Faculty of Education

Faculty Philosophy and Objectives

Faculty of Education Inheriting the legacy of Dr. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, the father of Soka education, Department of Education and Department of Primary Education both aim to conduct academic research and educational practice based on the humanism found in Founding Spirit. Based on the indicators of "creative human beings" indicated by Soka University's Founding Spirit and the Grand Design Initiative, Faculty of Education explores "what human education is" and, based on this spirit, aims to develop human beings who can solve problems in various future situations with advanced knowledge and skills from pedagogical and psychological perspectives.

Educational goals of Faculty of Education

Faculty of Education has the following four educational goals:

1. Through the study of various disciplines related to education and psychology, we aim to develop individuals who can use this knowledge to think about education.
2. We aim to develop individuals who understand what problems are currently occurring in various educational settings, what is required to solve those problems, and who have acquired the problem-solving skills to actually solve them.
3. We aim to develop individuals who do not accept educational issues as self-evident, but who are always open to academic verification.
4. We aim to develop students who can think about educational issues at various levels - local, national and global - and who can communicate the results of their thinking in their own words and utilize them in activities in various areas of society.

Diploma Policy

Faculty of Education awards a Bachelor of Education to students who, based on the educational goals of the university and the faculty itself, have acquired the following learning outcomes in response to events and issues in various regions, societies, organizations, and groups, are enrolled for the specified period of time, earned the required credits, and met the GPA standards.

1. Acquire knowledge of pedagogy and psychology.
2. Able to express and communicate their ideas appropriately.
3. Able to consider issues logically and practically.
4. Work together to solve problems.
5. When solving problems, new value can be created by taking into account diverse opinions and perspectives.

Curriculum Policy (Policy for creating and implementing the curriculum)

Based on the university-wide and faculty-wide diploma policies, the Faculty of Education aims to develop students who have acquired knowledge of pedagogy and psychology, who can consider problems logically and practically, and who can create new value in solving problems through the following curriculum.
The Faculty of Education strives to fulfill the university's requirements for degree conferral by utilizing the common subjects offered by the Undergraduate Education System. First, the "First-Year Seminar" for the Faculty of Education, held in the spring semester of the first year, encourages students to adapt to university life and enhances their sense of belonging as students of the Faculty of Education. In parallel, the "Introduction to Data Science" course is required to develop a sense of mathematical processing in preparation for the coming Society 5.0 era. In response to this, in the second year, the Department of Education offers "Psychological Experiments" and the Department of Child Education offers "Data Use for Lesson Improvement" to continuously improve mathematical ability. In addition, we focus on improving writing skills, and the writing skills acquired in the "Academic Writing I" course taken in the fall semester of the first year are honed through report assignments in assessment subjects [1] and checked in the "Junior Paper" assignment for Graduation Research I in the third year. In addition, with a view to promoting intercultural understanding, we require students to take English and a second foreign language in their first and second years, and encourage various overseas training programs, including exchange programs.
Furthermore, the Faculty incorporates active learning into many courses, particularly the core courses in the first year, to foster a proactive and independent approach to learning, as well as the skills and ability to work with peers to solve problems. In specialized courses from the second year onwards, students learn theory and develop the ability to consider and analyse practical issues. In addition, in the "exercises" in the third and fourth years, students deepen their learning in small groups in the specialist field of the teacher in charge, and through learning with their peers, they aim to create new value based on diverse opinions and perspectives.

Department of Education

Department of Education aims to develop talented people who can think about educational problems from a pedagogical or psychological perspective and play an active role in various areas of society. Through four years of study, students will develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support activities aimed at solving various educational problems. In this department, there are core subjects[1] that all students are expected to take, and elective subjects that individual students can take according to their needs, interests, and concerns.
The core subjects in the first year are "Principles of Education", "Introduction to Psychology", "Introduction to the Teaching Profession", and "Educational and School Psychology". In the second year, they are "School Research", "Sociology of Education", "Philosophy of Education", and "Developmental Psychology". In the third and fourth years, they are "Specialized Seminars" and "Graduation Research". Through these subjects, students will build a foundation for thinking about various educational issues from multiple perspectives and multiple angles.
In parallel with the study of core subjects, several courses are available for students to broadly and deeply study the fields of school education, international education, and psychology according to the progression of the academic year and the degree of deepening and development of the content.[2] For convenience, these are roughly divided into the School Education Course, the International Education Course, and the Psychology Course[3], and serve as a guide for students when choosing which courses to take.

