National Center for Teachers Development (NCTD) Purpose

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2 National Center for Teachers Development (NCTD) Purpose The improvement of school education imposes an extremely high burden on teachers who are directly in charge of it. This is especially true for nurturing zest for life such as academic abilities, richness in mind, and a sound body, as well as dealing with various issues such as bullying and truancy. This requires pleasant teachers who have excellent qualifications. The purpose of NCTD is to act as a national center for core training to improve the essential capacity of people who are involved with school education. This includes training for school managers and others who play a leadership role such as principals, vice principals, school officials, and teachers, as well as support for training implemented by boards of education, as well as training that cannot be handled by prefectural boards of education and private organizations, and which should really be handled by the national government. In these ways, NCTD helps to improve the capacity of instructors in Japan. By nurturing community leaders, who in turn can provide training in their communities, NCTD is working to enhance the essential capacities of Japanese instructors nationwide and to instill them with enthusiasm for their work.

3 Overview of the Work As a national center for teacher training, NCTD undertakes the following 3 tasks: First, given today s government policies and educational issues that schools deals with, the following 3 types of training are provided as essential elements of government educational policy: (1) School management training, etc., for principals, vice principals, school officials, teachers and others who play the core roles of school education in their communities. - Centralized training (for principals, vice-principals, school officials) that is designed to nurture managers who will play an active core role in the operations of schools in their communities - Training abroad that is designed to nurture core instructors who can further English-language education in their communities. (2) Training of lecturers to handle for training given by local boards of education, and for nurturing leaders who can take charge of planning and drafting measures to deal with urgent issues that schools face - Training designed to nurture leaders who can further school education in the Information Age - Training designed to nurture core leaders who can further moral education - Training designed to nurture leaders who can respond to various issues with student guidance - Training designed to nurture leaders who can further career education, etc. (3) Training commissioned by local public organizations - Sending teachers who are in a leadership position in industrial arts and science to special sites for training, etc. Secondly, guidance, advice and assistance are provided for training in each community. The main types are as follows: (1) Creating and providing training materials In order to support training, DVD materials and training texts are prepared and distributed to local boards of education and education centers to assist them with their training, as well as to provide assistance for extracurricular training, voluntary training, and so on. (2) Using the Internet to transmit information about training By transmitting training information about Internet lectures, etc., NCTD provides information about training conducted by prefectural boards of education and education centers, preparatory training that it itself conducts, and follow-up after the training has been completed. (3) Projects for developing model curricula for teacher training Working in partnership and cooperation with universities, boards of education, etc., NCTD develops training curricula and provides the results as reference materials. Thirdly, NCTD gathers and provides information about training. Information about the contents, methodologies, etc., of training conducted by local education centers is collected and surveyed, and the results of the surveys are provided to each community.

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7 (References) Japanese Educational System The Japanese Educational System is grounded in various acts and laws, including the Constitution of Japan, the Basic Act on Education, and the School Education Act, among others. The Japanese Constitution stipulates: 1) the right to an education, 2) the obligation to provide an education, and 3) free compulsory education. The Basic Act on Education was enacted in the spirit of the Japanese Constitution. It lays out rules for 1) the purposes and goals of education, 2) social equality, etc., in education, and 3) the contents, etc., of compulsory education. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan was established as an administrative organization with jurisdiction over education. It sets the framework for fundamental systems related to school education, establishes nationwide standards, and provides financial support for relevant local public organizations. Each of Japan s prefectures has a Board of Education. They are in charge of such things as 1) establishing and managing high schools and special needs education schools, and 2) hiring and paying elementary and junior high school teachers. There are also municipal boards of education. They establish and manage elementary and junior high schools, among other things. Allocation of education administration (school education) roles among the national, prefectural and municipal governments Salaries of teachers at municipal schools, etc., are paid by the national government National Government Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Establishment of a system framework Establishment of national standards Secure funding for developing education conditions, etc. Guidance, advice, assistance Requests and guidance for corrections under certain conditions Prefectures Prefectural boards of education Establishment and management of high schools and special needs education schools Responsible for personnel matters and paying elementary and junior high school teachers Responsibility for paying salaries of teachers of municipal schools, etc. Guidance Advice Assistance Municipalities Municipal boards of education Establishment and management of elementary and junior high schools Supervision of elementary and junior high school teachers Prefectural schools Administration of education Municipal schools Administration of education

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10 Acquiring a university degree (to become an elementary school teacher) (1) Courses related to the course of study (at least 8 units) (2) Courses related to teaching (at least 41 units) - The significance of teaching - Basic theory of education - Education program and instruction methods - Student instruction - Educational consultation and career path guidance - Lectures in practical education - Practice teaching (3) Courses related to subjects or teaching (at least 10 units) (4) Other types of courses (at least 2 units of each) - Japanese Constitution - Physical education - Communication in foreign languages - Operation of information technology equipment (5) Hands-on caregiving, etc. - Hands-on training with caregiving for at least 7 days at a social welfare facility, etc. <Employment> Public school teachers are hired through a selection process that is administered by a prefectural or designated municipal board of education. The testing process includes mainly a written test, interview, essay test, and skills test. Teachers are hired for one year on a trial basis. If their abilities are proven to be insufficient, then they are not formally hired. <System for renewing a teaching license> The system for renewing a teaching license is designed to help teachers maintain the quality and ability of teachers they need by periodically familiarizing themselves with the latest knowledge and techniques, so that they can teach with pride and self-confidence and earn the respect and trust of society. (1) Renewing a license A teaching license is valid for a period of 10 years. In order to renew a teaching license, it is necessary to take and complete at least 30 hours of a license renewing course at a university or similar institution. Principals, vice principals, and teachers who have recognized for outstanding work are not required to take this course. (2) Contents of the course for renewing a teaching license 1) Lectures about examining of their teaching experiences, changes of children, trends in educational policies, and partnership and collaboration between schools and external organizations (at least 12 hours). 2) Lectures on items related to subject guidance, student guidance, and miscellaneous educational improvements (at least 18 hours).

11 <Training system> The Basic Act on Education and other relevant laws stipulate that teachers make efforts at research and training. For this purpose, they undergo various types of training, either as part of their job, or on a voluntary basis. In addition to creating a system for training teachers, the national government has established the NCTD to provide training for core community leaders and for nurturing instructors who can in turn train others in their communities. As appointed representatives of teachers, the prefectural boards of education are commissioned to conduct teacher training. Japanese law stipulates that the following types of training be provided by these boards of education: - New teacher training for teachers in their first year - Training for 10-year teachers for teachers who have been employed for 10 years - Instruction improvement training for instructors who appear to be lacking in teaching skills. In addition, municipal boards of education provide training for education themes, etc. Furthermore, the school at which the teacher is employed conducts in-house training. For example, there may be research about classroom teaching methods, with research classes, with other teachers in attendance. After that, such things as research seminars are held to evaluate these classes. In addition, instructors may meet voluntarily outside of working hours, on holidays, etc., to hold seminars, etc., for learning more about their subjects, and for studying about methods for teaching their subjects.

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