
Quality throughout Teachers Careers
? Consideration being given to establishing a
basic certificate (provisional name) and
general certificate (provisional
name) Consideration being given to realizing a
masters level degree in teacher training
including, for the time being, granting a basic
certificate (provisional name) - basic
qualification for those with a bachelors degree
and a general certificate (provisional name) -
masters level qualification for teachers
completing the necessary program after being
employed as a teacher
? Consideration being given to establishing a
specialized certificate (provisional name)
Consideration being given to establishing a
specialized certificate (provisional name) to
officially certify a certain level of expertise
in order to support teachers in acquiring a
higher level of expertise and social training
throughout their career (school management,
student guidance, subjects guidance, special
needs education, etc.)
? With regard to the system of renewal of teacher
certification, consideration with a view to
transitioning to a new system to support teachers
in continuously developing their expertise of
their own accord ? Coordination of the links
between the system of renewal of teacher
certification and teacher training for teachers
with 10 years teaching experience
? Consideration of the pros and cons of
establishing collective certificates for a number
of school types such as a compulsory education
certificate or a secondary education
certificate


Comprehensive/integrated consideration
Training Necessity for a training system to
enable teachers to improve the quality of their
teaching skills throughout their career
Teacher training Improvement in the quality of
teacher training education in universities and
necessity for a teacher training system enabling
teachers to continue their studies in order to
acquire a high level of practical teaching skills
even after obtaining a bachelors degree

Employment
? With regard to novice teachers training,
overall consideration regarding the duration of
the training and the timing of the novice
teachers training (also consideration being
given to dissolution of the current novice
teachers training for the sake of reform)
? Consideration being given to establishing a
masters program aimed at people who have not
completed an undergraduate teacher training
program so that working people at various stages
of their career can utilize their expertise and
pursue a career in teaching
? Consideration to be given in the future to
requiring the completion of a one or two year
masters program in addition to the four-year
undergraduate program (requirement of a masters
degree)
? Development of training through coordination
between those with the power of appointment and
the universities, consideration being given to
awarding credits for attending the training in
order to qualify for the specialized
certificate (provisional name)
? Guarantee of the quality of teacher training
through stricter approval of accreditation
criteria
? Improvement of the gap in the age groups of
teachers (few teachers in the 30s and 40s age
groups)
? Division of roles between the national
government and local governments
? With regard to the requirement of a masters
degree, consideration to be given to the scale
of the training and organizational structure of
the universities as well as reduction of the
economic burden on students
? Consideration being given to the employment and
allocation of temporary teachers and part-time
teachers
? Vitalization of in-school training and
self-motivated training
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Central Council for Education - Special Committee
for Improvement of Teaching QualityOverview of
the Report on the Discussions
School principals leadership and management
skills
? Enhancement of specialty courses focusing on
school management at graduate schools with
teacher-training programs and implementation of
management-type development training in centers
for teacher training provided by the national
government and local governments
Coordination and collaboration between the boards
of education, universities and other related
institutions Necessity for the construction of a
framework where the cooperative and collaborative
efforts of the related institutions and the local
community will be steadily and extensively
implemented (Example)
? Evaluation of the course records at the time of
conferring a specialized certificate
(provisional name)
? Implementation of training through coordination
between the universities and boards of education

? Accreditation and evaluation of university
teacher-training programs
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