"The Decline of Teachers' Ability" as an Illusion(<Special Issue>Reforming Teacher Education)

Distrust and criticisms of teachers, in particular a conviction about "the decline of teachers' ability", have been a precondition when educational policies around teachers and teacher training are established. The word of "the decline of teachers' ability" has been used broadly regardless of a lack of evidence. However, it is very difficult to examine a decline scientifically. This article will discuss the "decline of teachers' ability" using statistical data. The data used in this article are not enough to measure the teachers' ability, but we can estimate the status of teachers' ability using these data. We will examine the statistics about disciplinary action against teachers, teachers with insufficient ability and competition rates of employment exams for teaching. After that, using survey research for teachers, teacher training system and working environments of teachers will be discussed. The results will be as follows. 1) We cannot have the definite evidence to prove the decline of teachers' ability. The rise in the number of disciplinary actions, physical punishment and obscenity incidents by teachers and insufficient abilities of teachers, have been used as evidences for the necessity of educational reforms. However, the number of these incidents is extremely low. We do not have the urgent need to reform educational systems around all teachers and teacher training. 2) In recent years, teachers' ability might deteriorate because teaching as an occupation has become unattractive owing to aggravation of their working circumstances. It will be estimated that the recent educational policies based on marketization have made the working circumstances of teachers worse. 3) Teachers relatively appreciate their training courses in their college days. In particular, practice teaching and monitorial teaching is highly regarded. 4) For the development of teachers, their colleagues especially senior teachers, have great influence. Teachers have circumstance under which they can develop themselves with collegiality. 5) However, recent aggravation of their working places conditions might spoil their collegiality. Educational reforms have not improved teachers' ability, but they might have made teachers' ability worse. Based on these results we will discuss the following: 1) We have to improve working conditions for teachers first. To make teaching an attractive occupation and to recruit teachers with high ability, their working circumstances must be changed. 2) The top-down system of educational administration deprives teachers of their autonomy. As a profession, teachers have to recover their autonomy. 3) To recover teachers' autonomy and to make the teaching profession attractive, we must retrieve trust for teachers. Educational reforms based on distrust for teachers never raise their ability.