Cram School Research Articles

The process of converting Taekwondo Dojang into Private Cram School: Focusing on the concept of isomorphism of sociological institutionalism

The process of converting Taekwondo Dojang into Private Cram School: Focusing on the concept of isomorphism of sociological institutionalism

After-School Activities of Japanese Elementary School Children: Comparison of Children Who Attend Lessons and Cram Schools With Those Who Do Not.

This study examined the after-school activities of Japanese elementary school children in which little information is available for understanding the process by which participation in organized activities leads to the decrease in children's independent mobility. One thousand eight hundred and twenty-four mothers of elementary school children participated in an online survey. The mothers responded to the questions on the number of lessons (or cram schools) their children attended weekdays, as well as their children's behavior after classes, and parents providing transportation when their children go out to play. The proportion of children attending lessons and/or cram schools increased as their grades progressed. A significant interaction existed between the degree of parental transportation and grade in terms of whether or not the children attended lessons and/or cram schools. Parental involvement included pick up or drop-off for a large percentage of younger children without lessons, whereas the degree of parental involvement was greater for older children attending lessons. In other words, parents of children without attending lessons or cram schools tended to allow children to engage in independent activities when they reached the higher grades, whereas parents of children who frequently attended lessons and cram schools tended to remain involved in transporting their children, even when they reached the higher grades. The results suggested that the participation of children in organized activities leads to a routine of parental pickup and/or drop-off, which renders difficult the facilitation of opportunities for children to independently participate in play activities.

Comparative Analysis of Onsite and Online Testing at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos

The research shows the analysis of the means and standard deviations of the scores obtained in the last eight tests at the Centro Preuniversitario (Cram School) of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) of Peru taken onsite, before the COVID-19 pandemic, versus the eight subsequent tests during the pandemic, after the digitalization of admission processes. The result of this analysis establishes that the digitalization of the process did not cause any significant difference in the results of the onsite and online processes. The results showed that, in the absence of these differences, it is thought that the process was adequately digitalized since the behavior of the online and onsite test scores were similar.

The Impact of The Double Reduction Policy on The Construction of The Professional Identity of Tutoring Class Teachers

The double reduction policy launched by our country on July 24, 2021 aims to reduce the number of teachers in private teaching auxiliary institutions for basic education, achieve a fair distribution of educational resources, and reduce the academic burden of students and the pressure of extracurricular tutoring. However, the research on the self-identity construction of cram school teachers after the "double reduction policy" is still a blank field. This paper focuses on the status quo of the professional status of teachers in private tutoring institutions after the "double reduction policy". The authors' data are based on fixed structured interviews with 6 teachers from private tutoring institutions in different regions of China. The results show that after the double reduction policy, the professional identity of teachers in private teaching auxiliary institutions is based on their professional beliefs and has not been significantly affected. The discussion in this article prompts each teacher to reflect on his own identity factors, and at the same time complements the construction of the professional identity framework of teachers in private teaching auxiliary institutions.

Causes and Ways of Relieving Parents' Anxiety Under the Double Reduction Policy

With the continuous implementation of the nine-year compulsory education policy, parents are increasingly anxious about their children's education. According to the analysis of various existing situations, parents' anxiety is still in a very serious degree, and it is urgent to understand and analyze parents' anxiety. On this basis, through the research review and analysis of different literatures, this paper makes an in-depth analysis, clarifies the internal logic of parental anxiety, and understands the different internal and external factors that lead to parental anxiety. Internal factors are due to parents' worries about their children's education, their worries about their children's future and the success of their education. Not only that, parents' comparison psychology, fear of policy uncertainty, as well as parents' own age and cultural background and other factors concentrate on the internal factors of parents' anxiety. From the external point of view, with the actual situation has been changing the education policy, the current social tension employment situation, the influence of traditional concepts and social public opinion, and the uneven distribution pattern of education resources have further deepened the anxiety of parents. In addition, the reform form of cram school is not optimistic, the influence of parents' education of children around them and the unsatisfactory home-school cooperation have also made parents' anxiety gradually become diversified and complicated. Parents need to change their concept of education, regain confidence in their children's education, change the way of education and use advanced network technology to build home-school cooperation.

Comparative Analysis of American and Japanese Educational Models

Different countries have their own unique culture. The education for cultivating future talents is largely influenced by their own culture. This paper aims to excavate the influence that is affected by the culture of the Japanese educational model and the American educational model respectively on Hofstedes cultural dimensions theory. The main tool used in this paper is a website called country comparison tool which can select two different countries to make a comparison in cultural dimensions. This paper compares collectivism and individualism in American and Japanese education. Using the method of literature research and comparative research method, the similarities and differences in education between the United States and Japan are shown from the comparison of students textbooks, cram schools, educational philosophies, etc. The result shows that compared with the United States, Japan is a country that proposes collectivism obviously. However, this is not an invariable conclusion since global change is prevailing right now. American educational mode is embedded in collectivism to a certain extent while Japan has the same trend which is leaning toward individualism.

