2004 Volume 13 Pages 94-104
This paper discusses gender issues hidden within Japanese teacher education programs by analyzing the data gathered in a questionnaire survey, administrated in February 2003, of all of the 1,924 professors in the eight largest national teachers colleges in Japan. Prior research has investigated the reproduction of gender inequities in Japanese schools; however, gender dynamics in teacher education has received only slight attention.
While feminist theories as well as many kinds of student-centered educational theories are formally introduced to pre-service teachers, what they actually learn through the hidden curriculum looks quite different. First, we provide an outline of gender issues in the teacher education system in the eight teachers colleges. The data show an obvious male domination among teacher education faculties in Japan. The average percentage of female faculty is only 16.5％；moreover, most of them are limited to specific areas and positions. The low percentage of female faculty appears in striking contrast to the high percentage of female students.
Second, we analyze the gender differences in the teaching activities of faculty members in teacher preparation programs. The survey data show a relationship between the gender bias score of faculty and their teaching activities. For example, women teacher educators tend to (1) have low scores on the gender bias gauge, (2) spend more time in preparing classes and advising students, (3) pursue interactive teaching methods in large classes, (4) avoid wearing casual clothes or talking about their personal life in classes, and (5) evaluate female students higher than male faculty members do. The data also show that gender biased teacher educators tend to prefer strict an authoritarian K-12 teaching practices and obedient children more than do non-gender biased teacher educators. In addition, these scores correlate closely with professors' own behavior toward pre-service teachers. The survey data suggest that the hidden curriculum in teacher education perpetuates the gender inequities in Japanese schools and society.
