The Training of Teachers in School that Promote a Sense of Participation in Curriculum Management

In discussing who is the main managers for the school curriculum, the role of head management such as principals or vice-principals and middle management such as subject leaders or head of the instruction department are mainly argued. However, the sense and attitude of teachers as followers are argued in this paper. The objective of this paper is to find out the reality and process of forming a sense of participation in Curriculum Management from a case study. Previous works of Curriculum Management and Central Education Council reports required that each teacher should have wide vision about the whole curriculum of their schools and commit to each phase of Curriculum Management. Due to the existence of strong controlled Ministry's curriculum guideline, authorized textbooks and teacher's manuals; many teachers have never committed to planning phase nor evaluation phase of Curriculum Management as they have to the implementation phase. A previous work found out that the motivations of Japanese teachers are not in curriculum design but in personal relationship with their students. Without strong sense of autonomic commitment to the curriculum, there is a probability that teachers feel being coerced into their school curriculum and feel very busy. This kind of feeling could be disincentive of Curriculum Management. Also, if teachers instruct without being committed to the curriculum, they do not collaborate in process of managing curriculum and they feel isolated and busy. With this general tendency of schools in Japan, what can be incentive for the organizational management with autonomic commitment and collaboration of teachers? To clarify the factor, effectiveness of a series of training the teachers in a school will be examined. In the school, 4 distinctive curriculums are developed and managed by various methodologies under a strong leadership of principal and vice-principal. However, busy feelings of some teachers are the most serious disincentive for Curriculum Management and an issue to solve. First, the embodiment of the Curriculum Management of the school is outlines. Then a series of training of teachers in the school programs that aims to reduce busy feelings and encourage the teachers to commit to Curriculum Management astronomically with thinking about the meaning of their school curriculum initiatively is described. The contents of all programs were analysis of the elements of curriculum management and expression of the result they lead. They were practiced with a methodology that teachers be involved in discussions, collaborative works and presentations. In the first training, the teachers assessed elements of school culture such as the atmosphere of the whole school and values of their education. In the second one, they analyzed the factors which made them feel busy. In the third one, they shared common understanding with their colleagues who work with the same grades about the objectives of the 2nd semester which is a description about what aspect they want to focus on in their education, and curriculum as a method to accomplish the aim. In the fourth one, teachers analyzed 4 distinctive curriculums they promoted with a matrix which has 2 axes from view points: both of students and teachers. One of the axes was achievement and problem, another was individual and organization The observation record, the construction drawing they created, the results of questionnaires and records of interviews to some teachers are analyzed. As a result, these programs provided the teachers chances to think of their curriculum initiatively and chances to reflect on the excellence of their colleagues. The training of teachers in the schools could be factors to improve their Curriculum Management.