• Main subjects of the school education course
  "Educational Methodology", "Educational Administration and Finance", "Inclusive Education", etc.
• Main subjects of the International Education Course
  "Peace and Education", "International Understanding Education", "International Development Education", etc.
• Main Subjects in the Psychology Course
  "Educational Counseling", "Introduction to Clinical Psychology", "Psychological Research Methods", etc.

Department of Education has a course for training licensed psychologists, and students can aim to become professionals in psychology through classroom courses such as "Responsibilities of Licensed Psychologists," "Psychological Support Methods," and "Mental Illness and Its Treatment," as well as practical courses such as "Psychological Exercises" and "Psychological Practice I and II"[4]. The teacher training courses include a course for obtaining a junior high school teaching license in "Social Studies" and a high school teaching license in "Civics." In addition, by utilizing the system of taking courses from other departments, students can obtain a license to teach elementary school, kindergarten, and special needs schools from Department of Primary Education, and a license to teach "English" from junior high school and high school from Faculty of Letters Department of Human Studies of Letters.


[1] Core subjects include compulsory subjects, without which a student cannot graduate, and elective subjects, which are strongly recommended but can be substituted with other important subjects (equivalent to core subjects).
[2] Each course has a course code. The last three digits of the code indicate the appropriate year for taking the course and the depth (difficulty) of the course. This is called numbering.
[3] There are three courses, but students can take subjects in any course as long as they meet the prerequisites for the subject.
[4] If you want to become a professional psychologist, you need to obtain a license as a licensed psychologist or clinical psychologist, but this requires further study at a graduate school (master's degree program). Soka University's Graduate School of Education has courses for both qualifications, but the licensed psychologist course requires students to take the required courses while enrolled at the university (bachelor's degree program).
 

Department of Primary Education

Department of Primary Education aims to develop knowledgeable individuals in the field of early childhood education, particularly for teachers at elementary schools, kindergartens, and special needs schools. To that end, we offer courses that improve and develop the expertise necessary for the teaching profession according to the progression of each grade.
First, in the first year, students are required to take the "Principles of Education" and "Introduction to Psychology" courses to acquire basic knowledge and concepts of education and psychology. After that, students are required to take the elective courses "Educational and School Psychology," "School Research," "Educational Administration and Finance," "Introduction to Special Needs Education," "Curriculum Theory," "Educational Methods and Techniques," and "Using Data to Improve Lessons," to develop the problem-finding and problem-solving skills of elementary school, kindergarten, and special needs school teachers, understand the psychology of infants, children, and students, and develop the ability and attitude to think reflectively and analytically about problems surrounding schools from educational and psychological perspectives and work to solve them. In the "Introduction to the Teaching Profession" course, students are also taught the ethics of a teacher and a sense of responsibility to contribute to the growth of children.
Department of Primary Education has three teaching courses: 1) Elementary School Teacher's License, 2) Kindergarten Teacher's License, and 3) Special Needs School Teacher's License. Subjects required to obtain each license are offered as compulsory or elective courses. Students take the subjects required for the teaching profession they are aiming for in each grade. In addition, for students aiming for the teaching course, there are courses such as "school internships" that allow them to experience school work prior to their teaching practice, and through interactions with children and teachers, they can acquire an attitude of constantly striving to grow as a teacher.
In addition to obtaining teaching licenses for elementary school and kindergarten, students can also take courses in other departments and obtain teaching licenses for junior high school (English and social studies) and high school (English and civics) while enrolled in Department of Primary Education.

Admission Policy

Faculty of Education seeks students who understand the philosophy and objectives of the faculty and wish to acquire the qualities and abilities indicated by them. Based on the admissions policy of the university, Faculty of Education will select students who have the basic knowledge and skills appropriate for the education and training provided by the faculty, and the attitude of learning and cooperating with others, using the following methods.

1. Motivations for application based on an understanding of the philosophy and objectives of the Faculty, and the desire to pursue an education based on humanism will be evaluated through document screening and interviews in the comprehensive selection process (PASCAL entrance exam, basic academic ability method, essay format), school recommendation selection process (designated school recommendation entrance exam), and foreign student entrance exam.
2. The basic knowledge and skills required for university learning activities are evaluated through the results of document screening and academic ability tests conducted in the comprehensive selection basic academic ability method, general selection entrance examination using the University Common Test, university-wide unified entrance examination, general entrance examination (hereinafter general selection), and foreign student entrance examination. In the evaluation for these entrance examinations, English ability is relatively emphasized, and in the document screening for the comprehensive selection (PASCAL entrance examination, basic academic ability method, essay method), preferential treatment is given according to the results of the practical English proficiency test. In addition, in the academic ability test for the comprehensive selection basic academic ability method entrance examination, in addition to English, Japanese and mathematics can be selected so that a wide range of abilities can be evaluated.
3. Reading comprehension, expression, and flexible thinking skills, which are essential for exploring educational theory and practice, are assessed through the comprehensive selection basic academic ability method and academic ability tests conducted in the general selection method, as well as group discussions in the comprehensive selection method (PASCAL entrance exam), essays in the comprehensive selection method (essay method), and essay screening in the foreign student entrance exam.
4. The ability to work collaboratively with others will be assessed through group learning in the comprehensive selection process (PASCAL entrance exam).

