Challenges that ITE in Japan faces

Furlong et al. (2000) assert that student teachers’ experiences with ITE may vary in terms of skills, knowledge and values to which they are exposed.

23 _{It should be pointed out, however, that an intellectually-based understanding of the}

craft is considered unnecessary in the process of noh training, which plays a significant role in the teacher socialisation process.

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As was stated earlier in this chapter, the variability of student teachers’

experiences is one of the major issues that ITE in Japan currently faces. For

instance, it is up to each HEI to decide the contents of the curriculum in the ITE programme within its guidelines. Furthermore, student teachers’

experiences in school-based training may greatly vary as well. For example, as some of the participants in this study experienced, their supervising

teachers prioritised holistic teaching over subject teaching (see sections 4.4.1 and 4.4.2 in Chapter 4); as a result, the student teachers’ professional

expertise that they can develop, their overall experiences with ITE, as well as their values as teachers, may vary. In addition to institutional differences, individual teacher educators’, as well as supervising teachers’ interpretations

and values, may lead to various professional expertise and experiences to which student teachers will be exposed. Although student teachers’ practical

experiences may vary greatly, they are isolated because they are usually

allowed to experience teaching practice in one school context only. Student teachers in Japan are not usually provided with ample opportunities to

experiment with their ideas, reflect on their teaching, and apply revised ideas to different contexts.

These challenges in ITE in Japan can be attributed to unclearly defined goals and standards to achieve. The goal of ITE in Japan stated by MEXT is

to grow the minimum necessary qualifications and abilities of course

instruction and student counselling and guidance. The Central Council on Education in Japan (2006) states a little more specifically that there are three

goals at which Japanese pre-service student teachers should aim. These are “passion for teaching,” “professional expertise,” and “a well-rounded

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character.” The term, “professional expertise” is nevertheless not clearly

defined by the Council. They provide five constructs as elements of

professional expertise for a good teacher: (1) an understanding of child development; (2) student guidance; (3) group leadership; (4) class

management; and (5) practical expertise in teaching. However, there seem to be no set common goals yet agreed and established for prospective EFL

teachers in Japan. Therefore, both teacher trainers and supervising teachers during the teaching practice, in addition to prospective student teachers, are

not clear in terms of what to expect from ITE programmes, and what is necessary for student teachers to achieve before they become teachers.

In contrast, to cite ITE in the UK as an example, the standards to be achieved are explicitly stated for teacher trainees in Teachers’ Standards24

(Department for Education, 2011) and they are also used to assess trainees and teachers. The standards are divided into two categories: the standards

for teaching (part one) and the standards for personal and professional conduct (part two). The standards in each category are divided into separate

headings, accompanied by sub-headings. For example, under the first category of the standards for teaching, there are eight headings:

A teacher must:

1. Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils. 2. Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils.

3. Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge. 4. Plan and teach well structured lessons.

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The new Teachers’ Standards (Department for Education, 2011) was published by the Secretary of State for Education and came into force on 1st September 2012 replacing the QTS standards and the core professional standards previously published by the former Training and Development Agency. The new standards apply to all teachers regardless of their career stages.

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5. Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils. 6. Make accurate and productive use of assessment.

7. Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment.

8. Fulfil wider professional responsibilities.

The first heading, for instance, is further divided into three statements:

 Establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, rooted in mutual respect.

 Set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities and dispositions.

 Demonstrate consistently the positive attitudes, values and behavior which are expected of pupils. (p.10) All teacher trainees are expected to understand these rational statements and

meet the appropriate standards in order to achieve QTS standards. In addition to teacher trainees, all stakeholders in ITE, including school mentors

and HEI teacher educators, ought to have a clear understanding of what these statements imply and what it means for trainees to meet these

standards. This system entails quality control by the government.

This strict quality assurance system based on competencies in the UK,

however, is not without criticism. Although it is an attempt to create more uniformed experiences as a national programme, many researchers and

teacher educators argue that it is impossible to prescribe one single set of skills that can be used in such diverse teaching contexts (Pring, 1995). Some

argue that teacher trainees should be allowed to experience alternative and

idiosyncratic skills and approaches in order to accommodate themselves to various teaching contexts, especially later in their careers when standards are

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competencies will deprive teacher trainees of their creativity in teaching; he argues that “there is no one model of good teaching, any more than there is

any one model of the good student or the good school” (p.127). Moreover,

Elliott (1993) argues that this approach is supported by a social-market view, which implies that teacher education needs to produce teachers with “desired behavioural outcomes in the form of practical skills and competencies” (p.15).

In this view, teachers may become merely deliverers of a set curriculum and “technical operatives” of craft knowledge (Elliott, 1993, p. 15).

Criticism of competency-based teacher training suggests that student teachers should develop a theoretical knowledge base with alternative views

and approaches, which can mainly be provided by HEIs, in order to flexibly modify or adapt their knowledge and skills to practical contexts as occasion demands. Thus, the principles of “openness” and “flexibility” of ITE in Japan,

as was previously mentioned in section 1.3.2 in this chapter, could become

one of the strengths of the system in creating such a professional teacher if other conditions are improved. Whether and how the principles of “openness”

and “flexibility” in ITE are influencing student teachers in Japan will be another

issue to be explored in this study.