University Accreditation Results(Results for Certified Evaluation and Accreditation for University)

Miyagi University of Education

Basic Information of the Institution
Ownership: National

Location: Miyagi, Japan

Accreditation Status
Year of the Review: 2019
Accreditation Status: Accredited（Accreditation Period: April 1.2020 – March 31.2027）

Certified Evaluation and Accreditation Resultsfor Miyagi University of Education
Overview
Miyagi University of Education (hereinafter referred to as the “University”) states as its
purpose “to nurture, as a university charged with the task of teacher education, teacherswith superior qualities and skills for teaching at kindergartens, elementary schools, juniorhigh schools, high schools, special needs schools, and other institutions.” As a nationaluniversity serving as a wide-area hub in the field of teacher education, the University has
engaged in the development of teachers with extensive practical skills in its Faculty ofEducation and Graduate School of Education (Master’s Course and Professional Degree
Course (Graduate School for Teacher Training)). In response to the “redefinition ofmissions” proposed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MEXT), the University has actively engaged in educational and research
activities, with the aim of enhancing teaching profession education in the Tohoku regionin line with the Third Mid-term Goal set for the six-year period following AY2016 andcontributing to the formation and development of a national standard for the teachingprofession.
The University has consistently engaged in keeping track of the progress ofannual plans in order to achieve the mid-term goal and mid-term plan, as required under
the national university corporation evaluation system. Evaluation Office, among otherorganizations, keeps track of yearly progress, prepares reports on operational
performance, and responds to evaluations conducted by the National University
Corporation Evaluation Committee. However, the Goal & Evaluation Office, theorganization responsible for the promotion of internal quality assurance, only keeps trackof the progress of annual plans formulated based on the mid-term goal and mid-term plan,and does not implement management or provide support aiming at improving eachdivision based on an understanding of the status of university-wide initiatives or selfstudy results. The Goal & Evaluation Office does not cooperate sufficiently with otherorganizations involved in the University’s quality assurance. Therefore, the University
needs to consider how to ensure quality and review its internal quality assurance structure.
In terms of education, the faculty and graduate school have established the threepolicies, that is, the degree award policy (diploma policy), curriculum design andimplementation policy (curriculum policy), and admission policy, and conducts practicaleducation. The undergraduate program has created a curriculum map indicating the2relationship between subjects and registration years, and designed curricula in asystematic and methodical manner.
As part of its distinctive endeavors, the University has constantly engaged in therestructuring of its attached organizations in response to local needs and progress inrecovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, and has established the Center of Disaster
Education and Future Design as a hub for research and training in disaster education basedon the Great East Japan Earthquake experience. The University has also launched theBullying Prevention Support Project as a collaborative-participatory project with otheruniversities engaged in teacher education, contributed to the Tohoku region through its
research findings, and promoted anti-bullying activities carried out by student volunteers
involved in the project. These are remarkable endeavors.
However, there are issues with the curriculum design and implementation policy,
research supervision plan, and thesis examination criteria in the graduate school. The
faculty has not taken sufficient measures to give substance to credits. Although both thefaculty and graduate school strive to grasp learning outcomes, the learning outcomesindicated in the degree award policy are not sufficiently grasped or assessed. Therefore,
the University should establish methods and indicators for grasping and assessing
learning outcomes. Going forward, we hope the University creates an internal quality
assurance system and actively engages in checking and reviewing various activities andimplementing measures for improvement, as noted above, and expands and develops its
various distinctive initiatives even further.
Notable Strengths
Education and Research Organization
 Building on the center’s initiatives for restoring educational activity in the aftermathof the Great East Japan Earthquake, the University established the Center of Disaster
Education and Future Design for the purpose of promoting disaster preventionactivities at schools. Leveraging the experiences and legacies relating to theearthquake, the Center of Disaster Education and Future Design engages incommunity-based education and research on disaster prevention at schools anddisseminates its findings nationwide through teacher workshops and other means.
The Center of Disaster Education and Future Design’s constant engagement inorganizational restructuring in response to local needs and progress in post-disasterrecovery is expected to enable it to function as a hub for disaster education research
3and training based on the Great East Japan Earthquake experience. The Center ofDisaster Education and Future Design is a commendable organization that leverages
the University’s features.
Social Cooperation and Contribution
The University has launched the Bullying Prevention Support Project as acollaborative-participatory project with other universities engaged in teacher
education, and conducts surveys and research on anti-bullying support andmanagement methods to achieve bullying-free schools. As the only university in theTohoku region specializing in teacher education, the University has capitalized on its
achievements to contribute to society. Specifically, the University has compiled
examples of management methods to achieve bullying-free schools into a pamphlet
and distributed it to Tohoku’s prefectures, and has held workshops at nationaluniversities with a teacher education faculty located in the Tohoku region. Students
participate in the project as Bullying Prevention Volunteers, taking part in school
events with the aim of identifying potential causes of bullying at an early stage. The
provision of guidance to students both before and after their participation in theproject is expected to lead to further development of student learning. Thus, it iscommendable that the University contributes to the enhancement of teachingprofession education in the Tohoku region through studying the actual conditions oflocal school education in cooperation with other universities and leveraging researchfindings.

Suggestions for Improvement
Internal Quality Assurance
The activities of the Goal & Evaluation Office, the organization responsible for thepromotion of internal quality assurance, only include keeping track of the progressof annual plans formulated based on the mid-term goal and mid-term plan, and do
not extend to the implementation of management or provision of support aiming at
improving each division based on an understanding of the status of university-wide
initiatives or self-study results. Cooperation with the Strategy Promotion
Headquarters and Expert Committee, which are responsible for examining theUniversity’s issues, is lacking. Therefore, the University should review its internal
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quality assurance structure, create an appropriate internal quality assurance system,and ensure the system’s functionality.
Educational Program and Outcome
 The Graduate School of Education Master's Course and Graduate School ofEducation Professional Degree Course (Graduate School for Teacher Training) do
not present the basic ideas on curriculum organization and implementation in thecurriculum design and implementation policy. This should be improved.
 The University sets a limit on the number of credits students can register for in asingle year. However, the limit is set high, and students are allowed to register for
subjects—excluding those related to school library curator teacher and social
education manager certification, teaching practice subjects, and subjects directlyrelated to teaching practice—in excess of the limit. Due to this, a considerable
number of students actually register for a large number of credits. Other than setting
a limit on the number of registrable credits, no other satisfactory measures have beentaken to give substance to credits. Therefore, the University should improve thesituation in view of the purpose of the credit system.
 The Graduate School of Education Master's Course does not clearly present theexamination criteria pertaining to theses and special assignment research results inthe field of fine arts. The same examination criteria for the field of music are also
unclear. This should be improved.
 With regard to grasping learning outcomes, both the faculty and graduate school
evaluate students based on practical subjects and make students conduct self-study
based on learning records and portfolios. However, not enough is being done to grasp
the learning outcomes indicated in the degree award policy. Therefore, the University
should develop methods and indicators for grasping and evaluating learning
outcomes and grasp and evaluate learning outcomes in an appropriate manner.
Recommendation
Educational Program and Outcome5

The Graduate School of Education Master's Course has not set forth researchsupervision methods and schedules in the form of a research supervision plan. Theseshould be established and clearly presented to students in advance.

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