In the mid to late nineteenth century, many missionary women from Western countries arrived in Japan to engage in educational work. They made a significant impact not only on the establishment of Christian kindergartens and kindergarten teacher training schools but also on the dissemination of Friedrich Froebel's theory of kindergarten education…

The purpose of our study is to delve into the education gap between the United States and some countries by examining the literacy and digital problem-solving skills of American educators, and comparing their performance with that of their peers from Canada, Finland, and Japan. We use PIAAC data collected by the Organization for Economic…

Young people around the world are calling ever more urgently on policymakers to address today's global challenges of sustainability, structural inequality and social justice. So it is little surprise that learning in a global society, understanding sustainable development and being active global citizens are increasingly popular themes for…

The social basis of a teaching profession is created through behavioural and cultural patterns, specific artefacts, and their connection to certain institutional practices. The purpose of this study is to discover the conditions that structure the teaching profession in a cultural context and to find out what it is to be a foreign language (FL)…

Ethics education for professionals has become popular in Japan over the last two decades. Many professional schools now require students to take an applied ethics or professional ethics course. In contrast, very few courses of professional ethics for teaching exist or have been taught in Japan. In order to obtain suggestions for teacher education,…

This study investigates how preservice teachers make sense of student-centered instruction with existing traditional beliefs about teaching. Teacher educators assume that university instruction translates directly into practice, yet, research is clear that beginning teachers revert to traditional teaching practice. For elementary teachers, one…

This paper examines an alternative view of teacher education that enables teachers to redefine their image and mission in the changing society of Japan. This vision is inspired by and draws upon the educational and philosophical thoughts of nineteenth-century American writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and contemporary…

The purpose of this paper was to examine the cross-national performance of fourth- and eighth-grade students in mathematics on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003. The TIMSS assessment data were used to identify nations that have a competitive edge in the critical area of mathematics. The Trends in International…

How teacher candidates are recruited and the quality of those candidates in Japanese education is investigated. Chapter 1 discusses the quality of teacher candidates and looks at the higher education system, colleges of education, and the quality of students in colleges of education. Chapter 2 examines teacher preparation curricula, the…

Three issues related to Japan's recent passage of an amendment designed to reform two teacher education regulations are discussed: (1) circumstances surrounding implementation of the amendment; (2) essential points of the amendment; and (3) some controversial issues that emerged from consideration of the amendment in the national legislature. (IAH)

This article examines the introduction of teacher education into Japan; the manner in which foreign, governmental, and industrial influences have affected the development of teacher education; and the nature of current educational reforms. (IAH)

A detailed description of an intensive training course for teachers of English in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. (PMP)

Data about teachers in the United States using variables which the U.S. Department of Education has specified for comparison with corresponding data about the teachers in Japan is presented. Statistical data is employed in each of the four sections. The sections are: demographic overview, academic qualifications, status of teachers, and inservice…

The case method is a key tool that teachers can use to develop their practical knowledge and practical thinking styles in both preservice and inservice education. The case method in Japanese teacher education has been a major approach for more than 100 years. The approach to case method described here has been implemented in five settings: (1) the…

When compared to its counterparts in Europe and the United States, teacher education in Japan can be distinguished by its special characteristics in three areas: administration, structure and curriculum, and students. Preservice and inservice education in Japan are discussed with regard to these areas. (IAH)