CURRICULUM POLICY
Curriculum Policy - the principles on the formation and implementation of the curriculum for theTeacher Training Program at the Faculty of Education

The Teacher Training Program at the Faculty of Education at Kagawa University consists of three courses.
Students in the Early Childhood Course need over 109 credits in classes from the faculty. Students in theElementary and Junior High School Course need more than 103 credits. Students also need 32 credits
from general education classes.
A breakdown of these classes is as follows: basic specialised subjects, 2 credits; specialised subjects inbasic research, over 16 credits; practical research, over 42 credits; and developmental studies, over 24credits.
In order to undertake teaching practice which is a compulsory class in the third year, students are required
to have more than 60 credits in their second year.
In the Early Childhood Education teacher training course, 141 credits or more are required for graduation.
In the Elementary and Junior High School teacher training course, 135 credits or more are required forgraduation.
1. Linguistic competence
We aim to improve students' language skills. These are the foundation of the general education
communication classes at the university. In their second and third years, students take specialist classes.
Students in the Early Childhood Education Course take Early Childhood Teaching Practice and Guidance
for Early Childhood Teaching Practice classes. Students aiming for teaching licenses in elementary orjunior high schools also take the Preparatory Class for Teaching Training. All students must complete thenecessary teacher practice classes. These classes help students acquire skills in communicating andmaking presentations. In their fourth year, students acquire the specialised terminology related to theirfields and also the skills to use it in writing their graduation theses and in the Childcare and Teaching
Practice class.
2. Knowledge and comprehension skills as a graduate in education in the twenty-first century
In order to acquire basic knowledge about education, students take general education classes students tocultivate their viewpoints and perspectives. They also take specialised classes in basic research and theIntroduction to Teaching class in their first year. In the Introduction to Teaching class, students deepen
their knowledge and understanding of the field of teaching through groupwork. In their second and thirdyears mainly, students enrol in specialised classes in their respective majors to acquire the basic
knowledge of their field of specialisation. They also take classes related to basic research, practicalresearch and developmental studies for their respective early childhood, elementary and junior high school
courses. Developmental research classes focus on pedagogy and teaching methods for each major in thestudents' second to fourth years. These classes afford students the opportunity to experiene PBL, projectbased learning. There is also classes offered during the students' first to third years focusing on teaching
and understanding students, and finally, students write a dissertation in their final year.

3. Problem-solving and information gathering skills
Students learn the basic methods of how to indentify problems and solve them in the general education
Shudai B classes, Various Problems of Modern Society and the Seminar in Academic Literacy classes. In
their second year, students deepen their understanding of the issues related to schools and teaching intheir specialised fields and how to resolve these in Early Childhood Teaching Practice, Guidance for Early
Childhood Teaching, and the Pre-Teacher Training classes. Students' abilities in exploring concrete issues
in education is developed in their third and fourth years through classes before and after their teaching
training, and also early childhood teaching practice classes. Students in their fourth year develop theircomprehensive academic skills in their graduation dissertations with PBL, project based learning.

4. Ethical and social responsibility
Students learn how to live as citizens of the twenty-first century in the Shudai A class, Life and Careers.
They also learn about ethics and social responsibility in classes such as Introduction to Teaching at thefaculty, as well as Seminar in Academic Literacy, a general education class.
In the second year faculty classes, Early Childhood Teaching Practice, Guidance for Early ChildhoodTeaching, students in the Early Childhood Education course deepen their recognition of a teacher's ethicaland societal responsibilities through direct contact with schools. Elementary School and Junior HighSchool course students deepen their recognition of a teacher's ethical and social responsibilities throughdirect contact with schools and institutions in the two faculty classes, Volunteer Work at Care Facilities,and Pre-Teacher Training.
In their third and fourth years, students acquire ethical and social responsibilities, and the skills needed toact as a member of society through internships in classes before and after their teaching training, as wellas their teacher training itself, and a final review seminar class in their fourth year. Volunteer activities canbe taken by students in any grade. These help students learn about ethical and social responsibility byexperience.
5. Regional knowledge and understanding (community-mindedness)
The Shudai C Regional Knowledge general education classes focus on motivating students' interest in
their local communities. After having received a certain level of specialised education and understanding
from a variety of perspectives, students takes practical courses in social studies and education and as anoption, Special Needs Education Teaching Practice, and deepen their knowledge of the local area andtheir specialised field of education. Students can deepen their understanding of the local region throughtaking part in the volunteer activities and intercultural exchange classes. In all these classes, students canexperience a variety of teaching methods inlcuding PBL, project-based learning, teaching practice, andgroup work, and gain further practical understanding of the actual situation and issues facing the local
community and its schools.
6. A sense of mission regarding teaching and self-development
Contents of all classes in the faculty relate to the teaching profession and a career in education. The
volunteer courses open to students of each grade encourage a sense of mission for the teachingprofession.
In their first year, students enrol in the faculty class Seminar in Academic Literacy and gain anunderstanding of schools and the teaching profession.
In their second year, the focus is on developing an understanding of children in classes in classes such asteacher training practice classes for students in the Early Childhood Education teacher training course, anda course in volunteer work at care facilities and a class for teacher trainees prior to their teaching praciticefor students in the Elementary and Junior High School teacher training courses.
In their third year, students deepen their knowledge and experience of the teaching profession in classes
before and after their teaching training.
In their fourth year, students improve their knowledge and understanding of the teaching profession
through the further teacher training classes and Special Needs Teaching Practice classes. In this way,
students gain a bird's eye general overview of the teaching profession from their first year to their fourthyear, with Introduction to Teaching in the first year, and wind up this process with the a final classreviewing teacher training and the teacher profession in their fourth year. This sets them up well for theircareers after graduation.
Evaluation of a student’s academic achievements as mentioned above is based on a strict five-pointsystem, including GPA, the student’s grade point average. The student's graduation thesis is evaluatedcomprehensively on its selection of the research question and its practical solutions to the issue
addressed. Lecture-style classes are evaluated according to the degree the student has acquired theknoweldge focused on in the class. For classes at the university and teacher practice classes outside, it isthe degree to which students can apply the knowledge they have gained to the school and their classes
which is evaluated.
A student's a sense of mission regarding teaching and self-development, item six listed above, isevaluated by the students themselves by means of a booklet distributed to all students in their first year.
From the first year till their fourth year, students fill in and keep a record of their studies and comments onit. This booklet is used to ascertain the quality of their acquisition of the qualities necessary to be ateacher.