In Japan, the complexity of the teaching profession has been downplayed in the course of repeated systemic reforms, wherein the profession is increasingly viewed as a technical operation. In response to this trend, the concept of "reflective practitioner" (Schön, D. A.) has been proposed as a counterpoint. While it has influenced the…

The question of how to create a common framework for teaching (a science of the art of teaching) has often been a topic of discussion. As a result of Lesson Study, such a framework has emerged in Japan for science education. Outside Japan, however, creating a common framework for teaching has appeared to be far from easy. This article focuses on…

This book is about education, ideology, power and identity investment and concerns an influential East Asian expatriate community. Specifically, it seeks to understand particular ways in which the Japanese white-collar elite live as a closed and self-referentially defined in-group, despite the manifestly multicultural ethos of their Singaporean…

Teacher shortages have intensified across several OECD countries, making this an urgent priority for education systems. Between 2015 and 2022, the share of students whose principals reported shortages rose from 29% to 46.7% on average across the OECD. Simultaneously, rapid technological advances, such as artificial intelligence (AI), and broader…

This book critiques dominant discourses and debates pertaining to values education, cultural identity and teaching democracy, set against the backdrop of growing social stratification and unequal access to quality education. It addresses discourses concerning globalisation, ideologies and the state, as well as approaches to values education and…

There has been a widespread belief that teachers in Asian contexts including Japan and China are well protected by a tradition that reveres teachers. However, in Chinese contexts, cultural traditions have been found to undermine the teaching profession, together with educational reforms and societal changes. This paper reports on an inquiry that…

What would be one of the most sensible ways for a country to invest to achieve maximal economic growth? A recent study (Chetty, Friedman, & Rockoff, 2011) by economists at Harvard and Columbia Universities shows that better teacher quality results in significantly higher students' lifetime earnings. And investing in public school teachers…

This paper considers both how the mandatory introduction of student evaluation of teaching surveys (SETs) fits into the social and political context of tertiary education in Japan, and the assumptions about teaching underlying SETs. Through interviews with English teachers, a technical-rational perspective whereby teaching is a profession only to…

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a…

Most readers of the Kappan will know that lesson study is a Japanese approach to teacher professional development that has recently become popular in the U.S. Indeed, lesson study activity has been spreading rapidly for several years and continues to proliferate today. However, to date, most of the discussion and research about U.S.-based lesson…

Based on a University of Tokyo/Stanford University study, this article examines the context surrounding teachers' professional lives. Preliminary findings indicate similarities and differences in teacher perceptions of roles and responsibilities, institutional contexts, use of time, and professional development activities. Japanese teachers work…

This historical paper is an introduction to curriculum thinking in Japan. It discusses contested value frameworks that have exercised professional educators in the light of two "Western" interventions: (1) the modernization initiatives of the Meiji government of the nineteenth century; and (2) the policies that followed Japan's defeat in…