A good practitioner is not always a good supervisor. The author believes that the reasons why supervision is not fully developed in Japan are (1) that knowledge about supervision itself has not been conveyed to beginners and (2) that a supervision model suited to Japan does not yet exist. The purposes of this paper were to (1) organize the purpose and definition of supervision from theories in other countries, (2) introduce supervision models in clinical psychology and school psychology in the U. S., and (3) discuss the training content necessary for the professional growth of school psychologists in Japan. In conclusion, (1) the literature showed that the primary purposes of supervision were to ensure the professional growth of the supervisees and the benefit of the client. (2) The IDM (Integrative Developmental Model) was introduced as a representative psycho-clinical model, and the DEP (Developmental, Ecological, Problem-solving Model) as a representative school psychology model, and it was clear that a broader perspective is needed for supervision of school psychology. Finally, (3) based on the two models, recommendations were made regarding the current supervision training content for school psychologists.

This study conducted a review of research trends on support based on group-oriented contingencies in regular elementary, middle, and high school classrooms in Japan. 29 practical research papers on support based on group-oriented contingencies implemented in regular classrooms were analyzed. Of all the studies, 25 had been conducted in elementary schools, 3 in high schools, and only 1 in a middle school. In terms of group-oriented contingency classification, many of the studies used an interdependent contingency. There were also studies that used an independent contingency, or used procedures of both interdependent and independent contingencies. In terms of the target behavior, the most common was preparation and tidying behavior. Other behaviors included engaging in tasks and reporting the prosocial behavior of other students. In terms of the effects of support based on group-oriented contingencies, many of the studies showed an increase in students’ appropriate behaviors and a decrease in disruptive behaviors. In addition, although the number of reports was small, other findings included an increase in helping behaviors, a decrease in symptoms of depression, and an improvement in test scores. Based on these results, suggestions for future practical research on group-oriented contingencies as support in regular classrooms were discussed.

In this paper, instructional practices were proposed to foster the selection and utilization of strategies in children’s speech activities by examining the influence of teacher feedback on listening strategies on children’s choice and application of strategies. The research focused on speech activities conducted as a continuous learning unit in the third grade of elementary school. From two classes in the same grade, a total of four students whose evaluations from children and teachers either matched or unmatched in terms of being “a good speaker but poor listener” or “a poor speaker but good listener” were selected as subjects of study. The results indicated that, firstly, children’s selection and utilization of strategies being related to the content of speech, rather than its style, was one of the significant factors leading to the alignment of evaluations between children and teachers. Secondly, it was suggested that the strategies which children select and utilize undergwent a transformation from being related to the style of the speech to being related to the content due to teacher feedback. Furthermore, the transformation in strategies was a stage-like process corresponding to instructional content from lower to upper grades.

In December 2022, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) published the “Guidance and Counseling Guidebook” for teachers and staff in schools. Hereafter, this guidebook is abbreviated as GCG. This is a revised edition of the guidebook of the same name published in 2010 by MEXT. This paper first describes the significance and characteristics of the original GCG published by the Ministry of Education in 1965 and a revised edition published by the Ministry in 1981. Secondly, it mentions the background and the main features of the latest revision of the GCG. In particular, it is important to promote systematic and planned development-supportive guidance and counseling based on legal knowledge and team support. Finally, school psychologists are expected to play two practical roles in the future: one as a promoter of classroom improvements and the other as a consultant for supportive, reliable, and normative classroom and homeroom managements.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the qualities and abilities related to career development at the beginner teacher stage. We organized the contents of the local government’s “Teacher Development Indicators” related to the qualifications and abilities of teachers. After analyzing the “Teacher Development Indicators” of eight local governments, including ordinance-designated cities, it was found that the “Teacher Development Indicators” consisted of (a) 3 to 6 career stages (such as “recruitment period,” “basic period,” etc.); (b) qualities and abilities (such as “educational affection,” “sense of mission,” “member of an organization,” etc.) required for each career stage, and (c) subdivided items on qualifications and abilities (such as “ability to lead learning,” “ability to lead students,” etc.). For the integration of educating, hiring, and training of teachers who “continue to learn,” cooperation between universities and boards of education is important for improving the connection between the qualifications and abilities at the training stage and the initial appointment stage.

This study investigated the in-school coordination processes undertaken by supervisors in charge of novice teacher training at special needs schools. We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with nine experienced supervisors. Using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA), we analyzed the data, identifying 5 categories and 35 concepts that elucidate the in-school coordination process. The findings highlighted the struggles experienced by supervisors between their ideals and the realities of training management. Despite these challenges, supervisors successfully navigated through conflicts, driven by a sense of mission to nurture new teachers. The study also showed that supervisors actively sought to enhance training effectiveness by incorporating interactive reflection. They achieved this by continuously refining and implementing training strategies and fostering constructive relationships between novice and more experienced teachers. This research offers critical insights into the roles and strategies of supervisors in the professional development of novice teachers within the context of special needs education.

The purpose of this study was to examine the concept of help-seeking in “Guidance and Counseling Guidebook, Revised.” Using 14 search words concerning help-seeking, 1063 sentences were extracted, of which 99 sentences that met eligibility criteria were selected from the guidelines in “Guidance and Counseling Guidebook, Revised.” These sentences were categorized into “characteristics of help-seeking,” “promoting/inhibiting factors on help-seeking,” and “outcome of seeking help.” Results of content analysis were as follows. (1) Help-seeking in children and adolescence was important for reasonable dependency through their whole life. (2) Teachers might be reluctant to seek help actively when they faced problems such as bullying, suicide, and child abuse. (3) Guardians were often reluctant to not only seeking but also receiving help from teachers. Future research on help-seeking in the field of student guidance and counseling was discussed.

Parents raising children with chronic childhood diseases and intractable diseases sometimes find it difficult to talk and share their worries about consultation support unrelated to medical care. In order to explore child-raising support measures that provide peace of mind, we held a team support meeting based on Open Dialogue, in which mothers participated as supporters of their children. The purpose of this study was to examine how the participation affected mothers’ psychological burden in child-rearing and how their awareness of team support changed. A team support meeting was held with fathers, mothers, and six people involved in medical and child care. Interview surveys were conducted before and after the team support meeting, and analysis was performed using the SCAT method. Results showed that participation in the team support meeting as a supporter fostered a child-rearing perspective that does not carry a sense of isolation and burden more than necessary in mothers. It was suggested that the reduced psychological burden in child-rearing affected the attitude toward participation in team support meetings.

In this study, we analyzed the results of a survey of 5481 junior high school students (1st to 3rd grade) on their daily living conditions, and examined the relationship between the amount of time spent on playing games and various aspects of life, including mental and physical health conditions. We identified the following two findings: (a) The amount of time spent on playing games was related to various aspects of life, such as sleeping, eating, spending after-school time, school life, emotional and physical conditions, and family and relationships with others. (b) Junior high school students with less playing time, spend less time on media, went to bed earlier and woke up earlier in the morning; and had better scores on sleep/eating status, school life, emotional and physical status, and relationship with family and others. These findings suggested that appropriate game playing time is associated with favorable conditions in various aspects of life. And, clinical guidance for life style support centered on setting “appropriate playing time of games” is an effective and feasible way to maintain the mental and physical health conditions of junior high school students.