Deputy Director Lin Attends the National Teachers Federation of Japan’s 31st Educational Research National Conference -Ministry of Education Republic of China (Taiwan)

Deputy Director Lin Attends the National Teachers Federation of Japan’s 31st Educational Research National Conference

Date: 2014-09-17

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Deputy Director Lin Attends the National Teachers Federation of Japan’s 31st Educational Research National Conference

The 31st Educational Research National Conference of the National Teachers Federation of Japan was held on the weekend of August 2 and August 3, 2014 at Miyazaki Prefecture Hotel. Around 800 people took part in the conference. Special guests who spoke at this conference included Mr. Okashi from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology speaking on behalf of the Minister, Mr. Hakubun Shimomura; Mr. Seiichi Eto from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party; and Mr. Kawano, and Mr. Nageshi, both high-ranking members of the Miyazaki Prefectural government, and the mayor of Miyazaki, Mr. Tadashi Tojiki. Dr. Lin, deputy director of the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, was also invited to attend and give a speech, and interact with the many educational experts at the conference.

The National Teachers Federation of Japan was established in 1984 and has had educational exchanges with Taiwan for a long time. It has sent delegations of Japanese teachers to Taiwan annually for nearly 30 years. This has increased the interactions and educational exchanges between Taiwan and Japan, and strengthened the educational relationships between them. Furthermore, many Taiwanese teacher groups are regularly invited to Japan to discuss educational issues and attend seminars to exchange information.

Dr. Lin thanked the National Teachers Federation of Japan for putting a huge effort into promoting exchanges between Taiwan and Japan. He then talked briefly about the results of an OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) survey of the working hours and teaching environment of teachers and principals from 34 different countries, which was released on June 25.

This was the first time that Japan has participated in this research survey. The results show that Japanese teachers spend the most time working each week, an average of 53.9 hours, far more than the overall average of 38 hours a week. Japanese teachers also spent the most hours doing administrative paperwork with an average of 5.5 hours each week, and they spend an average of 7.7 hours each week on extracurricular activities.

Deputy Lin noted that in a sense, the results show that Japanese teachers spend long hours interacting with students, both in class and outside of the class, and he hoped that all teachers would be able to maintain this enthusiasm towards education. But he emphasized that while it’s true that students should maintain good grades and a good learning atmosphere should be maintained in classes, it’s also an extremely important part of teachers’ work to nurture their students’ spirits and healthy growth. We want students to enjoy learning, and experience the happiness it can give them. Dr. Lin finished by thanking Miyazaki prefecture for promoting educational exchanges with Taiwan and promoting international exchanges that benefit all the students.