On-the-Job Training System to Support Gifted School Activities for In-Service Teachers With Online Video Conferencing

Background

The significance of teachers’ ongoing efforts and training have been emphasized for schooling in Japan. One of the present authors, Higuchi (2011) already stated that “teaching is a profession backed by expertise, which is gained through the continuous pursuit of study and training and is essential to the execution of one’s duties. Various educational reports show that this view of the teaching profession is generally shared in educational circles in Japan.” Furthermore, he stated that “teacher training could be said to be a professional duty that teachers have toward their students, with the nature of a ‘mandatory right’ subject to the natural constraints of the profession.” Thus, in Japan, in-service training is considered to be a professional duty. This is also evident in Miyazaki Prefecture, where “teachers are the most important aspect of children’s educational environment” (Miyazaki Prefecture Board of Education,2004). Teachers’ continuous learning is held up as a model wherein teachers ceaselessly continue learning in order to improve their own caliber and capacities, and there are high expectations for in-service training to cultivate and increase teachers’ expertise.