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- Convenors:
-
Chisato Ofune
(The Japan Foundation, London)
Madoka Thomas (University of Lancashire)
Chieko YONEZAWA (Manchester Metropolitan University)
Yumi Nixon (University of York)
Megumi Bailey (University of York)
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Long Abstract
With the advent of the AI era and the enforcement of the Act on Accrediting Japanese Language Education Institutions, increasing attention has been paid to the roles and professionalism of teachers. Beyond the acquisition of discrete skills, growing interest has emerged in “dynamic professionalism,” which critically reexamines educational practice, and in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as spaces where such professionalism is cultivated. However, fundamental questions remain: How do PLCs emerge? Does participation in a PLC necessarily lead to professional growth? And can learning within PLCs influence not only classroom practice but also teachers’ values and ways of being?
This panel addresses these questions by drawing on practice-based knowledge constructed through a two-year, long-term and iterative practice of collaborative reflection among Japanese language teachers based in the UK within a PLC. By bringing together multiple perspectives grounded in shared yet evolving experiences, the panel aims to offer new insights into language teacher education and professionalism.
The first presentation examines how sustained reflection and dialogue within a PLC enabled the panelists to articulate their own professionalism and to re-recognise the importance of autonomous reflection. It highlights the need for teachers to actively conceptualise and shape learning spaces that support their own learning and growth.
The second presentation revisits collaborative reflection and dialogue conducted in the PLC two years earlier, focusing on the panellists’ current reflections on their growth and change. Through this process, it illustrates diverse conceptions of “growth” and problematises the tendency to equate growth with change, transformation, or upward progression. It further explores how broader social conditions—such as the marketisation of HEI and evaluation systems in the UK—influence teachers’ understandings of professional growth.
The third presentation demonstrates that “experiential practical knowledge,” organically integrated through participation in multiple, multilayered PLCs, extends to learners’ learning based on the concept of “isomorphism of learning” (Watanabe, 2019). It also considers how learning and relationships fostered within PLCs can generate synergistic and long-term changes in teachers’ values and engagement with society
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References
渡辺貴裕（2019）「教育方法と教師教育の専門家としてのアプローチ」『全国大学国語教育学会・公開講座ブックレット』11，pp. 70–77．
| Abstract in Japanese | 教師コミュニティ（PLC）が拓く学びの諸相 ―英国高等教育の文脈における2年間の実践知構築を基に― 大舩 ちさと（早稲田大学） 玉置 順子（レスター大学） トマス 真都香（ランカシャー大学） 米澤 知江子（マンチェスター・メトロポリタン大学） ニクソン 由実（ヨーク大学） ベイリー 芽生（ヨーク大学） AI時代の到来や「日本語教育機関認定法」施行により、教師の役割やあり方が今まで以上に注目されている。単なる技能習得を超え、教育実践を問い直す「動的な専門性」とその専門性を培う場として「教師コミュニティ（PLC）」への関心が高まっている。では、PLCはいかにして生まれるのか。PLCに参加すれば自ずと専門性の向上や成長がもたらされるのか。PLCでの学びは授業実践を超えて教師の生き方にまで影響するのか。 本発表は、PLCにおいて2年間にわたって行われた英国在住の日本語教師らの長期的・反復的な協働省察実践で構築された実践知を基に、これらの問いを考察し、言語教育の在り方と専門性に対する新たな視座を提示することを目的とする。 発表1では、PLCにおける長期的な省察と対話を通じ、発表者らが自身の専門性を言語化し自律的な省察の重要性を再認識する過程を報告し、教師の学びと成長を支援する場のあり方を教師自身が主体的に考える必要性について検討する。 発表2では、2年前のPLCにおける協働省察と対話を経て、現時点の自身の成長や変化について内省と対話を行い、その結果見えてきた多様な「成長観」を描き出す。そして、「成長」が変化・変容や上昇と同一視される傾向があることを指摘する。また、英国高等教育の市場化や評価制度等の社会情勢や変化が、教師の成長観にどう影響するのか考察する。 発表3では、複数の多層的なPLCでの経験が有機的に統合された 「経験実践知」は、渡辺（2019）の「学びの同型性」に基づき、学習者の学びへと波及していることを報告する。また、PLCでの学びやつながりは、授業実践の変容にとどまらず、教師自身の価値観や社会との関わり方にも相乗的かつ長期的な変化をもたらし得ることを考察する。 最後に、協働の場が拓く専門性の新たな可能性についてフロアの皆様の実践知と交差させながら探求したい。 ________________________________________________________________ 参考文献 渡辺貴裕（2019）「教育方法と教師教育の専門家としてのアプローチ」『全国大学国語教育学会・公開講座ブックレット』11，pp. 70–77． |
Accepted papers
Session 1Paper long abstract
In Japan, the ‘Act on the Accreditation of Japanese-Language Education Institutions to Ensure the Proper and Reliable Implementation of Japanese-Language Education’ came into effect in 2024. Among the compulsory components of teacher education programmes is the development of ‘lesson analysis and self-evaluation skills,’ which requires teachers to understand methods for objectively analysing lessons and to be able to put them into practice through self-review and peer evaluation. While self-directed professional development of this kind is widely used among educational practitioners, it has also been noted that caution is necessary. For example, Finlay (2008) argues that reflective practice should not be treated merely as a checklist or procedural exercise; rather, support that incorporates criticality and sensitivity to context is essential. However, it remains unclear within existing systems when, by whom, and in what ways such support should be provided. As a result, responsibility is largely left to individual teachers and institutions.
This presentation reports on the practice of an online reading group conducted by Japanese-language teachers residing in the United Kingdom and examines how spaces for teacher learning can be created. The reading group began voluntarily during the COVID-19 pandemic and involves participants reading books of their own choosing, voicing thoughts that arise, and engaging in dialogue. In 2023, drawing on Tateoka’s (2021) ‘Trinity Model of Professionalism,’ the group engaged in collaborative reflection and dialogue over a period of more than two months. The findings revealed that (1) participants re-examined their understanding of professionalism through verbalising previously tacit views, and (2) the reading group functioned not only as a space for understanding texts but also as a community of practice (Bailey et al., 2023). This practice suggests that collaborative reflection and dialogue among teachers constitute an activity that dynamically enhances professional competence.
Although the positive effects of collaborative reflection and dialogue have been reported in previous studies, the question remains whether support for in-service teachers’ learning and development should be left to voluntary communities or positioned within institutional frameworks. This presentation argues for the necessity of teachers themselves taking an active role in reconsidering the nature of teacher professional development.
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References
Linda Finlay (2008) Reflecting on ‘Reflective practice’, Practice-based Professional Learning Paper 52, The Open University
舘岡洋子（編）（2021）『日本語教師の専門性を考える』ココ出版
ベイリー芽生、カートリッジ文香、トマス真都香、 ニクソン由実、大舩ちさと、玉置順子、米澤知江子（2023)「『日本語教師の専門性』に関する対話と省察の記録―英国の日本語教育者の立場から―」第25回BATJ年次大会、口頭発表、英国・オックスフォード、2023年9月2日
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed): | 教師の成長を支援する場のあり方 ―オンライン輪読会における協働省察と対話実践を基に― 玉置 順子（レスター大学） 日本では2024年に「日本語教育の適正かつ確実な実施を図るための日本語教育機関の認定等に関する法律」が施行された。 教師養成課程における必須教育内容には「授業分析・自己点検能力」が含まれ、授業を客観的に分析する方法を理解し、自己点検や相互評価を通じて実践できるようになることが求められている。これは教育実践者に広く用いられている自己研修の方法であるが、注意が必要であることも言われている。例えばFinlay（2008）は、反省的実践を単なるチェックリストや手順として扱うのではなく、批判性や文脈への配慮を伴う支援が不可欠であると指摘する。しかし、いつ、だれが、どのようにしてこの支援を行うのか、制度上の支援は明確には位置づけられておらず、個々の教師や機関に委ねられているのが現状であろう。 本発表では、英国在住の日本語教師によるオンライン輪読会の実践を報告し、教師の学びの場の作り方について検討する。この輪読会はコロナ禍に始まった自主的なもので、自分たちの読みたい本を読みながら心に浮かんだことを声に出し、対話するものである。2023年には、舘岡（2021）の「専門性の三位一体モデル」を援用し、2か月以上にわたり協働省察と対話を行った。その結果、①自身の意識下に埋もれていた専門性観を言語化することを通して専門性の捉え直しが生じ、②輪読会が書籍理解にとどまらず、実践共同体の場として機能したことが明らかになった（ベイリーほか2023）。本実践は、教師が協働し対話を通じて省察を深めることが専門性を動的に高める営為であることを示しているといえる。協働省察や対話がもたらす効果はこれまでにも報告されているが、このような現職教師の学びと成長の支援は自主的なコミュニティに任せるのがいいのか、制度として位置づけられるべきなのか。本発表では教師研修のあり方を教師自身が主体的に考える必要性について論じたい。 ________________________________________________________________ 参考文献 舘岡洋子（編）（2021）『日本語教師の専門性を考える』ココ出版 ベイリー芽生、カートリッジ文香、トマス真都香、 ニクソン由実、大舩ちさと、玉置順子、米澤知江子（2023)「『日本語教師の専門性』に関する対話と省察の記録―英国の日本語教育者の立場から―」第25回BATJ年次大会、口頭発表、英国・オックスフォード、2023年9月2日 Linda Finlay (2008) Reflecting on ‘Reflective practice’, Practice-based Professional Learning Paper 52, The Open University |
Paper long abstract
This presentation investigates how Japanese language teachers working in UK higher education conceptualize “growth” as professionals. Motivated by a perceived need to re-examine teacher professionalism, the presenters, have engaged in collaborative reflection and dialogue drawing on Tateoka’s (2021) "Trinity Model of Teacher Expertise" (Bailey et al. 2023). Two years later, six members of the PLC once again came together to document and discuss their thoughts on teacher growth through written reflection and dialogue, followed by thematic analysis. The findings revealed a diversity of self-assessments: some participants felt a sense of growth, others perceived transformation, and still others sensed no change at all. A shared questioning also emerged regarding the tendency to equate "growth" with upward progression. Teacher growth, as argued by Iino (2012), is inseparable from practice and social relationships, not confined to internal development. When discussing the growth of teachers working at universities in the UK, it is therefore necessary to take into account the broader British social context.
UK higher education has been shaped by marketisation and neoliberal reforms since the 1990s, exposing universities to efficiency pressures and competition. Consequently, teaching quality is assessed not only at the institutional level but also through metrics applied to individual educators. In recent years, further structural challenges have emerged, including the contraction of humanities faculties and staff reductions due to financial crises, increasing socioeconomic diversity among students, and a decline in language learning uptake. This presentation analyses how Japanese language teachers operating within these conditions perceive and experience growth, and how institutional and social factors particular to the UK shape their " conceptualisations of growth," reporting on the key characteristics and implications of these findings.
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References
飯野令子 (2012)「日本語教師の成長としてのアイデンティティ交渉」『リテラシーズ』11, pp.1-10.
舘岡洋子（編）（2021）『日本語教師の専門性を考える』ココ出版
ベイリー芽生、カートリッジ文香、トマス真都香、 ニクソン由実、大舩ちさと、玉置順子、米澤知江子（2023)「『日本語教師の専門性』に関する対話と省察の記録―英国の日本語教育者の立場から―」第25回BATJ年次大会、口頭発表、英国・オックスフォード、2023年9月2日
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed): | This presentation investigates how Japanese language teachers working in UK higher education conceptualize “growth” as professionals. Motivated by a perceived need to re-examine teacher professionalism, the presenters, have engaged in collaborative reflection and dialogue drawing on Tateoka’s (2021) "Trinity Model of Teacher Expertise" (Bailey et al. 2023). Two years later, six members of the PLC once again came together to document and discuss their thoughts on teacher growth through written reflection and dialogue, followed by thematic analysis. The findings revealed a diversity of self-assessments: some participants felt a sense of growth, others perceived transformation, and still others sensed no change at all. A shared questioning also emerged regarding the tendency to equate "growth" with upward progression. Teacher growth, as argued by Iino (2012), is inseparable from practice and social relationships, not confined to internal development. When discussing the growth of teachers working at universities in the UK, it is therefore necessary to take into account the broader British social context. UK higher education has been shaped by marketisation and neoliberal reforms since the 1990s, exposing universities to efficiency pressures and competition. Consequently, teaching quality is assessed not only at the institutional level but also through metrics applied to individual educators. In recent years, further structural challenges have emerged, including the contraction of humanities faculties and staff reductions due to financial crises, increasing socioeconomic diversity among students, and a decline in language learning uptake. This presentation analyses how Japanese language teachers operating within these conditions perceive and experience growth, and how institutional and social factors particular to the UK shape their " conceptualisations of growth," reporting on the key characteristics and implications of these findings. ________________________________________________________________ References 飯野令子 (2012)「日本語教師の成長としてのアイデンティティ交渉」『リテラシーズ』11, pp.1-10. 舘岡洋子（編）（2021）『日本語教師の専門性を考える』ココ出版 ベイリー芽生、カートリッジ文香、トマス真都香、 ニクソン由実、大舩ちさと、玉置順子、米澤知江子（2023)「『日本語教師の専門性』に関する対話と省察の記録―英国の日本語教育者の立場から―」第25回BATJ年次大会、口頭発表、英国・オックスフォード、2023年9月2日 |
Paper long abstract
The purpose of this presentation is to clarify how learning within Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) may influence not only classroom practice but also teachers’ personal values and their ways of engaging with others and society. PLCs function not only as spaces for reflecting on practice but also as social environments that foster connections and mutual support among participants. Within such spaces, teachers engage in processes of confirming and reinterpreting their sense of self, which can provide opportunities to reconsider their ways of living as individuals beyond the framework of their professional roles.
