Faculty of Education, Gunma University

The history of the School of Education at Gunma University begins in 1873 (the sixth year of the Meiji Era) with the opening of a school to train elementary school teachers. Over 130 years since that time, the School of Education has contributed significantly to the corps of teachers responsible for the creation of school education through various historical eras. The official name “School of Education” was first used in 1966 (the 41st year of the Heisei Era). Although this may sound comparatively recent, more than 40 years have passed since then. In the course of that time, great numbers of our graduates have gone on to work as active educators and leaders, both within and without Gunma Prefecture.

Our main focus at the School of Education is the development of teachers for elementary, junior high, and special education schools. Additionally, in order to provide more thorough specialized training, we offer graduate programs in educational research and certificate programs for advanced teaching. In 2008, we restructured our former Master’s Program in Education of Specialized Subjects and established three new programs: Master’s Program in Education for Individuals with Special Needs, Master’s Program in Educational Practice of Specialized Subjects, and Professional Degree Program (i.e., Program for Leadership in Education). Furthermore, students are able to obtain teacher licenses for work in kindergartens and high schools. From here, paths are cleared toward careers teaching at all types and levels of schools. Qualifications earned at the School of Education are not limited to teacher licenses, but also include qualifications for assistant supervisors of social education, curators, and school librarians. Thanks to teamwork and commitment at the School of Education, students can acquire a great range of knowledge and skills.

As for career paths, the recent nation-wide decrease in the number of children has made it somewhat more difficult for students of the School of Education to acquire full-time teaching positions immediately upon graduation. However, more than sixty percent of our graduates do in fact find teaching work immediately upon graduation (including adjunct teaching positions). This rate of educational employment is one of the more impressive rates nationally, and is just another clear indication that the School of Education is more than meeting its responsibilities in teacher training and development. Besides our graduate and advanced certificate programs, other paths taken after graduation from the School of Education include work in government organizations and private companies. Graduates are able to pursue their interests and harness their abilities in a wide range of areas.

Recently schools and school systems have been confronting a wide range of problems, including bullying, delinquency, reclusive students, collapses of classroom order, loss of academic skills, physical infirmity, student attrition, and so on. To overcome these problems actively, the School of Education established its Program for Leadership in Education, a professional degree program, in its graduate school. We at the School of Education at Gunma University — in coordination not only with the graduate programs and affiliated schools, but also with the Gunma Prefecture Board of Education — are working to find concrete strategies to solve these problems. At the same time, in order to meet its goal as an instrument of teacher training, we putting our greatest unified efforts into “developing teachers of the highest qualities and abilities.” In order to meet the evolving needs and expectations of real schools, we are determined to continue making advances in both teacher development and ongoing education.

Kei-ichi Koike
Dean, School of Education