2015.11.12

Teaching and Learning from Children in Asia: Strengthening Teacher Education in Japan in a Global Context

 

For more than 200 years of its history, Japan was sequestered from the rest of the world. This isolation has impacted its teacher training system by creating a paucity of non-Japanese teachers other than assistant language teachers in English classes. However, the 21st century is characterized by borderless communities actively sharing knowledge and practices; therefore, it is essential to develop a high quality teacher training program that equips teachers to teach in heterogeneous education settings involving different cultures and languages. In 2008, Ehime University heeded this call by developing and implementing an international internship for teachers called the “Ehime University International Internship Program in Education” in association with the University of the Philippines.

 

The program is notable because of its incorporation of organic and practical coordination between related institutions to nurture cultural literacy, facilitate the acquisition of a foreign language, and improve knowledge and skills for teaching. It encourages prospective Japanese teachers to adopt English as the medium of instruction abroad, for providing a sophisticated learning experience in Education. This would help teacher training to become globalized and to improve international understanding. More than 150 Japanese students at Ehime University have conducted teaching practice at the University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS), since its inception, in various subjects such as mathematics, science, social studies, arts, and home economics, from kindergarten to high school.

 

The program has helped the university become an illustrious institution in the region, known for strength in knowledge production through research and for fostering better international relations by promoting cultural understanding among researchers and students. The Ehime University International Internship Program in Education has emerged as an innovative teacher education program in Japan by offering a blend of essential ingredients for teacher education in a globalized age to enable both students and teachers in Japan and the Philippines to study together for their mutual benefit and to cultivate mutual respect.

 

Further information about the Program

1) Bulletin of the Center for Education and Educational Research, the Faculty of Education Ehime University, 27, pp. 95-107, 2009.

2) Bulletin of the Center for Education and Educational Research, the Faculty of Education Ehime University, 28, pp. 35-49, 2010.

3) Journal of Faculty and Staff Development in Higher Education, 9, pp. 65-73, 2011.

4) Bulletin of the Faculty of Education Ehime University, 58, pp. 101-110, 2011.

5) Bulletin of the Center for Education and Educational Research, the Faculty of Education Ehime University, 29, pp. 55-67, 2011.　

6) Journal of Faculty and Staff Development in Higher Education, 10, pp. 15-21, 2012.　                                                   

7) Journal of Faculty and Staff Development in Higher Education, 10, pp. 23-31, 2012.　

8) Bulletin of the Center for Education and Educational Research, the Faculty of Education Ehime University, 31, pp. 93-101, 2013.

9) Journal of Faculty and Staff Development in Higher Education, 12, pp. 23-31, 2014.

10)  Journal of Faculty and Staff Development in Higher Education, 12, pp. 33-39, 2014.