Overview of Education Bureau of the Laboratory Schools
Purpose
The Education Bureau manages 11 Laboratory Schools as well as conducts practical research on School education.
Schools
There are 11 laboratory schools listed below.
Junior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba
Senior High School at Otsuka, University of Tsukuba
Junior High School at Komaba, University of Tsukuba
Senior High School at Komaba, University of Tsukuba
Senior High School at Sakado, University of Tsukuba
Special Needs Education School for the Visually Impaired, University of Tsukuba
Special Needs Education School for the Deaf, University of Tsukuba
Special Needs Education School for the Mentally Challenged, University of Tsukuba
Special Needs Education School for the Physically Challenged, University of Tsukuba
Special Needs Education School for Children with Autism, University of Tsukuba
Administration and functions
1 Administration
The Education Council for Laboratory Schools has been established to deliberate on affairs related to the management of the Education Bureau of the Laboratory Schools and laboratory schools.
2 Functions
- 1) To serve as a place where the Laboratory Schools can conduct practical group research on matters related to school education (research center function)
- 2) To unify and coordinate the operations of the Laboratory Schools (management and coordination function)
- 3) To provide educational consultation and counseling (counseling function)
- 4) To disseminate research results to the general public (publicity function)
- 5) To support and arrange student teaching (functions of student teaching)
- 6) To plan and conduct training for teachers in the Laboratory Schools (training function)
Education and research activities
1 Joint research with laboratory schools
Great success in education, research, and contribution to the society
The Education Bureau participates in the activities to enhance education and research of the Laboratory Schools under the university/Laboratory School linkage committee.
Research projects in fiscal 2015 are as follows:
- • Study of school events for developing independent thought in children
- • Research for utilizing ICT in school education
- • Study of education on international competencies
⃝Creation and disclosure of the data
The Education Bureau of the University of Tsukuba’s Laboratory Schools gathers basic data and information on the activities of the Laboratory Schools for publication on its website.
⃝Superintendent Special Award
Superintendent awards are given to those who achieve third place or higher in international contests or first place in domestic competition in order to encourage all students to learn In 2015, 19 students (for 20 awards) were awarded among all the Laboratory Schools.
【Midterm goals】
- • Strengthen the linkage of the educational research with the university in order to raise human resources throughout the education from elementary school to high school.
- • Regarding educational research, one goal of the Laboratory Schools, University of Tsukuba is to establish the bases for primary and secondary education according to the needs of society, where practice models are shown for acquisition of basic academic skills with international perspectives and for system of life-span learning.
- • As a center of education for students with special needs, we create the system to link University and the Laboratory Schools to support and implement the experiments for super early stage.
- (1) In order to strengthen linkages between the University and the Laboratory Schools, joint research such as “Project Research for Education Bureau of the Laboratory Schools” is promoted, at the same time, collaboration between instructors at the University and the Laboratory Schools is helping to improve subjects established by the University and classroom teaching in the laboratory schools.
- (2) Teachers of the Laboratory Elementary School are collaborating with lectures for training elementary school teachers in College of Education, the School of Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba.
- (3) Linkages with the University are being used to promote Olympic education in the Laboratory Schools as international peace education.
- (4) With the aim of creating three focuses of leadership education, teacher education, and international education, we are formulating a detailed plan for a new experimental model for the Laboratory Schools.
- ① Linkages with the University are being used to improve research related to integrated primary, lower and upper secondary education and connections between the University and high schools.
- ②Classroom lesson research, etc., is being opened to the public and research conferences, etc., are being held for schoolteachers from all over Japan.
- ③“Practical Laboratory School Lectures” which is an updated course is being conducted through linkages between the University and the Laboratory Schools, and those results are published.
- ④Improvements are being made to exchanges with overseas schools, especially in Asia, and short-term overseas studies for the Laboratory School students through the International Education Promoting Office of the Laboratory Schools.
- (5) Investigations are being made to materialize comprehensive campuses for special support education to meet the needs of society.
- (6) In very early special support education through linkages with the University, groundbreaking research is being conducted for very young children (0-2 years) who have intellectual and/or developmental impairments.
- (7) School counselors are being utilized, specialist teams are being dispatched, etc., to improve the school counseling system and strengthen support education for young children and students who need support for their development impairment.
- (8) Exchanges between special support schools and regular elementary, junior high and high schools are being held and presentations are being made of practical research in joint studies and other themes.
⃝Implementing extension courses
We are implementing the following public seminars (with the name of the seminar for the 2015 academic year);
【Educational Lecture】
This course aims for enhance the education and culture of everyone from infant to elderly. (Refresh Yourself with Oriental Medicine!)
【Educator’s Courses】
These courses provide more practical expertise, learning methods, etc., in addition to practical guidance for teachers. (Education training course for the partially sighted)
【Extension Courses of Teaching Certificate】
These courses, certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, were launched in 2002 to provide high-quality practical training for in-service teachers who require certificates for teaching at special needs educational schools. (Basic Theory of Educations for Children with Special Needs.)
【Extension Training Course of Teaching Certificate】
This course provides practical guidance in gaining a first-class or second-class license to use Physical Therapy in special needs education. (Teaching Certification Course for Physical Therapy Teachers of School of the Visually Impaired.)
【Key Extension Courses】
As a publically opened university, we periodically share our latest research results in the key extension courses. We also disseminate our education research achievements through our long-running extension courses which have been broadly opened to the general public.
2 Cooperation with initiatives in the University to improve and reinforce education for the teaching profession
The Education Bureau is involved in the implementation of practice teaching at the Laboratory Schools, and offers assistance and support to the Teaching Profession Committee of Tokyo for the whole University, including preliminary and follow-up guidance. We also offer opinions concerning the implementation of care-giving, and planning for the improvement of education for the teaching profession; moreover, we give support and advice to educational and research activities in the open research conferences of the Laboratory Schools.
3 Keeping and utilization of historical educational materials at laboratory schools
- 1. Choosing and keeping these invaluable materials
- 2. Repairing archive materials
- 3. Compiling them into a database for publication
- 4. Fulfilling a role as a center of historical research of the Laboratory Schools
- 5. Maintaining the current research resources of University of Tsukuba Laboratory Schools
- 6. Publishing Laboratory School archive materials at University of Tsukuba Gallery
- 7. Publishing these materials on the website of the Education Bureau of the Laboratory Schools
4 Support and implementation of teacher training in the Laboratory Schools
~Important opportunities for learning about the latest education~
The Committee of Training at the Education Bureau of the Laboratory Schools holds two legal training classes and one seminar.
In addition to the programs offered by local educational committee in April, there are meetings in June and October, and exchange group debate in March for new teachers. For teachers with 10 year experience, there are lectures about “Today’s topics in school education,” “Educational rules,” “Human right education,” and “Duties” by lecturers invited from outside the school in the spring in order to enhance their knowledge.
Brief history
April 1978 | The School Education Department was established based on a revision of the National School Establishment Law. |
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The Department originally consisted of the educational materials department and 4 research fields: educational development, education for children with disabilities, teacher education, and educational counseling. | |
April 1989 | The research fields of the School Education Department were merged into one field of school education research. |
With the establishment of a nighttime Master’s Degree program, the School Education Department hooked up with the Master’s Program in Counseling and Rehabilitation Sciences to offer education consultation and counseling to anyone in need. | |
April 2004 | The Education Bureau of the Laboratory Schools was established based on the National University Corporation Law. |
April 2007 | The names of the Laboratory Schools involved with special education were changed. |