国際教員調査 時短は事務作業の見直しから

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Schools should find ways to ease demands on overburdened teachers
国際教員調査　時短は事務作業の見直しから

Japanese teachers work long hours, but have little confidence in their ability to effectively teach students. How can we improve this state of affairs facing teachers?
　日本の教員は勤務時間が長い。指導力への自信がない。この現状をどう改善していくべきか。

According to the Teaching and Learning International Survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japanese middle school teachers work an average of 53.9 hours per week—the longest among the 33 nations and regions surveyed and 40 percent more than the overall average.
　経済協力開発機構（ＯＥＣＤ）の国際教員指導環境調査によると、日本の中学教員は１週間に平均５３・９時間も勤務している。
　対象となった３３の国・地域で最も長く、全体の平均の１・４倍の長時間勤務を強いられている。

Yet the hours Japanese teachers spend teaching classes are short. On average teachers taught for just 17.7 hours, lower than the international average of 19.3 hours.
　ところが授業時間は逆に短い。全体の平均が１９・３時間だったのに対し、日本は１７・７時間にとどまっている。

The survey results make many of us fear that the crucial task of teaching lessons is being compromised. Earnest efforts are necessary to make teachers work more efficiently and become more skilled in instructing students.
　肝心の学習指導がおろそかになっていないか心配だ。仕事の効率化を進めるとともに、指導の充実を図る必要がある。

Two major factors contributing to these long working hours are the administrative work demanded of teachers at school and time spent on coaching students in club activities. Japanese teachers spend more than half of their hours at school on tasks other than teaching and preparing for lessons—far longer than their counterparts in other nations.
　長時間勤務の大きな要因が、事務作業や部活動などの指導である。授業とその準備以外の仕事が全体の半分を超え、他国に比べて際立って長い。

Japanese teachers spend time working on a wide range of tasks, including but not limited to answering surveys from various organizations, collecting unpaid school meal fees and dealing directly with parents. As a result, many teachers are forced to report to work early in the morning or during holidays to deal with work that has piled up.
　日本の教員は日常的に、各種団体から届く調査への回答作成や、滞納給食費の徴収、保護者への対応など、さまざまな仕事に追われている。たまった仕事を片づけるため、早朝や休日に出勤するケースも多いという。

Time-saving measures

As a first step, teachers’ clerical duties are in urgent need of review. Some schools have been able to reduce administrative workloads considerably by unifying surveys that had been conducted separately by prefectural and municipal governments and introducing uniform document formats. Schools should study these examples.
　まずは、事務作業の見直しが急務だ。県と市町村の双方で実施していた調査を一本化したり、文書の書式を統一したりするだけで、作業量をかなり減らした例もあるという。参考にしてほしい。

It is also possible to lighten teachers’ workloads by encouraging teachers to exchange information via e-mails and by sharing information on computers. Schools should consider increased use of school clerks.
　メールによる情報交換やパソコンを使った情報の共有で、作業時間の短縮も可能だろう。事務職員をこれまで以上に活用することも検討してはどうか。

Efforts should also be made to lighten the burdens of overseeing extracurricular activities by hiring coaches from outside the school.
　部活動についても、外部指導者の活用などで教員の負担軽減を図るべきだ。

The fact that only a minority of teachers had confidence in their teaching ability is a matter of real concern.
　生徒の指導に自信を持っている教員が、少数派だったことも気がかりである。

While more than 80 percent of teachers surveyed globally responded that they were able to make students confident in their academic achievements, slightly under 20 percent of Japanese teachers felt the same way.
　「生徒に勉強ができると自信を持たせる」ことができたとの回答は全体平均で８割を超えたのに、日本は２割弱にとどまった。

Veteran teachers, who were hired in large numbers in the 1970s and 1980s, are now nearing retirement. The current challenge for schools is to find ways to improve the teaching ability of younger teachers, who will be playing major school roles.
　１９７０～８０年代に大量採用されたベテラン教員が退職の時期を迎えている。主力となる若手教員の指導力をいかに高めていくかが大きな課題と言える。

Many teachers have complained that their busy schedules prevent them from participating in seminars that could help them. Boards of education and schools alike should give consideration to teachers’ working schedules.
　多忙で研修に参加できないと訴える教員も多かった。教育委員会や学校は、勤務ダイヤなどの面で配慮してもらいたい。

Another troubling statistic is the percentage of female principals at Japanese schools—a mere 6 percent, the lowest among all nations surveyed.
　日本の女性校長の割合は６％で調査対象国の中で最低だった。

In line with the government’s target of raising the ratio of managerial positions held by women to 30 percent by the end of 2020, schools must work to promote more women to leadership positions.
政府は２０２０年までに女性管理職の割合を３０％とする目標を掲げている。教育現場での女性活用も進めねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 30, 2014)