The Japanese model of professional development: teaching as craft

Abstract This paper focuses on Japanese teacher professional development strategies. They are driven by a peer-based model that encourages professional development through peer collaboration, planning, and management. I explore how the Japanese perspective of teaching as craft contributes to professional development primarily at the elementary level. Extensively developed inservice education in Japan offers a structure by which craft knowledge undergoes the process of creation, reformulation, and transmission promoted by peer teachers. But its disadvantage is that teacher development is enhanced within the framework of the culture of teaching. Further, universities’ contribution to teacher development is quite limited.