Competitive and Cooperative Attitudes: A Longitudinal Survey of Japanese Adolescents

Abstract

This study concerned the meaning of cooperation and competition, and the orientations of Japanese students toward cooperative and competitive school activities. First, a sample of 102 teachers generated 871 items that described a wide variety of academic and nonacademic activities and pupil behaviors. Every student (Grades 7 through 12) at a secondary school complex then rated 24 of these competitive and cooperative items in terms of personal importance during three consecutive academic years (N = 720 in Year 1). Factor analyses of the ratings revealed one general cooperation factor and three competition factors: nonacademic, academic, and group centered. Scores on all four composite indexes varied according to students' grade level and/or cohort membership. Females had higher scores than males on the Cooperation composite index, but there was little gender variation on the three Competition indexes. These data show that the development of cooperativeness and competitiveness should be studied longitudinally, and in both academic and nonacademic contexts. The results are discussed in terms of societal values, the experiences of adolescents, and the implicit curricula of Japanese secondary schools.