More questions about teacing in Japan.
 

My last question was a few months ago.

My ultimate goal in school is to get a masters or Phd in school administration, that being said, I was just wondering yesterday night, "Can a foreigner to Japan become the principal of a Japanese school."

I looked around a bit and couldn't find anything on google.

what kind of question is that?
hmm, if the person are qualified enough, then there shouldn't be any problem..
but I think, it's very hard since the person has to accustomed with japanese culture, the language and all stuff~ easily said, once should become a japanese to be the principal~ :p

It does seem like a silly question, but I couldn't find any information at all. I can form the question Japanese to find the requirements but my reading abilities are not that great to fully understand.

I was told that foreigners can't be employed fulltime by a public school, is this true?

There is no rule against a foreigner working full time if he has a regular work visa. Most foreign teachers in Japan are classified as "part-time", as this way the company/school doesn't have supply full-time work benefits.

There are schools in Japan which have foreign principles, but these are private/international schools. It's highly unlikely that a foreigner would be able to get a job as a principle in a public school, though it is entirely possible for a foreigner to become a full time teacher at a public school.

Sangetsu, I was under the impression that teachers in public schools in Japan are koumuin (public servants), and koumuin must be Japanese citizens. People teaching as ALTs in public schools usually work 29.5 hours- just below full-time. You know non-Japanese people employed fulltime as regular teachers in public schools?

As for becoming the principal, obviously someone has to be an ordinary teacher and work their way up to reach that point, and that can take 20 years or more. Are you sure you will like Japan enough to want to stay that long?

At the university level the "public" service aspect shouldn't be an issue right?

If it is a private university, then that is correct.

Remember also that a principal is not a teaching job, it is administrative- it takes a completely different mindset and training. Also especially in a place like Japan, a principal can be the face of the school- so on top of all new qualifications, the board that would get you in that position would want you to be that face. Would a non-Japanese be accepted by not just the board, but the parents of the students?

There are no easy answers to such a question, only harder questions.

In a Japanese public school I think it would be very doubtful a foreigner would ever be a principal. The reason is even if a foreigner could work in a public school district (prefecture) for 20+ years, it is traditional in Japan to move teachers around every few years to different schools (this is common in Japan in many industries) so to get the recognition from the prefectural Ministry of Education to go from teacher to administrator to principal would be quite an accomplishment.

Yes, I do. It is entirely possible for a foreigner to become a full-time teacher in a Japanese school. The catch is that a foreign teacher must pass the same testing and licensing examinations as a Japanese teacher.

A few years ago a couple prefectural boards of education became tired of dispatch company ALT services and began a program to hire foreign teachers directly. These boards of education also provided training which would allow these foreign teachers to obtain formal Japanese teaching certifications.

The main reason behind the part-time requirement for ALTs and other teachers has less to do with the teacher's nationality or citizenship than it does with schools and dispatch companies not wanting to pay for the more comprehensive benefits which come with full-time work.

So am I mistaken in thinking that public school teachers are koumuin, and to be a koumuin you must be a Japanese citizen?

Yes. When I was in JET my boss was the Hyogo Prefecture Board of Education (not the school) so I was a public employee and, obviously, a foreigner.

I'm obviously not talking about JETs and other ALTs, who are usually hired for a limited time period. There seems to be some sort of exception made for JETs and direct BOE hires- I am talking about a permanent employee, as in a foreigner becoming a geography or maths teacher in a public school (let's assume their Japanese is fluent).

Have you ever heard of anyone who's done it without becoming a Japanese citizen?

Once again, yes I have.