Japanese teachers work an average of 53.9 hours per week, the highest figure among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 34 member countries, according to a survey released Wednesday.
The figure for Japan was well above the average of 38.3 hours among OECD members, according to the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), which Japan participated in for the first time.
The time spent by Japanese teachers on administrative work totaled 5.5 hours per week on average, longer than the OECD average of 2.9 hours. Also, the time spent on extracurricular activities, such as coaching student clubs, is 7.7 hours on average in Japan, compared with 2.1 hours for the OECD overall.
However, the hours spent teaching and preparing for classes are almost the same in Japan and the other countries surveyed.
The OECD survey also showed that the proportion of teachers who participate in professional development programs outside school is low in Japan. More than 80 percent of teachers said they cannot take part in such programs due to their heavy workload.
The survey collects internationally comparable data on the learning environment and the working conditions for teachers, focusing on lower secondary education.
The principals at 192 Japanese junior high schools, along with 3,484 teachers at those schools, gave responses in the survey.
Compared with other OECD members, there are fewer problems, such as school violence and bullying, at Japanese schools. But self-efficacy is low among Japanese teachers in controlling students who cause problems in class and providing students with opportunities to be proud of themselves, according to the survey.
The results suggest that Japanese teachers are less confident in their abilities than teachers in other OECD member economies.
The education ministry plans to ease the workload of teachers by streamlining administrative work and reducing the number of school surveys.
KEYWORDS
OECD, OVERTIME, OVERWORK, SCHOOLS, TEACHERS, WORK HOURS
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