A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Chapter 4 (continued)

"The Training Year": Teacher Induction in Japan

Basic Program Features and Responsibility for Implementation

Although teacher induction is a member-level program supported by law and guided by Monbusho, the program guidelines call for a degree of flexibility to allow program administrators at each successive level down to implement the program as is most appropriate for their own situation. Thus, as the program moves from the member to the school level, the aspects of program content and delivery become more detailed. Information flows upwards from the schools (using, for example, site visits and evaluation forms) to provide feedback and information on program implementation.

Following is a brief description of the basic features of the program. They will be discussed in greater detail in a later section.

1. Purpose -- To improve newly appointed teachers' practical teaching abilities, deepen their sense of mission, and broaden their knowledge and understanding.

2. Method of Delivery
   1. In-school Training — No less than 60 days, under the leadership of a designated guidance teacher (generally two days each week).

   2. Out-of-School Training — No less than 30 days, under the direction of the prefectural Education Center (generally one day each week).
      1. Residential Workshops — As part of the out-of-school training, a five-day, four-night residential workshop.

      2. Training Cruises — For selected teachers, based on the recommendation of the board of education of the prefecture or designated city.

3. Content -- Topics should include fundamental aspects of the education system and school life, classroom management, academic instruction training, moral education, special activities, and student guidance. See Exhibit 1 for Monbusho-suggested topics within each of those categories.

4. Related Personnel
   Guidance Teacher — Assigned to each newly appointed teacher and responsible for the school-based portion of teacher induction program.

   Subject Specialist — Appointed to handle subject-specific training in cases where the academic subjects in which the first-year teacher and the guidance teacher hold licenses are different. (In lower and upper secondary schools.)

   Principal of the School — Has ultimate responsibility for the in-school portion of the program. He or she shall ensure that the other teachers of the school cooperate with and assist the guidance teacher in the training of the first-year teacher.

5. Reduction of Duties and Supplemental Instructors — To facilitate participation in and responsibilities for training activities of the newly appointed teachers, guidance teachers, and subject specialists, the hours of instruction and administrative duties assigned to them may be reduced by the principal. To compensate for the reduced assignments of these teachers, the board of education of the prefecture or designated city should employ supplemental instructors. Related costs shall be split evenly between the prefecture and the national government.

Roles of the Prefectural Boards of Education. Based on the guidelines provided by Monbusho, the boards of education of the prefectures and designated cities are responsible for designing a one-year training plan appropriate for their conditions. This plan must include both in-school and out-of-school training. Monbusho requires that the board of education convene conferences of principals, other administrators, guidance teachers, and subject specialists to provide input into program design. In addition to the one-year training plan, the boards of education also will develop other materials, such as texts and guidebooks for the newly appointed teachers and their guidance teachers (Exhibit 1).

Beyond program design and implementation, it is also the role of prefectural and designated city boards of education, working through their regional education offices, where they exist, to assign newly appointed teachers to the schools. In the Japanese school system, a significant portion of teachers are shifted each year among the schools of a given region. Thus, any school can be the recipient of a new teacher. In making assignments, the regional education offices ensure that new teachers are distributed evenly among the area's schools so as not to drain the resources of any one particular school. In 1995, approximately half of all schools with newly appointed teachers were assigned only one, while slightly fewer than half had two.

Participation and Costs. As mentioned earlier, as the program was implemented at their particular type of school, all newly appointed teachers have been required to participate in the program. Although the number of participants in the program rose steadily as the program was extended to the different types of schools (see Exhibit 2 below), the number of new teachers has been decreasing steadily over the past several years, thus program participation has fallen. The lower number of new teachers receiving appointments is a result of a decline in the number of students.

	Elementary Schools	Lower Secondary Schools	Upper Secondary Schools	Schools for the blind, deaf, and otherwise disabled	Total Participants	Cost (In Millions of Yen)*
1989	13,103	—	—		13,103	20,477
1990	13,261	8,954			22,215	28,218
1991	13,220	9,327	5,126	—	27,573	29,607
1992	10,272	7,232	4,173	1,980	23,662	28,202
1993	8,965	6,066	3,975	1,671	20,677	28,436
1994	7,386	4,958	4,188	1,461	17,993	25,351
1995	6,431	5,112	3,943	1,358	16,844	22,619
* Figures are not adjusted for inflation.

Japan’s treasury supports one-half the cost of all activities related to the in-school and out-of-school training, including the salaries of the supplemental teachers and the costs of travel and materials associated with the out-of-school training. The training cruises are conducted by the member-level authority. Because the cost of the program is tied directly to the number of participants, the total cost of the program has been decreasing for the past two years. (See Exhibit 2.)

Monitoring and Reporting. Program implementation is closely monitored at all levels. Starting at the school, the principal submits to the board of education the one-year training plan at the beginning of the school year. At the end of the year, principals are required to submit a report on how the program was implemented, including any changes that were made to the original plan and the comments and reflections of the newly appointed teacher, the guidance teacher, and the principal.

