１）Tsubasa Masuda: Transition Issues in Japanese ECEC Professional Development. OMEP Asia Pacific Regional Conference 2019
in KYOTO, JAPAN, September 6, 2019.

Transition Issuesin Japanese ECEC Professional Development
Tsubasa Masuda（Jin-ai Women’s College）
OMEP Asia Pacific Regional Conference 2019 in KYOTO, JAPAN
September 6, 2019

Background of this Research
Declining population of high school students and shortage of ECEC teachers

The present situation surrounding university and college of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Teacher

Training Course in Japan is severe. In the past few years, many mass media have repeatedly reported on the nursery school
workplace environment requiring improvements (working conditions, salary, etc.) . As a result, apart from its significance andessence, “ECEC” has been attracting attention. Moreover, in the case a training school is located in an area where the populationis already declining, it is difficult to secure students due to the serious decline in the high school student population.

Especially in Fukui Prefecture, the recent drop in the number of high school girls in this prefecture（Figure 1）

and the increase in the number of people who outflow to neighboring prefectures when entering university (Ishikawa, Shiga,Kyoto, Osaka, Gifu, Aichi) is remarkable. As a result, the number of graduates that can be produced as ECEC Teacher to thisprefecture has begun to decrease. On the other hand, many nursery schools in Fukui Prefecture have serious labor shortages.
There is a vicious circle in which the working environment has deteriorated due to the lack of ECEC teachers, and this has also led
to a decrease in the number of candidate for ECEC teacher by being covered by media reports.

If such a vicious circle continues, the image of the ECEC held by ECEC teacher will become worse, and this willcause additional situations such as loss of confidence and the spread of fatigue. What should we do to turn this situation into avirtuous cycle or sustainable cycle of aspiration - training - recruitment - career advancement? What should we do to turn thissituation so that the wonderfulness of ECEC and the significance of ECEC are recognized?

Transition Issues in ECEC Teacher Training

Source: Population by age in Fukui Prefecture (as of April 1, published in Fukui Prefecture)※For the population after 2020, the number of each age as of April 1, 2019 is entered.

Our Achievements and Future Plans◆ “Experience Tour in the Field of ECEC”

Orientation and Simple Lecture
9:30 ~

GAP ③
GAP ②

The learning contents in training
school and job contents of ECEC
teachers are not understood

The learning outcomes at thetraining school do not partiallymesh with the abilities andqualities required by the field ofnursery school

Triggers for maladjustments
such as dropout of school

Triggers for maladjustments
such as leaving job

GAP ①No matter how much
experience I have, I can
not feel growth
There is no prospect offuture growth
Unclear career
perspectives asa ECEC teacher

Overlooking previous research, it can be said that there are three transitional periods in Japan's ECEC
professional development environment: ① from high school to university or college, ②from university
or college to beginner (ECEC teacher), and ③from beginner to competent or master.

【GAP①】 from High School to University or College
My parent recommended for me to go to college in this prefecture area (due to parent can't
cover the cost of living myself) .... I decided to become a ECEC teacher because I was mostinterested in children, but it was just the last remaining option. ※1

Having a love for child is a very important factor, but if she/he decides to go to the ECEC training
school for only that reason, she/he will be confused by a large amount of learning contents and will
likely make a mismatches. Another problem is that the job contents of the ECEC teachers are grasped
as the simple image of only playing with children.

【GAP②】 from University or College to Beginner (ECEC Teacher)

Experience as ECEC teacher
10:00 ~ 12:00

Student A: It was interesting because each child had different characteristics.
Student B: It was difficult for me that how children can understand my instruction.
I want to talk consciously with children who are closest to me from tomorrow.
“50 High School Students Become Kindergarten Teachers”, The Fukui Editions of The Chunichi Newspaper, Aug 7, 2019Student C: Every children were cute and fun. I learned a lot because the teacher was always taking care of choosing words
so that children could easily understand or the teacher was thinking out a method inspiring children's play.
“Early Childhood Education, Experience and Understanding”, The Fukui Newspaper, Aug 14, 2019

◆ Questionnaire Research for ECEC Teacher
Published: Mar 5, 2018

Purpose: Investigation of learning outcomes and curriculum at our college

In December 2016, we put the questionnaire survey into effect for all kindergartens and nurseryschools (total of 337 institutions) in Fukui Prefecture (number of valid responses: 1831). The results
were compiled as a “Survey Report On ECEC Teachers in Fukui Prefecture”, and the characteristics
and issues of the ECEC teacher training course at our college were quantified and analyzed.
In particular, it has become clear that there are several GAPs between the learning outcomesacquired at the time of graduation from our college and the abilities required of the ECEC teacher inthe field. The result was an opportunity to think about changing for the better the content ofeducation for our students and improving the content of training for field ECEC teacher.

