The Japan Teachers’ Union (JTU) has reaffirmed the need for high quality education and training for teachers in Japan. The move follows the launch of the latest Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) report published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Tokyo on 25 June.
The JTU hopes that the international comparison on teachers’ working conditions and learning environments, showing evidence of challenges and issues at schools, will bring concrete development and improvement in employment conditions in education in Japan. In a statement on 25 June, it said that it was important to link the TALIS results with domestic educational policies and conditions rather than to focus on the rankings or scores.
School principals’ role
TALIS did highlight issues relevant to working conditions. The majority of school principals (84.2 per cent) said that an “inadequate school budget and resources” was the main reason which “limits your effectiveness as a principal”; 64.8 per cent cited their reason as “government regulation and policy”.
According to JTU, top-down policies do not fully recognise the needs of schools and what teachers want to do, with new schools sometimes being developed without adequate personnel. This means heavier workloads for teachers and children, a view shared by the principals.
Professional development
JTU also emphasised that Japanese teachers’ needs for professional development are higher than those of teachers from other participant countries. It notes that more than 50 per cent of respondents described as important “knowledge and understanding of my subject field(s)” and “pedagogical competencies in teaching my subject field(s)”.
JTU also says that the TALIS results make it clear teachers’ participation in professional development initiatives can be affected by time and incentives. It is important to reflect on how professional development should be provided, says the JTU, with conditions, such as establishing opportunities to match teachers’ needs and improving teachers’ daily working conditions, arranged to facilitate better outcomes.
Appraisal and feedback
Appraisal and feedback are important but, because education aims to improve children’s abilities and help them to develop their personalities to the full, it is difficult to apply teacher appraisal standards, says the JTU. It outlines principles which should be included in an appraisal system: equitability, transparency, objectivity and suitability to objectives, and two requirements, namely consultation by management and measures on complaint processing.
Time allocation for teacher work
In Japan, class hours are similar to other countries, JTU stresses, but Japanese teachers’ working time (53.9 hours) is the longest among the participating countries (38.3 hours in average). “Time allocated for instructions out of curriculum” is triple the average, mostly due to club activities after school. The national curriculum indicates that more attention should be paid to this extra-curricular time and links should be made between activities not included in the official curriculum and other teaching contents.
JTU insists that more teachers and smaller class size are needed and club activities should also be treated as social activities, not as school education.
Self-efficacy low
In terms of encouraging students’ active participation in learning, teachers’ self-efficacy is low in Japan compared to other participating countries. More than 90 per cent of Japanese teachers surveyed for TALIS replied that student active learning is important in terms of individual “views on teaching and learning”.
According to the JTU surveyon teachers’ motivations (November 2010 – January 2011), conducted with the cooperation of the International Economy and Work Research Institute, teachers acknowledged that they can “not afford to deal individually and closely with students because of time restriction”, or “not having enough time to study teaching materials and prepare for classes”.
At the same time, they recognise the importance of children’s active learning. Teachers are aware of the gap between the reality of the education system and children’s need for individual support, and this affects their sense of self-efficacy. Teaching conditions should be improved by having more teachers and smaller class sizes, JTU says.
Job satisfaction
Yet, 85 per cent of teachers said that, “all in all, I am satisfied with my job”. However, this compares to an average of 91per cent in participating countries. Just half said “I am satisfied with my performance in this school”, compared to an international average of 92.6per cent. Interestingly, 58per cent said that “If I could decide again, I would still choose to work as a teacher”, lower than the TALIS average of 77.6per cent.
After the JTU survey, it is clear that teachers feel “there are wide gaps between the reality and my ideals”.
EI: Investment crucial
“Our Japanese colleagues’ response to TALIS is clearly in line with our Unite for Quality Education campaign,” said EI consultant John Bangs. “We can never highlight enough the need to make public investment in adequately trained teachers who feel motivated and valued by society. This is the best way to ensure quality education and a bright and sustainable future for society, in Japan and anywhere else in the world.”