Message from Chairperson of Department

The Graduate School of Education of Kagoshima University was established in 2017 as a graduate school with firm roots in its local community of Kagoshima, seeking to effectively utilize the special characteristics of education in Kagoshima to address the various issues affecting education in this region. Kagoshima Prefecture covers a large geographical area, extending 600 km from north to south. The Prefecture is characterized by high levels of both natural diversity and cultural diversity; in each district within the Prefecture, education is being developed in line with the unique characteristics of the local community. However, Kagoshima is experiencing problems in relation to rising costs, as a result of the need to meet special educational requirements, while also maintaining high academic standards overall. The former issue is being addressed through the implementation of education using small class sizes and through having individual teachers provide guidance to children in different grades; the latter issue is being tackled through special education and universal design-based education. All teachers are expected to acquire the skills needed to implement these initiatives. The Graduate School of Education aims to cultivate teachers who, besides addressing the educational issues outlined above, have also acquired the skills—including information and communications technology (ICT) and active learning, etc.—required to solve other contemporary educational issues, and who are also able to collaborate effectively with other teachers, and exert an effective impact on the “team school” system. To this end, the Graduate School of Education provides an education in which, for the majority of classes (including hands-on teaching practice activities), teaching is conducted in close collaboration with researchers and teaching practitioners, who work together with students to realize in-depth learning, thereby helping to generate new knowledge.