教育・保育者が育つ環境づくり

―教育法の見地から―

抄録

  This essay will posit working principles for creating an environment and educational legalistic framework in Japan for better teachers, including at pre-school and nursery levels. In particular, it will focus diachronically on the third stage of teachers' education and training, or that of teachers' careers following their formal training: hitherto treated as “staff development,” “in-service training” and so forth. This is still important today; however, the more people become serious about “the best interests of the child,” (Art. 3. Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN 1989) the greater the necessity to drastically reform the instructional and living conditions of teachers to meet the new demands.

  To realize and protect the benefits of the child, the environment for better teachers should be reorganized according to the following principles. First, teachers should be respected for their humanity, i.e. before their status as professional teachers, they are entitled to the rights and working conditions necessary to maintain their humanity as citizens. Directly serving individual child development, teachers can thus contribute to present and future problems facing mankind. Second, teachers should only faithfully obey child development theory, science and culture. To these ends, the state has a duty for the “establishment and regulation of the various conditions” for the education and welfare of the child (Art. X. Fundamental Law of Education, 1947); and this also means providing a better instructional environment for teachers. The most important basis of teaching activities is a teacher's academic freedom within the school setting (Art. 23. Japanese Constitution, 1946). At this point it is important to recognize that teachers are professionals. Third, teachers should be more involved in the decision-making process at schools and the community. Furthermore, this involvement should be connected to educationalists' participation in decision making and the implementation of educational policies in the community. This will lead to a new principle of educational autonomy and a revival of democracy in education.