National Center for Teachers Development 2016
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. 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, head teachers, mid-career teachers, school officials and others who play the leading roles in school education in their communities. - Centralized training (for principals, vice principals, head teachers, mid-career teachers, school officials) (2) Training for the purpose of nurturing leaders who can promote the management of training in schools and communities Training to nurture leaders to promote school management - Training to nurture leaders to manage school organizations - Training to nurture leaders to manage curricula Training to nurture leaders for providing student guidance and educational counseling - Training to nurture leaders for providing guidance to students
Training to nurture leaders to respond to globalization - Training to nurture leaders for teaching Japanese language to children, students, etc., from other countries Training to nurture leaders to respond to issues regarding health education and improving physical fitness - Training to nurture leaders for improving physical fitness, etc. Training to nurture leaders to respond to urgent educational issues - Training to nurture leaders for language activities, etc. (3) Training commissioned by local governments as a common benefit project - Training to nurture leaders for industry, information technologies, etc. Secondly, guidance, advice and assistance are provided for training in each community. The main types are as follows: (1) Provision of online training sessions To provide nationwide support for teachers, the portal site Tsukuba no Mori/T Net was established in 2016. An environment is being created to enable the acquisition of a high level of diverse and specialized knowledge and skills in order to respond to various training needs for in-school training, external training, optional training, and so on. (2) Creating and providing training materials Training texts are being prepared and provided to boards of education, education centers, and other educational organizations. (3) Developing training programs to improve the quality of teachers Organic partnerships and alliances are made with graduate schools for teachers, boards of education, etc., to develop leading and revolutionary training programs. The results of these developments are presented nationwide, and utilizing the knowledge and opinions of private education groups, support is provided to implement these programs. At the same time, teacher training is enhanced to promote the integration of nurturing, recruitment, and training. (4) Window for training advice, dispatching staff as training instructors To support the training conducted by boards of education, a window has been opened on the NCTD web site to provide advice for planning, drafting, and instructors for training. In addition, requests to send instructors are received from boards of education of prefectures, designated cities, core cities, etc. Staff from the NCTD are sent as training instructors to be involved with the management of planning for teacher training. (5) Surveys on general conditions of educational centers in prefectures, designated cities, core cities, etc. Surveys are conducted to learn about organizations, number of staff, budgets, contents of projects, new projects, partnerships with universities of teacher training, etc. The state of reviewing training projects, upgrading of facilities, etc. at educational (training) centers and elsewhere. (6) Partnerships with graduate schools for teachers, etc. Partnership agreements are formed in order to build networks with graduate schools for teachers, and develop and improve the NCTD s hub functions for supporting teacher training nationwide and research and exchanges among students of graduate schools, teachers, etc. to provide training opportunities for students of graduate schools of education and hold conferences for supporting research and exchanges among instructors at such schools. (7) Holding conferences, to improve the quality of teachers, etc., To help improve the quality of teachers, etc., conferences are held 1) for superintendents based on the implementation, of the new board of education committee system, 2) for people in prefectural board of education (education centers) who are in charge of planning and drafting training, and 3) for constructing training program models related to active learning. 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.
Organization Budget NCTD s budget for FY2016 amounts to 1,422 billion yen. This is almost all in the form of a grant from the government. FAQ Q-1) What kind of teacher training does NCTD plan and provide? A-1) To plan and provide training, NCTD is working to establish a partnership with MEXT to sufficiently examine the contents, methods, etc. of training based on government trends, needs of local communities and so on. Q-2) Who are the instructors at these training sessions conducted by NCTD? A-2) The instructors are leaders in Japanese education who have deep insight in their respective fields, including prominent university professors, researchers and the specialized staff members of the National Institute for Education Policy Research, as well as leaders of private enterprises. Q-3) What is the total number of teachers who participated in NCTD training in FY2015? A-3) About 8,000.
(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
The School Education Act stipulates that there should be 9 years of compulsory education, and that national and public schools shall not charge tuition during the compulsory education period. Compulsory education begins in the first school year (April) after a child has turned 6 years old. There is also pre-school (kindergarten) for children ages 4 to 6, and there are also children who attend nursery school instead of kindergarten. The ages of compulsory education are the 9 years from 6 to 15, which includes 6 years of elementary school (ages 6 to 12) and 3 years of junior high school (ages 12 to 15). In compulsory education, students are, in the vast majority of cases, automatically promoted to the next grade after completing an academic year, and it is very rare for a student to be held back to repeat a grade. There is no system that allows students to skip a grade. High school is for three years (ages 15 to 18). In addition, there are 6-year secondary schools which provide for a seamless transition between junior high and high school education. Furthermore, in April 2016 new compulsory education schools were established to provide an integrated elementary and lower secondary school education to promote diversification and flexibility in the compulsory education system. High education facilities include universities, graduate schools, and so on. Japanese School System
Based on Japan s education laws and acts, the MEXT decides on standards for drawing up a curriculum for each school so that no matter where a student is enrolled at a school in Japan, he or she will be able to receive a certain level of education. These standards are called gakushu shido yoryo, or governmental curriculum guidelines. The governmental curriculum guidelines set the goals of each school subject and the overall contents of instruction for elementary, junior high, and high schools respectively. Furthermore, Japanese law also stipulates such things as the standard number of hours for classroom instruction for subjects, etc., for an academic year in elementary and junior high schools. Based on the governmental curriculum guidelines and standard number of hours for classroom instruction, each school draws up its curriculum that is commensurate with conditions both at the school and in the local community. The evaluation of child students at elementary, junior high and high schools is not designedto determine their rank within their respective grades but is rather meant to focus on evaluating how well each child is achieving the goals outlined in the governmental curriculum guidelines. Textbooks are the main teaching materials for school subjects and are written based on the governmental curriculum guidelines. Japanese law stipulates that only textbooks that have been officially approved by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology may be used. Textbooks that are used in compulsory education are, by law, provided free of charge by the Japanese government. Teacher Licensing System and Nurturing, Employing and Training Teachers In order to become a teacher, a person must receive a teaching certificate at universities that is required for the targeted type of school elementary, junior high, high school, etc. <Teacher licensing system> A teaching license is a general license in the case of kindergartens and elementary schools, but for junior high and high schools a license is issued for the specific subject that will be taught. For example, if one has a license to be a teacher at an elementary school, then that person may teach all subjects, such as elementary school Japanese, science, and so on. However, to teach science in junior high, for example, one must be licensed to teach junior high science. The same applies to other junior high subjects such as social studies. <Nurturing teachers> In order to acquire a teaching license, a prospective teacher needs to be enrolled in an education department, etc., of a university having a teacher training course approved by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and receive a bachelor s degree and credits for teacher training program.
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 education personnel certificates> 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) Certification renewal system for education personnel 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) Certificate renewal course (Compulsory areas 6 hours or more) Trends in Japanese education policies and education in the world, reflections as teachers on attitudes towards children and education, latest information on brain science, psychology, etc., as it relates to child development (including special needs education), topics that touch upon changes in children s lives
(Elective compulsory areas 6 hours or more) Topics that touch upon recent changes in conditions that schools are facing, trends, etc., in revisions of courses of study, revisions of laws and conditions in national councils, student counseling (including how to deal with bullying and truancy/school refusal), guidance counseling and career education, digitization of education, etc. (Elective areas 18 hours or more) Subjects lesson for very young children and students, and issues related to students counseling. <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.
URL http://www.nctd.go.jp/