Education for sustainable development (ESD) has for decades been a focus internationally and has been embraced in the Japanese curriculum since 2008. Given UNESCO's emphasis on teacher training for ESD and well-established in-service teacher training programmes in Japan, the aim of this study is to explore whether ESD teacher training could help…

The need to support those teaching in English-medium instruction (EMI) classrooms is becoming increasingly acknowledged, and faculty professional development (PD) is recognised as an important element of that support. This study, a replication and localisation of an international study by Macaro et al. (2020. "English Medium Instruction in…

In this paper, the trends and issues of teacher education research and practices in Japan are clarified from the viewpoint of the digitization of the educational environment. This will be achieved through a review of the literature and policy documents on recent educational practices and teacher education. Firstly, Japanese teacher education and…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the historical development of science teacher education in pre-service and in-service education in Japan with a focus on the systemic changes and teachers' professional learning culture. The characteristics of science teacher education generally are elucidated through an analysis of the system and…

Japanese lesson study has attracted many international educators who have been impressed by its capacity to foster student learning and sustained professional growth of teachers. This paper reports a study on its cultural orientations that may explain why lesson study works seamlessly in Japan. Hofstede's dimensions of national culture are…

This study was undertaken to examine the influence that a set of Professional Development (PD) initiatives had on faculty use of Moodle, a well-known Course Management System. The context of the study was a private university in Japan that specializes in languages. Specifically, it aimed to identify the way in which the PD initiatives adhered to…

This study explores collaborative online learning experiences of Japanese in-service teachers. Since 2009, Japanese teachers are required to take 30-hour of mandatory professional development seminars every 10 years. It has been four years since the seminars were required and one third of Japanese teachers choose to take those seminars via…

Lesson study developed organically in Japan over a period of 140 years, whereas in Indonesia, lesson study was introduced as a top-down initiative. This research explores beyond general cultural differences by illustrating how the daily concerns of teachers and their social interactions differ in Japan and in the case of an Indonesian school, the…

We consider the professional development of in-service teachers and review traditional development efforts that have been used in the past. An alternative form of professional development using Japanese lesson study is proposed and discussed as a possibility. A case study involving the Mpumalanga Secondary Science Initiative, where lesson study…

The purpose of this study is to compare policies and practices relating to teacher in-service training in Japan and Turkey. On the basis of the findings of the study, suggestions are made about in-service training activities in Turkey. The research was carried using qualitative research methods. In-service training activities in the two education…

Describes a professional development initiative based on implementing Japanese lesson study in a U.S. school. Japanese teachers acted as lesson study coaches. Researchers documented processes engaged in by participants. There were many crucial differences between groups. American teachers found it difficult to sustain a vision of teaching as a…

This paper tries to present a careful analysis of current trends and challenges to importing Japanese model of teachers' professional development. The objective is to examine what "we" can learn from Japanese approach to improving instruction, especially "Jugyou Kenkyu" (Lesson Study) as a collaborative research on the…

Describes the Japanese professional development practice of lesson study and its articulation within the Japanese educational system, discussing insights gained from research that explored the feasibility of lesson study in a U.S. setting, noting challenges faced by American teachers trying to adopt the research focus that is inherent in lesson…

This paper describes research lessons, which form the core of a larger process called lesson study within Japanese elementary science faculty development. Research lessons are actual classroom lessons with students which are: observed by others; planned for a long time, usually collaboratively; designed to bring to life particular goals of…

Reviews teacher professional development in the United States and Japan, discussing similarities and differences. Faced with increasingly diverse and rapidly changing societies, both counties recognize flaws in their current systems and want to reform teacher education by finding ways of revitalizing professional development. The paper notes that…