Skip to main content

The Relationship Between Teachers’ Working Conditions and Teacher Quality

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects ((EDAP,volume 47))

Abstract

In June 2014, when the results of the second round of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) were published, some Japanese papers gave significant publicity to the long work hours and low levels of self-efficacy and occupational satisfaction of Japanese teachers (Asahi Shimbun2014b; Mainichi Shimbun 2014). On average, Japanese teachers work 53.9 h per week. This is the longest average work week of the nations and regions participating in the international survey conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Japanese teachers also reported extremely low levels of confidence in their pedagogical competence, such as developing student interest and positive attitudes toward learning, classroom management, and effective use of different teaching and assessment methods. A paper cited Professor Yuki Honda’s comment that more teachers and other professional staff are definitely needed to alleviate the intensity of teaching and to improve the quality of teaching (Asahi Shimbun 2014a).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akiba, M. (2013). Teacher license renewal policy in Japan. In M. Akiba (Ed.), Teacher reforms around the world: Implementaions and outcomes (pp. 123–146). Bingley: Emerald.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Asahi Shimbun. (2014a, June 24). Kocho shigoto ni manzoku saitei: OECD kokusai kyoin chosa [Our headteachers are the least content with their work, the OECD international teacher survey reveals] (p. 35).

    Google Scholar 

  • Asahi Shimbun. (2014b, June 24). Nihon no sensei jishin saitei: OECD chugakko kyoin chosa: Kinmu jikan ha saicho [OECD survey reveals that Japan’s teachers are the least confident but they work the longest] (p. 2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Asahi Shimbun. (2015, May 6). Kyouin noryoku kojo he shihyou kento: Monkasho shin shido yoryo ni taio [MEXT considers the standards for improving teachers’ abilities in accordance with new Course of Study] (p. 1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Asahi Shimbun Digital. (2015, July 2). Gakuryoku chosa kyoin ni atsuryoku? Kyoikugakusha ra ga kyoin 1044 nin chosa [Do achievement tests pressurize teachers? Educationalists and others surveyed 1044 teachers].

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2007). How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top. London: Mckinsey & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calderhead, J. (1989). Reflective teaching and teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 5(1), 43–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darling-Hammond, L., Wise, A. E., & Klein, S. P. (1999). A license to teach: Raising standards for teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Down, B. (2012). Reconceptualising teacher standards: Authentic, critical and creative. In B. Down & J. Smyth (Eds.), Critical voices in teacher education: Teaching for social justice in conservative times (pp. 63–80). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Horio, T. (1994). Educational thought and ideology in modern Japan: State authority and intellectual freedom (S. Platzer, Trans.). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ILO. (2012). Joint ILO-UNESCO Committee of experts on the application of the recommendations concerning teaching personnel (Geneva, 8–12 October 2012). Geneva: International Labour Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaigo, T. (1971). Kyoin yosei [Initial teacher education]. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kariya, T. (2001). Kaisoka nihon to kyoiku kiki: Hubyodo saiseisan kara iyoku kakusa shakai he [Stratified Japan and educational crisis: Inequality reproduction and incentive divide]. Tokyo: Toshindo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katsuno, M. (2006). Kyoshokukatei no nintei to hyouka wo meguru saikin no seisaku ni tsuite [On recent policies regarding accreditation and evaluation of initial teacher education programmes]. Nihon Kyoshi Kyouiku Gakkai Nenpo [Annual Bulletin of the Japanese Society for the Study on Teacher Education], 15, 26–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katsuno, M. (2010). Teacher evaluation in Japanese schools: An examination from a micro-political or relational viewpoint. Journal of Education Policy, 25(3), 293–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsuno, M. (2014). Kyouiku no gabanasu kaikaku to kyosi no senmonshokusei [The educational governance reform and teacher professionalism]. Kyoiku Ho Gakkai Nenpo [Education Law Review], 43, 72–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kita, A., & Miura, T. (2010). Menkyo koshinsei deha kyosi ha sodatanai: Kyosi kyouiku kaikaku heno teigen [Teaching license renewal system does not develop teachers: Proposals for reforming teacher education]. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koseirodosho. (2015). Jido gyakutai taisaku no genjo to kongo no hokosei [Present measures to counter child abuses and their future directions]. Tokyo: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kubo, F. (2007). Menkyo koshinsei to genshoku kenshu kaikaku [The teacher certification renewal system and the reforms of the professional development system]. Nihon Kyoshi Kyouiku Gakkai Nenpo [Annual Bulletin of the Japanese Society for the Study on Teacher Education], 16, 25–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mainichi Shimbun. (2014, June 24). Kokusai kyoin shido kankyo chosa: Sekai no chugaku OECD chosa, Nihon no kyoin kinmujikan saicho, shu 53.9 jikan, bukatsu de jimu de [TALIS finds Japan’s junior high school teachers work the longest, 53.9 hours per week, spending many hours on supervision of club activities and administrative work] (p. 1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Monbukagakusho. (2012). Kyoshokuin teisu gaizen no hitsuyosei [The nened to increase teacher places]. Tokyo: Author Retrieved from http://www.mext.go.jp/component/a_menu/education/micro_detail/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2012/09/18/1325940_03.pdf.

  • Monbukagakusho. (2014). OECD kokusai kyoin shido kankyo chosa (TALIS 2013) no pointo [Important findings from the OECD International Teaching and Learning Survey]. Tokyo: Author Retrieved from http://www.mext.go.jp/component/b_menu/other/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2014/06/30/1349189_2.pdf

  • Naikakufu. (2015). Heisei 27 nendo-ban kodomo seinen hakusho [Whitepapers on children and adolescents 2015]. Tokyo: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (Ed.). (2014a). Education at a glance 2014: OECD indicators. Pais: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (Ed.). (2014b). TALIS 2013 results: An international perspective on teaching and learning. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ravitch, D. (2011). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sato, M. (2015). Snemonka toshite Kyosi wo Sodateru [Developing teachers as a profession]. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwab, J. J. (1971). The practical: Arts of eclectic. The School Review, 79(4), 493–542. https://doi.org/10.2307/1084342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsuchiya, M. (2008). Kyoin menkyo koshinseido no kento [Critical analysis of teaching license renewal system]. Kyoiku Ho Gakkai Nenpo [Education Law Review], 37, 84–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2010). The Committee on the Rights of the Child fifty-fourth session: Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 44 of the Convention. Retrieved from http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fC%2fJPN%2fCO%2f3&Lang=en

  • Yamasaki, H. (1997). Kyoin saiyo no kako to mirai [The past and future of teacher recruitment]. Tokyo: Tamagawa Daigaku Shuppanbu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshioka, M., & Yagi, H. (2007). Kyoin menkyo shikaku no genriteki kento: Jissenteki shidoryoku to senmonsei kijun wo megutte [Certification and qualification of teachers based on professional standards and “practical teaching ability”: Some considerations]. Nihon Kyoshi Kyouiku Gakkai Nenpo [Annual Bulletin of the Japanese Society for the Study on Teacher Education], 16, 38–54.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masaaki Katsuno .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Katsuno, M. (2019). The Relationship Between Teachers’ Working Conditions and Teacher Quality. In: Kitamura, Y., Omomo, T., Katsuno, M. (eds) Education in Japan. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 47. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2632-5_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2632-5_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2630-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2632-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics