The Faculty of Human Development is an education-oriented faculty that was established based upon the societal demand to “foster human potential.”
　The qualities and capabilities that people possess must be elicited and developed to the utmost extent possible. Everyone should be treated as equal and worthy of utilizing and being utilized for their abilities. In this capacity, their qualities and capabilities must be allowed to blossom and their “human potential,” which integrates together these respective capabilities, should be developed.
　The term “human development” used by the Faculty refers to eliciting the potential capabilities and abilities in people, which have become closed off as a result of various stresses or pressures, thus bringing them out as if by opening them up, clearing the way, and expanding upon them. It is the potential that allows that person to live their life as they see fit. In other words, this is nothing short of cultivating “human potential.”
　Put another way, the phrase “human development” is imbued with the forthright ideas contained within Kokogakuin University’s conception of “human resource development.” This consists of cultivating educators and instructors who practice “education that encourages students to try their best,” by means of encouraging them to engage in interdisciplinary and practical scholarship focused primarily on human sciences, which include studies in pedagogy, human development, athletics, and physiology.

The Faculty of Human Development aims to furnish human resources with a broad perspective and profound insight as well as fostering within them a wealth of creativity, creating human resources who are capable of developing the qualities and capabilities that people possess. This is to be done through teaching specialized knowledge in various fields related to human development, as well as providing systematic and practical instruction.

Department of Elementary Education
　To cultivate instructors capable of developing children’s qualities and capabilities and fostering human resources furnished with human potential. This is to be done through teaching specialized knowledge related to child development instruction, as well as by providing systematic and practical instruction.

Department of Health and Physical Education
　To cultivate instructors capable of developing children’s qualities and capabilities and contributing to the creation of fulfilling and well-rounded social lives. This is to be done through teaching specialized knowledge related to the traditions, cultures, and skills involved in health education and sports, as well as by providing systematic and practical instruction.

Department of Child Studies
　To cultivate instructors capable of developing children’s qualities and capabilities and contributing to the creation of rich living environments. This is to be done through teaching specialized knowledge related to children and childrearing support, as well as by providing practical instruction in partnership with actual childcare sites and local communities.

　With the traditional and cultural education rooted in the University’s founding spirit as its foundation, the Faculty provides interdisciplinary and practical scholastic learning centered around human sciences. Through this it cultivates core competencies, which consist of the ability to think logically and scientifically, the ability to express oneself, the ability to utilize one’s knowledge and skills, and the capacity to search for the solutions to problems, as well as human potential, which integrates these to bring out the capacity to lead a life of vitality. It also fosters human resources with a wealth of creativity who are capable of developing the qualities and capabilities that people possess to their utmost extent in various social sectors. Students who complete the curriculum composed in order to achieve the above goals and who obtain the prescribed number of credits will obtain a bachelor’s degree.

• Degrees that Can Be Acquired
  Department of Elementary Education: Bachelor’s degree (pedagogy)
  Department of Health and Physical Education: Bachelor’s degree (athletics)
  Department of Child Studies: Bachelor’s degree (pedagogy)

This Faculty has established three departments, the Department of Elementary Education, the Department of Health and Physical Education, and the Department of Child Studies, in order to achieve the development of human resources via the ideal of “human development.” It practices a policy of enhancing coursework related to Japan’s traditional culture, and establishing a systematic curriculum capable of furnishing students with both theory and practice by deploying teachers with a broad range of specialties and career backgrounds. The Faculty also implements as part of the policy the establishment of an interdisciplinary curriculum that features diverse expertise and the realization of small-group learning and instruction, as well as support structures (resonance (kyodo)). The policy also includes setting in place training and practice for real-world experience and promoting partnerships with the local community based on the ideal of contributing to the community by partnerships among the public and private sectors and academia (mutual growth (kyo-iku)). Through this, the Faculty fosters teachers and instructors furnished with a broad perspective and profound insight who have human potential that allows them to grapple with contemporary challenges.

　Based on the educational policy established by the University and this Faculty, students with the following sorts of qualities and intentions are admitted.

1. Those who sympathize with the ideal of “human development,” intend to improve their own qualities and capabilities and develop human potential, and who are strongly oriented toward becoming teachers or instructors.
2. The Department of Elementary Education seeks candidates who are motivated to learn on their own, take an interest in and have an understanding of Japanese education, and who possess strong communication skills. They must also be highly motivated to become educational specialists who aspire to gain specialized knowledge related to various issues in different educational fields.
3. The Department of Health and Physical Education seeks candidates who adhere to the fundamental principle that leading a healthy life leads to happiness for people. They must be interested in modalities for exercise, as an important component for maintaining and promoting health, as well as for physical functions spanning the entirety of one’s life from the fetal stage through to the end of life. They must also be strongly motivated to become instructors capable of contributing to health development throughout various different life stages.
4. The Department of Child Studies seeks candidates who are motivated to learn on their own, take an interest in and have an understanding of Japanese early childhood education and childcare, and who possess strong communication skills. They must also be highly motivated to become early childhood education and childcare specialists who aspire to gain specialized knowledge related to various issues in different fields of early childhood education and childcare.
5. People soundly furnished with basic academic abilities who have engaged in their studies with an interest in a broad range of areas in order to comprehensively instill in themselves education related to mental and physical development.

The Department’s goal is to foster elementary school teachers furnished with advanced educational and instructional capabilities that enable them to respond to the various problems facing the modern world of education. This is based on the traditional culture, classical literature, and experience-based activities emphasized in the revisions to the government’s curriculum guidelines. In addition, it also aims to foster human resources capable of working to resolve challenges in a number of different fields. These include kindergarten teachers with a wealth of creativity who aspire to transition children into elementary school education, social education superintendents, specialists in charge of education at ordinary companies, and employees in education-related industries concerning publishing and childcare.

Rather than just emphasizing outstanding performance in athletic competitions, the Department aims to tie the experiences of failure and setbacks in athletic activities in with advanced educational and instructional capabilities. It aims to foster teachers and health and sports instructors for health and physical education classes at junior and senior high schools. It also aims to develop sports leaders for local communities who have acquired specialized knowledge that allows them to properly support health and sports, which are demonstrating a variety of changes, as well as the ability to express themselves and communication skills. In addition, it aims to foster civil servants involved in safeguarding human life, such as firefighters and police.

The Department aims for “early childhood education and childcare as a benefit” that assists children and childrearing by fostering human resources who will take the lead in supporting children and childrearing in local communities. This will be done based on a foundation of human development-style early childhood education and childcare grounded in the view of Japanese childrearing and children’s culture based on the school’s founding spirit (Shinto spirit: the practice of tolerance and humility while maintaining one’s identity).

The Faculty fosters human potential by having students learn and integrate four core competencies. These consist of the ability to use the knowledge and skills one has acquired, the ability to think logically and scientifically, the ability to express oneself (including one’s ability of expressing oneself physically), and the ability to empirically search for and seek out solutions to problems.

The Faculty teaches the significance of Japan’s traditional culture that serves as the foundation for human development to foster human resources who will be responsible for passing it down and developing it further. This is done through education on this traditional culture that is based on the Shinto spirit (the practice of tolerance and humility while maintaining one’s individuality as a Japanese person), which serves as the university’s founding spirit.

Theory and techniques over and above those seen to date are needed for the sake of human resource development in order to cultivate an approach to development that sees human beings as being worthy of being utilized for their abilities, rather than seeing them as mere human resources. This refers exactly to a scientific eye and the ability to put things into practice, which is based on the scientific eye as its foundation.

Everyone has dreams regarding things they want to try, yet we all feel anxious about going for them. The Faculty of Human Development offers support and fosters growth so that students can make these dreams a reality. We have prepared advanced courses that allow students to give their individual characters full-reign, and that can satisfy them by accommodating their interests and concerns. This enables them to further refine the skills they possess in their areas of specialty.

The first half of students’ life on campus will consist of a room system for placement, while the second half will consist of a seminar system based mainly around instructional seminar teachers. The aim is for “kyodo” (resonance) learning in which teachers and students respond to each other in a heartfelt manner. This is achieved by having teachers and students jointly work to address and support learning assignments and experience-based activities.