Curriculum for True Human Education

This course considers human education from the standpoint of pedagogy and psychology, and strengthens the ability to teach subjects and provide guidance in daily life. It also broadens the perspective of global education, and aims to produce educators who can play an active role on the world stage. Students can also study early childhood education and special needs education.

Detailed guidance system

Seminar-style classes begin in the first year, and students develop the ability to think and make decisions independently through active learning.
From the third year, students will be able to take part in full-scale seminars with small class sizes and receive detailed guidance from their professors, enabling them to acquire a high level of academic knowledge.

Fulfilling "School Internship"

This is a system where you go to public elementary and junior high schools and private kindergartens to cooperate with teachers and provide after-school supplementary learning instruction, etc. You will come into contact with the actual school environment and students and understand your own aptitude.

Strong in teacher recruitment exams

The school offers a large number of specialized subjects related to teaching, and has also established a university-wide "Career Center for Teacher Education."
We provide a wide range of support to students aspiring to become teachers, from obtaining teaching qualifications to preparing for teacher recruitment exams.
For more information, please visit the Career Center for Teacher Education website!

"STeP Lab.", a mock lesson club created in collaboration between students and faculty

Developing the teaching skills of students who aim to become effective teachers
In the extracurricular activity STeP Lab., mainly students in the third year and above participate and learn about creating elementary school lessons. In weekly activities, they conduct teaching material research and mock lessons for major subjects, with an emphasis on discussion among students.
Students have commented that "Through the activities of STeP Lab., I was able to learn how to create lessons that are easy for children to understand and that allow them to learn independently."

About the activities of the mock lesson club "STeP Lab."

Learning Support System

To help students Faculty of Education learn English thoroughly, we have a program called the​ ​Pegasus (Program for Educator in a Global Age for​ ​Soka​ ​University Students) Club, where advanced student tutors support students as they aim to become educators in the global age.

Pegasus Club

The Pegasus (Program for Educator in a Global Age for Soka University Students) Club is a training facility where students Faculty of Education can learn English intensively, and is a program for students who aim to become educators in the global age.
Tutors are senior students who have had similar experiences and overcome them, so they can help students with the unique problems they face, such as taking teaching credits, overseas experience, anxiety about teaching practice and the teacher recruitment exam, and how to deal with the language proficiency required for the teacher recruitment exam.

This is the Foreign Language Study Club of Faculty of Education

The Pegasus Program has been established as an opportunity for independent learning within Faculty of Education to support the acquisition of foreign languages and to equip students with the ability to communicate about Soka education in foreign languages. The organization that carries out this activity is the Pegasus Club.

With encouragement from seniors, students aim to improve their TOEIC scores

Participation in study sessions is optional. Students will study while receiving encouragement from seniors who have achieved high scores on TOEIC and other tests. Since students study with peers from Faculty of Education, there is no tension or anxiety.

Special benefits include priority participation in overseas training programs

Club members have priority access to overseas training programs offered by Faculty of Education. In addition, they receive various benefits, such as the ability to take mock exams as many times as they like for free in preparation for the TOEIC exam, and the ability to use many study materials for free.

Pegasus News Vol.1 2021

This is the latest issue of "Pegasus News" introducing the activities of the Pegasus Club.

List of major companies and public servants

Graduates from the March 2021 class have been employed by companies such as Benesse Style Care Co., Ltd., AEON Retail Co., Ltd., Global Kids Co., Ltd., Careritz and Partners Co., Ltd., Kodomo no Mori Co., Ltd., Yokohama City Social Welfare Council, Seiyu Home Seiyu Infant Home, Zenraku Foods Co., Ltd., Nichii Care Palace Co., Ltd., Japanese Red Cross Society, Florence, a certified non-profit organization, and Recruit Staffing Co., Ltd.
For details, please see "Employment Record."

Teacher Training Course

This page introduces the teacher training course in general (page of Career Center for Teacher Education a university-wide organization).

Career and qualification information for each department