※ According to this survey, it has been clarified that nearly 60% of ECEC teacher in Fukui prefecture are graduates of our College.

◆ Research and Development of “Career Rubrics”

There are many previous studies on the transition from training schools to the field of nursery school.
For example, research that focuses on the difficulties and conflicts that beginner teacher have, researchthat examines the relation between learning outcomes at ECEC training schools and the abilities andqualities required by the field of nursery schools, etc. Previous studies have pointed out incommon that there may be some gaps in the transition from the ECEC
training school to the field of nursery school. At present, however, there is We need “smile”,“brightness”, anda tendency that the abilities and qualities necessary for ECEC teacher are“energy” more
shown by vague factors, such as “smile”, “brightness”, and “energy”. Ofthan anything !!
course, this does not make it possible to achieve an appropriate transition.
※2【GAP③】 from Beginner to Competent or Expert
For example, according to Adachi and Shibazaki (2010) ※3, competent ECEC
teacher have some conflicts such as “busy work”, “difficult to both a work life
and a private life to coexist”, “gaps between the ideal ECEC and real ECEC”, “lowsocial status”, etc. Under these situations, the prospects for the future will be
uncertain in the course of developing a career as a ECEC teacher. Thus, many
ECEC teacher have to continue to work without planing detail of Career prospect.

※Career rubrics will be a tool for realizing “seamless transition”

I can not plan
my career inthe future…

※1 Masako Iwata (2010): A consideration on career choice behavior in the nurses training junior college
from the viewpoint of educational psychology, Journal of Suzuka Junior College. 30.
※2 Katsumi Nakamura (2005): A study on the image of nursery teachers and their training, Journal of
Nishikyushu University & Saga Junior College. 36.
※3 Satomi Adachi & Masayuki Shibazaki (2010): Analysis of "Swaying" and Structure of Reformationin the Process of Obtaining a Nursery and Kindergarten Teacher Identity, Reseach on earlychildhood care and education in Japan. 48(2).

Required Research Themes
How can high school
students learn more
about ECEC ?

Learning outcomes
and assessment

Connection
from high school
to ECEC training school

ECEC Training school
curriculum

Connection from ECEC
training school
to the field of nurseryschool
ProfessionalDevelopment
as ECEC teacher

Sustainability of ECEC
Leadership& Management
Transmission thesignificanceof ECEC
Promote mutual
understandingamong
stakeholders

Please refer to the following about detailed background of this poster.
Tsubasa Masuda (2019): Constructing of childcare and teaching professional training by seamless transition, Research journal of Jin-ai women's college. 51.

Preparing for tomorrow
14:00 ~ 15:00

Date: Aug 6, 2019
Participants: 48 high school students(1st, 2nd, 3rd grade) in Fukui prefecture
A attempt that encourages high school students to think about what they need to learn in order to become a ECEC
teacher. Through this experience, they were able to consider the significance of ECEC and the career path to try forbecome a ECEC teacher. The following is the impression of the participants in the newspaper.

Future Directions

We are currently undertaking research anddevelopment of “Career Rubrics”. Career rubrics is along-term step-by-step reference table showing theabilities that should be acquired at each stage (highschool, ECEC training school, and the field of nurseryschool). We want to promote “visualization oflearning” by sharing this table among stakeholders.
By developing the career rubrics, the learning
objectives at each stage will become clear, andcontinuation and improvement of motivation can beexpected. In addition, visualization of the growth
image will make it easier to have a future prospect.

In the environment surrounding ECEC teacher professional development, it can be seen that high schools, trainingschools, and the field of nursery school are all operated by completely different systems. A person who want to be a
ECEC teacher must transit through these three different cultures and have to overcome the distinctive conflicts andmismatches that arise from the differences in each culture. Here, It should be noted that there is a general tendency
to consider these transition issues as problems of the ECEC teacher themselves or ECEC teacher candidate themselves(course choice motivation, learning motivation, occupational understanding, abilities and qualities, etc.). Instead, it
must be regarded as a structural or system problem in the ECEC teacher professional development environment. Thisis because, without such a view, it will be difficult to secure and maintain ECEC teachers in the Japanese society wherepopulation decline will become more serious in the future. We, Jin-ai women's college, will continue to various trials
to create the continuous professional development environment among the three parties (high school, ECEC teacher
training school, and the field of nursery school). Furthermore, compared to the past, we want to realize that stablesecuring of candidates for ECEC teacher, improvement of training education, stabilization of the ECEC work force.
This poster summarizes the overview and progress of the Private University Research Branding Project that isbeing carried out at Jin-ai Women's College. Jin-ai Women’s College was selected for the 2018 Private University
Research Branding Project as announced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).
For the 2018 Project, 20 universities (19 universities and 1 college) were selected from among 157 applying universities.
MEXT’s Private University Research Branding Project aims tofinancially support private universities and colleges working towardschool branding based on unique research.