Teachers in Japan Work Longest Hours: OECD Survey

Tokyo, Oct. 7 (Jiji Press)–Full-time teachers in Japan work longer hours than those in the other economies surveyed, a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed Tuesday. Japanese teachers worked 52.1 hours per week in elementary schools and 55.1 hours in junior high schools, according to the report on the results of the 2024 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey. In Japan, the average working hours for both elementary and junior high schools decreased by four hours from the previous survey in 2018. But they still exceeded the overall averages by more than 10 hours, showing that long working hours remain a serious problem for Japanese teachers. The survey covered 55 countries and regions, including OECD member states. The average working hours are based on data from 12 countries for elementary schools and 27 countries for junior high schools. The average working hours for teachers in elementary schools among the surveyed countries came to 40.4 hours, while those for junior high school teachers were 41.0 hours. While class lengths in Japan were shorter than the averages, Japanese teachers spent more time on school management and administrative tasks. The survey also found that 40.7 pct of elementary school principals and 35.6 pct of junior high school principals in Japan reported a shortage of teachers, compared with the respective averages of 28.7 pct and 23.1 pct. It showed that 36.9 pct of elementary schools and 36.3 pct of junior high schools used artificial intelligence tools in classes over the year preceding the survey. In Japan, the share was far lower at 16.0 pct for elementary schools and 17.4 pct for junior high schools. Additionally, 48.4 pct of elementary school teachers and 51.0 pct of junior high school teachers in Japan believed that AI intensifies biased views among students, exceeding the averages by 8.0-8.5 percentage points. This showed Japanese teachers are strongly aware of AI-related risks. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]