For the out-of-school training in some prefectures, program administrators collect brief evaluations from participants after each training session. Additionally, they conduct larger surveys at the conclusion of the program, asking participants how useful they thought the training was and if they feel the program should be changed to improve its effectiveness. These comments are used in designing the following year's program.

The boards of education of the prefectures and designated cities collect training plans and monitoring reports and incorporate that information into the standardized report they forward to Monbusho. These reports also include data on the numbers of newly appointed teachers; the characteristics of the schools where they are placed; and the backgrounds of the guidance teachers, subject specialists, and supplemental teachers.

Program Components

Guidance teachers are selected by the board of education with direct oversight of the school (in some cases the prefectural or designated city board of education, in others a branch office of the prefectural board of education, and in others a local board of education) mostly based on the recommendation of the principal. They, as well as the subject specialists, are chosen from among the school's vice-principal, teaching staff, and part-time supplemental staff. Depending on the other teaching and administrative responsibilities of the guidance teacher, that teacher may have almost a full class load and a homeroom, or may have few, if any, weekly hours of instruction. Any reduction in a guidance teacher's instructional hours are offset by supplemental teachers, as mentioned above.

There are no specific prerequisites for becoming a guidance teacher, such as years of service or a particular type of training, but principals tend to select teachers with many years of experience and demonstrated ability as a teacher, and those likely to develop good relationships with younger teachers.

Most prefectures convene a meeting to foster and improve the skills of the guidance teachers and their understanding of their training functions. This represents the formal training of guidance teachers. In addition, the guidance teachers receive guidebooks issued by the board of education. At the beginning of the school year, guidance teachers are required to prepare one-year training plans for the in-school portion of the induction program. This plan identifies the topics to be covered during each training session and the other school staff to be involved. They also must fill out training logs that report how the training was actually conducted and any particular comments on the training session.

"One thing I have learned how to do is identify things that the new teachers can't notice themselves. For example, if I am observing one of their lessons, I'll look for students' reactions that the teacher may not notice because he is writing on the blackboard or speaking with only one student. I make notes of these things and bring them up later." --Elementary School Guidance Teacher

The training itself usually takes the form of lesson observation, demonstration classes, and consultation (see Exhibit 3.) In lesson observations, the guidance teacher or other teachers observe the lessons of the newly appointed teacher. In demonstration classes, the new teacher visits the lessons of the guidance teacher or other teachers. Both lessons are often preceded or followed by detailed discussions of lesson plans, instructional technique, and successes or failures. Generally the newly appointed teacher has two class periods per week devoted to demonstration lessons and two to observation lessons.

The consultations, usually about two or three class periods a week, involve the guidance teacher, the newly appointed teacher or teachers, and other staff members as appropriate to the topic. The consultation topics are based on the board of education guidelines. In cases where a subject specialist exists, a newly appointed teacher may have many of their consultations with that teacher.

"One instance where I think I was of particular assistance to a new teacher was with the home visits for a certain student. This teacher was a homeroom teacher and I was the assistant homeroom teacher. With one student, he had a very difficult time talking to him and his parents. Although in his induction training, he learned a lot of the theory of how to conduct home visits, he had little experience. On these visits I acted as his backup and I think this helped with his confidence. We were able to talk after the visits and I gave him some advice, which I think was helpful." --Upper Secondary School Guidance Teacher

The work required of newly appointed teachers related to these training sessions varies. They typically keep a training journal where they enter their reflections on the session and areas they wish to focus on in the future. Often, in preparation for a visit from the guidance teacher, they prepare a detailed lesson plan. In cases where their lessons are visited by several teachers at once, the principal, or high-ranking administrators from outside the school building, the time they spend in preparation is even more substantial.

In addition to these formal opportunities for receiving advice from senior teachers, new teachers constantly receive advice, ideas, and teaching tips on an informal basis from members of the school's teaching staff. The sense of responsibility senior members feel for the training of new members is well-rooted in Japanese society, but in this case it is also an articulated feature of Monbusho and school policy.

Supplemental instructors are assigned to the school to compensate for the reduced teaching loads of the newly appointed teachers, guidance teachers, and subject specialists. Schools with one newly appointed teacher are assigned a supplemental instructor for three days a week, and schools with two newly appointed teachers have a full-time supplemental instructor. Sometimes these teachers have a direct connection to the new teachers, serving as substitutes on the days the newly-appointed teacher is away. In other cases, the supplemental teacher is simply another faculty member at the school.

Monbusho recommends that the majority of supplemental instructors be experienced teachers. In 1995, 56 percent of supplemental teachers had five years or more of teaching experience. In some cases, they are recently retired teachers. One reason for the use of experienced teachers in this role is to offset any worries parents might have resulting from their child's teacher not only being new, but also missing several periods of instruction with the class per week.

