Importance of school culture
In addition to having experience of teaching, school culture is important to develop
teaching skills.
According to a research in Japan, a teacher’s teaching skill is affected not by principal
leadership, but school culture. Principal leadership affects how to develop school culture.
57
My research paper shows the effectiveness of Lesson Study with statistical data. Ac-
cording to my paper, Lesson Study can promote excellent school culture. “Excellent school
culture” means close communication between teachers. Close communication between
teachers can promote high quality instruction and high test scores of students. USA re-
search papers call excellent school culture “Professional Learning Community”. (Chichibu
& Kihara, 2013)
Lesson Study can develop school culture
The National Institute for Educational Policy Research of Japan (NIER) surveyed
2,000 schools (1,000 elementary schools and 1,000 middle schools) in 2010. Toshiya Chi-
chibu played the central role of the survey. The school survey reveals many aspects of Les-
son Study in Japan.
According to the school survey, almost all elementary and middle schools implement
Lesson Study once or more per year. On average, elementary schools conduct Lesson Study
10 times per a year, and middle schools implement Lesson Study 5 times per year.
70% of elementary schools and 66% of middle schools have meetings to discuss a
lesson plan for a research lesson.
The school survey reveals not only actual conditions of Lesson Study, but also of the
effectiveness of Lesson Study. In order to measure the effects of Lesson Study in schools,
we developed survey items on “close communication between teachers”, “high quality in-
struction by teachers”, and “test scores of students of the school”. We found that these items
are significantly associated with one another, and with items on “organizations or sched-
ules” or” methods of Lesson Studies”.
Furthermore, the school survey reveals the effectiveness of principal and supervi-
sor coaching. Items such as “the principal observes each class daily”, “supervisors of the
educational office visit the school every year” are associated with items on Lesson Study
processes.
So, we can see that Lesson Study is effective, and that coaching by principals or su-
pervisors promotes Lesson Study. (Chichibu & Kihara, 2013)
|