The College of Education

 

“Welcome to College of Human Sciences”
Introductory video on College of Human Sciences (3 min)  Full Movie

The College of Education provides variety of academic programs related to learning and education in three wide contexts, “at home”, “at school” and “in society”, from a perspective that integrates theory and practice. The college offers a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to “education”, from the individual to the national and international levels. Students learn about various social and cultural aspects of educational issues and phenomena and acquire a comprehensive understanding of the human society, to become competent specialists involved in the various and wide-range educational issues of the present society. In order to achieve the goal, the college provides a curriculum subdivided into four areas: personality formation, school education development, educational planning and design, and regional and international education.

Welcome to the College of Education

Do you have any impressions about the College of Education, School of Human Sciences of the University of Tsukuba? If listing the features of our college by keywords, they can be put into the 5 points of “historicalness”, “diverseness”, “academicness”, “interdiscipline”, and “internationalness”.

“Historicalness” means the long tradition of the College of Education. The predecessor of the University of Tsukuba is the Tokyo University of Education (from 1949 to 1978) which was in the present Tokyo Campus. The College of Education took over the School of Education, Department of Education of the Tokyo University of Education and if going all the way back to the Tokyo Normal School (1872), Tokyo Higher Normal School (1902), Tokyo University of Literature and Science (1929), it has nearly 150 years of history. It was hardly surprising that this period produced many teaching staff and graduates who led the Japanese education community both in terms of research and actual practice, spreading the phrase “Education’s Tsukuba” even now.

“Diverseness” is to see the study of education from a higher perspective and pursue the whole concept of education as personality formation. Various specialized fields including philosophy of education, educational system and administration, school administration, comparative and international education, sociology of education, lifelong learning, educational method, clinical education, subject pedagogy, moral, extracurricular, and career education should impart the depth of the study of education more than someone can imagine. The same applies to career options, graduates follow diverse paths such as elementary, junior and senior high school teachers, public employees including the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Board of Education, and private enterprises related to education.

“Academicness” represents a deepening of a subject of interest with the consciousness of a researcher individually. The University of Tsukuba has the best graduate schools and exchanges with graduate students who belong to the Master’s/Doctoral Program in Education are also actively carried out. The university is also characterized by a high number of students who focus on reading literature and research, complete high-quality graduation studies under the guidance of a faculty member and aim to be a teacher in a university by going on to graduate school.

“Interdiscipline” is aimed at finding a wide-ranging education and comprehensive knowledge by learning different areas and out-of-the-box themes. This is the school philosophy of the University of Tsukuba and its commitment to interdisciplinary activities is apparent in the idea of not using names specified as departments. The School of Human Sciences has the environment to respond to the intellectual desire of students while actively taking courses in the neighboring College of Psychology and College of Disability Sciences.

“Internationalness” means the improved qualifications as an internationally minded person while accumulating overseas experience. Through various overseas study programs and exchanges with international students from around the world, it is expected for students to be exposed to a global perspective and mindset and educate oneself about research trends and the state of overseas education and schools while reading English-language literature in studying.

Beyond learning, the ability to freely carry out activities on one’s own responsibility is a major draw for the university. Along with everyone, we look forward to the day when you will study at the College of Education.

HIGUCHI Naohiro

Our Vison

Comprehensive knowledge and education related to people

For a correct understanding of people with a focus on complex and highly developed contemporary society, students will gain an understanding of interdisciplinary and comprehensive knowledge and education including the study of education and psychology and foundation of disability sciences.

Broad-based learning of education and structured perspective and attitude

Students will obtain an acute interest toward issues of educational phenomenon and understanding of broad-based learning and study comprehensive and structured perspective and attitude on educational phenomenon.

Qualities of educational professionals

Through exchange and integration with theoretical thinking and field experience of education issues, students will make something of their pedagogic expert knowledge, develop their abilities to enrich actual practice, and foster qualities as educational professionals required in various “fields of education” including schools, regions, national and local governments, businesses, and international organizations.

