Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The exemplary training workshops introduced described above require about 4 h
although the duration can be adjusted depending on the situation. Elementary and
junior high school teachers are not the only targets for training, but also high school
teachers of geography and history.
1.2.3
Renewal System for Teacher's Licenses
In the elementary school system, a variety of subjects are taught by one teacher,
however, they may not be fully prepared or trained to teach all the subjects. Even if
the content or learning methods in Social Studies or geography are excellent, some
teachers may need help to use them effectively for instruction. This is not only
applicable to Social Studies, but to all subjects. In response to this situation, MEXT
introduced a renewal system for teacher's licenses in 2009 so that they keep up to
date on the latest educational developments. The system requires elementary, junior
high, and senior high school teachers to receive training every 10 years and to pass
examinations in order to have their teacher's license renewed. Teachers who are
around the ages of 32, 42, and 52 years are required to participate in in-service training
for their license renewal. The training takes place at universities and similar institu-
tions, led by university lecturers.
As established by the government, in-service training in the license renewal
system requires at least 12 h to learn about the latest educational developments, and
at least 18 h for course instruction and student guidance. At Tsukuba University, one
of the universities that most actively conducts in-service training for the license
renewal system, lecturers who specialize in pedagogy primarily teach the latest
educational developments as a compulsory subject. Lecturers who are experts in
course instruction and student guidance offer a variety of lectures as elective sub-
jects. During the in-service training program conducted in 2010 for the teacher's
license renewal system, Tsukuba University offered a total of 77 elective subjects,
including a geography-related subject entitled “Lesson structure in Social Studies
(Geography and history) with fi eld research” (6 h). The background of this subject
is as follows.
In Japanese elementary and junior high schools, Social Studies focuses on learn-
ing about the local area of the students. For this reason, fi eld research is an impor-
tant learning outcome in Social Studies. In 2006, 81 students from Tsukuba
University took a survey that asked whether they undertook fi eld research in Social
Studies-related lessons. The responses showed that 74 % of students conducted
fi eldwork in elementary school, 12 % in junior high school, and 4 % in senior high
school. Although the rate of fi eldwork experience in elementary school was rela-
tively high, the overall rate, including high schools, was rather low. One of the most
important factors infl uencing fi eldwork is that teachers, including those in elemen-
tary schools, do not really understand how to plan and conduct fi eld research and
what outcomes to expect. For this reason, it was considered necessary to offer
lectures for teachers to learn about the signifi cance and methods of fi eldwork and
how to verify its effects.
