The new integrated studies subject area added to
Japan s public school curriculum in 2002 through the
Rainbow Plan education reform requires teachers to
learn to design curriculum at the local level and
make use of unfamiliar, student-centered
instructional techniques. The teacher learning in
this case of reform implementation, focused on a set
of four middle schools in a town in rural western
Japan, is characterized by a continuous improvement
(or kaizen ) orientation. This means that policy
development, implementation, and professional
development reflect the principles of an incremental,
top-down/bottom-across approach involving the
hybridization of established and innovative practices
and collaborative information-sharing across all
levels of the education system. Beliefs shared by
members of communities of practice at various levels
both foster and mirror teacher learning that is
incremental, collaborative, and grounded in examples
of practice.
Japan s public school curriculum in 2002 through the
Rainbow Plan education reform requires teachers to
learn to design curriculum at the local level and
make use of unfamiliar, student-centered
instructional techniques. The teacher learning in
this case of reform implementation, focused on a set
of four middle schools in a town in rural western
Japan, is characterized by a continuous improvement
(or kaizen ) orientation. This means that policy
development, implementation, and professional
development reflect the principles of an incremental,
top-down/bottom-across approach involving the
hybridization of established and innovative practices
and collaborative information-sharing across all
levels of the education system. Beliefs shared by
members of communities of practice at various levels
both foster and mirror teacher learning that is
incremental, collaborative, and grounded in examples
of practice.