Foundational research capabilities of the study of education

Students will set a research task on education, collect and analyze historical records and data, foster the ability to think empirically and scientifically leading to a persuasive and certain conclusion and the ability of expression to accurately present the results, and develop the foundation for human resources in charge of the front ranks of education research some day in the future.

Two courses and the four areas of the College of Education

The College of Education has proposed two courses and the four areas with an eye toward the linkage of various research areas that make up the comprehensive study of education.

Becoming 2nd year students, those who strongly hope to acquire an elementary school teacher’s license will belong to the “Elementary Education Course”, otherwise the students will be in the “Education Course”. Students who belong to the “Elementary Education Course” will take courses of subjects required for the elementary school teacher’s license intensively which fall within “Educational Planning and Design” while students who are in the “Education Course”, “School Education Development” will choose one area of particular concern from the four areas of “Personality Formation”, “School Education Development” “Regional and International Education”, and “School Education Development” and take courses which fall within the area intensively. For either course or area, students will finalize their graduation research in the 4th year by taking advantage of the knowledge and skills they learned.

Furthermore, every student must attend several courses included in the four areas. Because studying knowledge and skills pertaining to education by and large is beneficial to becoming an education-affiliated pre-eminent theorist and practitioner than acquiring knowledge and skills in only one area.

Students of the College of Education are required to deepen their individual and professional interest in research along with studying the knowledge of “education” from various standpoints.

How to Register and Courses

How to Register and Courses

Then, by taking “Major Subjects” in the 3rd year, students have increased opportunity to specialize in education. We have explained the four areas in the College of Education earlier and students will make a general study of courses in the 4 areas for the 3rd year and courses in one area of concern will be studied intensively. This developed expertise in education will become a foundation of the “graduation research” to be dealt with in the 4th year.

Other than this, students who acquire a teacher’s license will take “Teaching Subjects”; provided however, that students who pursue an elementary school teacher’s license will take these subjects after joining the “Elementary Education Course” in the 2nd year in principle. The “Teaching Practice” required for the teacher’s license will be implemented in the 4th year in the case of the University of Tsukuba (in the case of the elementary school teacher’s license, this practice will be executed in the 3rd year in principle). Furthermore, students who would like to get the qualification as a social education supervisor will take “Subjects for Social Education Supervisors” in the 2nd and 3rd year intensively. In addition, students can freely take courses of other colleges and schools beyond the College of Education of the School of Human Sciences in the University of Tsukuba. These are the subjects in “Others”.

Courses in the university form the basis of independence of students unlike the classes during senior high school. Through self-education, students can only study the depth and appeal of knowledge.

(The curriculum is likely to be reorganized from here on.)

School Education Development

School Education Development

The policy of School Education Developments “to foster experts of the evolving school education”. The school is the place of learning for children and pupils daily. The involvement of the teacher changes along with the development of children and pupils and the school continues to evolve while becoming entwined with the social setting. The purpose of School Education Development is for students to study the cornerstone and basics of such school education, become tuned into the evolving school education based on this, and foster persons with the power to change for the better.

It is not important only to study theories on school education on one’s desk. Students will actually step into the school and find various challenges in school education with their own eyes. They will set their own research theme out of those challenges and pursue the theme in their terms based on the theories they learned in class. To do so, their understanding of school education is further deepened which will lead to the building of better school education. In particular, the Elementary Education Course fosters the power of execution and ability to conduct research rooted on site based on cooperation with the laboratory schools.

Master school education to have a part in the world with School Education Development

〈Lectures〉
Mathematics Education, Method of Teaching Elementary Subjects (Japanese)

〈Class Exercises, Practical Exercises〉
Curriculum Development Seminar, Clinical Education Seminar, Educational Guidance Seminar

Educational Planning and Design

Educational Planning and Design

Places of learning in schools including courses, class activities, school activities, etc. are built on the support of various organizations and systems. For example, we have the 6-3-3 system and grade and class structures. Furthermore, schools are organized by the cooperative ties of teachers and employees and involvement of parents and local residents and the board of education of local municipalities conducts training of teachers, employees, and schools and allocates a budget or educational activities of the school to be implemented effectively. The national government consolidates the legal system for these activities and provide support through subsidies, etc.

