In recent years, increasing attention to the need of improving teacher competency has been paid by the educational administration not only in Japan but also in many other countries. The expansion of school population that began in 1960's has produced various new problems in school education-such as slow learners, delinquency,drop-outs, school violence, and so on. To meet these problems, there arose the need for a new curriculum development, new programs for student guidance, new techniques of instruction, and also the need for mutual cooperation between home, school and community, to bring up healthy children and youths. Consequently, teacher competency has urgently been called for especialy since 1970's. The Ad Hoc Council on Education that started in September 1984 presented its Second Report in April 1986, which included several items concerning recommendations on the policy of educational administration to improve teacher competency. New points are made in this recommendation which differ from those which had been presented in the past reports by Central Council on Education and the Council on Educational Personnel Training, etc. The most essential characteristic in this item is a proposal to introduce Induction Training Program for new teachers, who are to be given guidance and advice from a guidance teacher with regard to their daily work in school for one year. Generally speaking, the recommendations of the past years stressed the need for administrative measure to increase the requirement for teachers' certificate to prepare teachers for better practical ability. But, this time, the need for more flexible certificate system is emphasized to meet the present educational demands and also to open a way to induct people who have excellent ability of teaching into educational profession as well as the need for the intensive and extensive in-service training of teachers emphasized for all stages of their professional career. Many researches on the process and mechanism of professional growth of teachers as well as on the effective INSET programs have been conducted in recent years. Based on the findings of these researches, the recommendations in the Second Report can be analysed and evaluated as fairly adequate in its content in general, because teacher competency necessary for actual teaching life can best grow through the practical teaching life in the school, through their actual teaching experience, with advice and cooperation offered from other teachers in the daily school work. However, attention should be paid on how to put these recommendations into practice, because the effect of the new program on improving teacher competency depends much on the practice of giving advice, not only by guidance teachers but also by their colleagues through cooperative team work in the school's daily educational activities. It is also very important that other institutions and opportunities should offer a net work support for schools and teachers to help solve problems in their daily life and also to help in the professional growth of teachers. We must also add that universities should take a more active role than before on the in-service education of teachers, side by side with the role of the education of prospective teachers.
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