Not only is the principal allowed to reduce the hours of instruction and administrative responsibilities of new teachers, but they may give special consideration to newly appointed teachers in other ways. As a general rule, new teachers are assigned either as homeroom or assistant homeroom teachers, but the principals tend not to assign the new teacher to classes that may be more difficult or high-profile than others. For example, in elementary schools, while 96 percent of newly appointed teachers serve as the main homeroom teacher, they tend to be assigned to third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade classes, where the students do not present the challenges unique to the very young or to those preparing to enter lower secondary school.

Out-of School Training. The Education Centers in each of the prefectures or designated cities implement the out-of-school training plan developed by the board of education. Depending on the related organizational structure, training, excluding field trips and the residential training, may take place at the Education Center, or it may be split among various regional and local offices. For example, in Chiba City, one of 12 designated cities, because there are no intermediary administrative organizations between the board of education and the city's schools, all the training is coordinated by the same staff members of the Education Center. On the other hand, in Gunma prefecture, the 30 days of training are divided as follows: 18 days at the prefectural Education Center, 8 days at the regional education office, and 4 days at the local board of education. The cohort of new teachers is divided accordingly for the regional and local training sessions.

Formats for out-of-school training most often include lectures, discussion groups, and field trips. (see Exhibit 4.) The lectures focus on topics directly related to situations the teachers will encounter at school, such as teaching technique, preparing instructional materials, dealing with chronic truants, handling various administrative duties, and dealing with parents. Lectures are often followed up by discussion sessions, in which teachers relate the lecture to their own experiences and exchange ideas. Group activities are common, particularly for lower and upper secondary school teachers, who may be divided by specialty subject.

Field trips recommended by Monbusho include visits to local factories, schools for the disabled, social welfare facilities, special demonstration classes conducted by senior teachers, and schools of a different grade level than the newly appointed teacher's school.

Monbusho also requires a five-day, four-night residential training workshop. In both sites visited for this study, this workshop was divided into two parts to better fit with teachers' schedules, but also to give teachers two opportunities to interact on such an intensive basis, once when they are new, but also once after they have had a chance to get to know one another.

The residential workshops, or parts of them, at least, are often conducted at a lodge in a wilderness area. Although some of the activities could be conducted in any setting, many activities take advantage of the natural setting, including hiking, tree and bird identification, and outdoor cooking. These are partially intended to be enriching experiences for the teachers, allowing them to develop bonds with their fellow trainees. However, since teachers are likely to lead their own students on similar activities during class trips, they also serve as training sessions on how to conduct outdoor activities.

Training Cruises. To expose selected new teachers to parts of the country they might not see otherwise and to teachers from regions and backgrounds they might not meet otherwise, Monbusho sponsors 10-day training sessions aboard cruise ships that visit various ports in Japan. In the summer of 1995, 2,426 teachers (of a total of 16,844 newly appointed teachers) were divided into six cruise groups. The funding for this program is borne completely by Monbusho.

Using one of the 1995 cruises as an example, the teachers departed and returned to Tokyo, visiting the ports of Nagasaki and Okinawa. While on board, they attended lectures and held group discussions about various school-related matters, and attended music and recreation workshops. While at the ports, they spent approximately a day-and-a-half at each, visiting places of cultural and historical significance, such as parks, museums, castles, and war memorials.

Change and Variation Since Implementation. Since the implementation of the program, Monbusho has made no significant changes in its program requirements and guidelines. At the prefectural level, some modifications have been made in response to feedback from participants and input from planning committees. For example, in both of the sites visited, there has been an increase in the number of activities that require teachers to be actively engaged, such as discussion groups. Chiba City introduced a five-part theme research project that requires each teacher to prepare and present his or her own research project. Also, as noted above, both have split the residential training from one session into two shorter sessions. The topics within each broad category have changed somewhat as well. With the recent media attention given to the problem of bullying among students, this topic has been featured more prominently in both in-school and out-of-school training programs. As another example, many prefectures have begun to introduce teachers to volunteer activities, so that they may in turn introduce this topic to their students. For the most part, however, most prefectures and designated cities adhere quite closely to the guidelines provided by Monbusho.

As far as in-school training, if there have been any significant trends in the way the guidance teachers conduct the training, they are not known. Anecdotally, guidance teachers who have served as guidance teachers in the past have, with experience, developed their own training styles and methods. For example, one guidance teacher interviewed assembled the materials he has used over the years into a manual. He keeps it in a three-ring binder not only so that he can easily access the materials, but so that he can modify them as he sees appropriate.

In-service Training After the Induction Program

Outside the school building, there are other opportunities for professional development. All prefectures and designated cities have Education Centers whose purpose is to develop materials and sponsor training for school teachers. Intensive training sessions have been held for teachers who have completed their 5th, 10th, and 20th year of service. Monbusho has provided financial support for the 5th-year training since 1977, and for the 10th- and 20th-year training since 1993.
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[Chapter 4 (part 1 of 3)]

[Chapter 4 (part 3 of 3)]