Current Issues on Policy Management, Professional Development of Teachers, and its Relationships in Early Childhood Education and Care

• Published in: The Annual Bulletin of the Japanese Society for the Study on Teacher Education Vol. 31; pp. 64 - 74
• Main Author: SAKATA, Tetsuhito
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for the Study on Teacher Education 2022
• ISSN: 1343-7186; 2434-8562
• DOI: 10.32292/jsste.31.0_64

This study discusses trends in early childhood education（ preschool education）, particularlyfrom ages 3 to 5, and the Early Childhood Education and Care （ECEC） teachers who areresponsible for it. The field of ECEC is being actively approached not only from pedagogy andECEC studies but also from economics and other fields that recognize the value of investmentsin the field.In the past, there was a strong interest in improving access to early childhood education(ensuring quantity), but as the prospects for securing this situation have become more promising,the international trend has shifted from ensuring quantity to quality, and various measures,such as the establishment of preschools, are now being proposed.Meanwhile, to follow this trend, Japan also faced a major shift from quantity to qualityaround 2020. This discussion is having a direct impact on the nature and trends of childcarefacilities, such as kindergartens, daycare centers, and ECEC centers, as well as on the rolesand training of childcare personnel (qualified kindergarten teachers and nursery teachers) whowork in these facilities. The contents of the National Curriculum for Kindergarten Education,the Guidelines for Nursery School Education and Care, and the National Standards for ECECcenter have become interlinked, and a new qualification system for ECEC teachers has alsobeen considered. On the other hand, the current situation is one of dualization in many areas,and each site is under pressure to make a difficult decision.Uchida (2016) has already raisedthese trends and issues in JSSTE Annual Report No. 25. This paper examines Uchida’s discussionand examines the latest trends and issues considering subsequent trends and changes.