This study is based on the perspective of the congruency of learning (Watanabe, 2019), which assumes a structural correspondence between teachers’ learning processes and those experienced by learners. From this perspective, the ways in which teachers learn, reflect, and collaborate are considered to exert congruent influences on learners’ learning through classroom practice. Furthermore, given that styles of teaching are closely related to the formation of future citizens, learning within PLCs is reconsidered as a form of social practice.
The data analysed in this study consisted of teachers’ learning within PLCs, their educational philosophy, their teaching practices in university beginner-level classes, learners’ responses, and records of reflective dialogue among teachers examined from the perspective of the congruency of learning. The study clarified the relationship between teachers’ learning within PLCs and their classroom practices and conducted a narrative analysis of the dialogue records to explore the process and significance of collaborative reflection. The results revealed that perspectives such as ‘collaborative learning’ and ‘connections with others and society’ emerged as shared elements across both the teachers’ learning context and their classroom practices. Furthermore, the findings suggest that connections fostered through collaborative reflection and learning within PLCs may lead not only to transformations in teaching practice but also to synergistic and long-term changes in teachers’ educational values and their ways of engaging with society.
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References
渡辺貴裕（2019）「教育方法と教師教育の専門家としてのアプローチ」『全国大学国語教育学会・公開講座ブックレット』11，pp. 70–77．
| Abstract in Japanese (if needed): | 「学びの同型性」から捉える教師コミュニティの意義 ― 協働省察と授業実践、教師の社会的在り方― ニクソン 由実（ヨーク大学） ベイリー 芽生（ヨーク大学） 本発表の目的は、教師コミュニティ（PLC）における学びが、授業実践のみならず、教師個人の価値観や社会との関わり方にどのような影響を及ぼし得るのかを明らかにすることである。PLCは、実践の振り返りや省察を行う学びの場であると同時に、人と人とのつながりや支え合いを生み出す社会的な場でもある。そこでは、教師が自己の存在のあり方を確認し意味づけを行う過程が生じ、仕事の枠を越えて、一個人としての生き方を捉え直す契機が生まれる。 本発表は、教師の学びのプロセスと学習者において実現されるべき学びのプロセスが構造的に対応するという「学びの同型性」（渡辺2019）の視点に依拠する。この視点に立てば、教師の学びや省察、協働の在り方は、授業実践を通して学習者の学びに同型的な影響を及ぼすと考えられる。さらに、授業のスタイルが次世代の市民形成とも深く関わる可能性を踏まえ、PLCでの学びを社会的実践として位置づけ直す。 分析対象としたのは、PLCにおける教師の学び、教育理念、大学の初級クラスでの実践、学習者の反応、および「学びの同型性」の観点からの教師同士の振り返り対話記録である。PLCでの学びと授業実践との関係を明らかにするとともに、対話記録についてナラティブ分析を行い、協働省察のプロセスと意義を検討した。その結果、「協働的な学び」や「他者・社会とのつながり」といった視点が、教師の学びの場と教室実践の双方に共通して現れていることが明らかになった。さらに、PLCでの協働省察や学びを通したつながりは、授業実践の変容にとどまらず、教師の価値観や社会との関わり方にも相乗的かつ長期的な変化をもたらし得ることが示唆された。 ________________________________________________________________ 参考文献 渡辺貴裕（2019）「教育方法と教師教育の専門家としてのアプローチ」『全国大学国語教育学会・公開講座ブックレット』11，pp. 70–77． |