For Educational Planning and Design,students will design school education and research on support activities. Students will study theories and history on the educational system, administrative, fiscal, and legal systems, school organizations and administration, Japanese and overseas systems, and actual practice. Then, this area will foster human resources who can develop, propose, and explore designs and support of future school education.

〈Lectures〉
Education System, Education Legal System, Comparative School Administration

〈Class Exercises, Practical Exercises〉
Comparative School Administration Seminar

Regional and International Education

Regional and International Education

Education can be said to be activities of various personality formation being conducted in various “places” including schools, local community, and the home. This area is made up of courses that practically and theoretically explores these educational activities covering not just from the local level but to the global level in relation to societies and cultures and is characterized with the perspective of gaining a broad understanding of educational and learning activities in various levels.

Through the courses of this area, we would like our students to seek a career as experts of local social education who provide learning support in places of lifelong learning including community centers, libraries, museums, culture centers, and sporting facilities or experts who engage in education support in an international setting including education for international understanding.

〈Lectures〉
Comparative Education and Culture, Sociology of Education I

〈Class Exercises, Practical Exercises〉
Lifelong Learning Seminar II, Exploration of the Sociology of Education I

Personality Formation

Personality Formation

In Personality Formation, students can study the basics of education. It includes the philosophy of education, history of Japanese education, historical studies of foreign education, moral education, and career education.

Currently, among the courses in this area, courses where students can consider how schools were formed and expanded back through the history of the world and Japan and recapture the footsteps and the way of thinking of persons of stature who guided the whole concept of education today are being mainly offered. In particular, these courses cover a big-picture view of the history of Japanese education centering on pre-modern history, historical image of the history of Japanese education centering on modern history, thought and history of classes, curricula, and simultaneous teaching, personality formation of Steiner education, aspects of moral education overseas, philosophy and Socrates educational thought in ancient Greece, etc. By studying these, the students will acquire primary knowledge of the study of education.

In this area, when it comes down to finalizing the graduation research, to acquire fundamental education to consider the nature and elements of education, students will be expected to make a career choice to various areas including academic and educational circles.

〈Lectures〉
Philosophy of Education, History of Japanese Education, Educational History in Asia

〈Class Exercises, Practical Exercises〉
Moral Education Seminar, Historical Studies of Foreign Education Seminar

Faculty and Program

Career options for graduates

Career options for graduates

The College of Education produced its first batch of graduates in March 2011. As the College of Human Sciences (Major in Education), its predecessor, our graduates are pursuing various parts of society.

We can tell that around 50% of graduates find “Employment”, 30% “Graduate school”, and 20% opt for “Others” as a rough trend. Many students included in “Others” are those preparing for employment and graduate school and they will decide on employment or graduate school within the following year or the space of a few years and pursue their desired career options.

As a recent trend, there is a growing number of those who become elementary school teachers among “Teachers”. After pursuing a master’s degree in graduate school, many become teachers.

Going to graduate school

Many of those who go to graduate school pursue the Master’s/Doctoral Program in Education of the University of Tsukuba. The Master’s Program in Education (reorganized from AY 2020) is divided into the 3 courses of Subprogram in Education Sciences, Subprogram in International Education, and Subprogram in International Education and after completion, the students try to become teachers at all three levels and researchers by pursuing the Doctoral Program in Education. As for the rest, there are also students who pursue the other doctoral programs in the University of Tsukuba or graduate schools of other universities.

Information

University of Tsukuba(Japanese Website)  
University of Tsukuba(English  Website)
College of Education(Japanese website)   
Master’s Program in Education(English website)