Challenges and Prospects of Teacher Education Colleges and Institutions in Japan

School education in Japan is currently in disarray: bullying is rampant; students refuse to attend school; classroom discipline is in chaos; and children lack desire to learn (for a review of the problems, see Suzuki, 2000). In this context, some parents are vitally concerned with the new curriculum guidelines released by the government, of which reduce the content of school lessons by 30% (Asahi News Paper, 28 November 2001).

In the guidelines for reforms at universities prepared by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (hereafter referred to as the Ministry), the emphasis is on consolidating and streamlining facilities (Asahi News Paper, 4 December 2001). And teacher education institutions are prime targets for the axe due to the current problem of teacher’s over-supply. Other schools are openly questioning the need for having specialized institutions to educate teachers, reflecting that there is now a concern that faculty members of those teacher education institutions are themselves the largest source of surplus labor that should be cut in order to save overall personnel costs (Asahi News Paper, 5 December 2001).

In this context, described in this chapter are the historical context of universities of education for teacher education, as well as the major features and characteristics of these universities in academic programs, staffing and resourcing, and graduates. An attempt is made to address a question: “what are the major differences between these universities for teacher education with other comprehensive universities?” Moreover, the strengths, concerns, and future developments of these universities of education are reviewed. Furthermore, some implications for the international audience interested in the reform of teacher education at the institution and system levels are drawn.