Students’ motivation to learn English: the importance of external influence on the ideal L2 self

IntroductionThe ideal second/foreign language (L2) self, a concept in second-language acquisition theory, is a learner’s future vision about their language ability. Research on the ideal L2 self is important for finding ways to improve motivation for learning a new language, foreign language teaching strategies, and personalization of instruction for individuals with different backgrounds and aspirations. The present study aimed to better understand the factors that might influence the ideal L2 self among Japanese elementary school students. While there have been numerous studies about the ideal L2 self in English language learning, few have focused on elementary school students’ motivation to learn English.MethodsData were collected from 225 4th- and 6th-grade elementary school students in Japan. The data were analyzed by performing t-tests and a hierarchical linear regression to understand the relationships between the pertinent variables and the ideal L2 self.ResultsThe analysis results revealed three characteristics of the relationship between elementary school students’ English language skills and their ideal L2 selves. First, the results of the t-test suggested that international travel and English cram school experiences were differentiating factors for the ideal L2 self, suggesting that the groups of participants with and without those factors (experiences) had significantly different ideal L2 selves. Second, the experience of living abroad was not a significant differentiating factor for the ideal L2 self. Third, the results of the regression analysis suggested that school, home, and foreign media influences are significant contributors to the formation of the ideal L2 self. These factors may therefore subsume international travel and English cram school experiences.DiscussionBy understanding the factors that contribute to the ideal L2 self, educators and policymakers can strive to establish a more effective environment to improve students’ motivation to learn English.

Memorizing and fabricating? Uncovering online writing test preparation

With high-stakes decisions relying on standardized language tests (Chapelle, 2021a), many test takers seek test preparation from commercial ‘cram schools’, including TOEFL iBT writing (E.-Y. J. Kim, 2017; S. Kim, 2021). Despite a $1.2 billion market for online test preparation courses in Korea, previous studies have primarily focused on in-person classes through interviews and surveys, neglecting online courses. This study analyzed ten prerecorded online lectures from two popular cram schools, applying Messick’s (1982) taxonomy of test preparation to code instructional content. The analysis revealed that three types of instructional activities: three Type 1 (enhancing construct-relevant factors), four Type 2 (reducing construct-irrelevant factors), and four Type 3 (enhancing construct-irrelevant factors) test preparation activities were identified. Type 1 activities primarily covered vocabulary, grammar, and organizational patterns. Type 2 focused on teaching test formats, TOEFL trends, time management, and topic choice. Type 3 addressed templates, fabricating examples, gaming the scoring system, and cramming tips. Notably, students were encouraged to utilize memorized templates and fabricate examples. However, these practices may undermine support for the explanation and consequence implication inferences of the validity argument of TOEFL iBT. This study provides valuable insights into language testing preparation, applicable to various contexts with different tests.

The predictive effect of language achievement on multiple emotions in languages other than English: validating a distal mediation model based on the control-value theory

Abstract Although the predictive effect of emotion on language achievement has been substantially established, little is known about whether language achievement could, in turn, shape a constellation of emotions in second language/L2 learning, especially in the field of languages other than English. Given this, grounded on the control-value theory, this tentative study aims to fill the gap by investigating the predictive effect of language achievement on emotions (enjoyment, boredom, and anxiety) and digging into the mediating relationships between them in the underlying L2 Chinese learning mechanism through structural equation modeling. Three hundred and seven (N = 307) young students from a cram school in New Zealand participated in this study. The results indicated that students’ learning achievement, directly and indirectly, predicted three frequently experienced emotions in the multiple mediation model. In addition, positive and negative emotions interacted with each other in the L2 Chinese learning context. The finding of this study validated and extended the application of control-value theory in L2 Chinese learning.

Entrepreneurial leadership of academic managers in cram schools under double reduction policy in China: conceptualizing competencies and resilience (El liderazgo emprendedor de los gestores académicos en los centros de apoyo al estudio ante una política de reducción doble en China: conceptualización de las competencias y la resiliencia)

ABSTRACT Leadership issues in shadow education are under-researched in national, regional and international contexts. In China, local and central governments have imposed stringent control on academic K9 paid tutorial lessons, provided by cram schools under the new double reduction policy (DRP). Many large-scale cram schools have undergone drastic changes in their organizational structure, marketing strategies and the working environment under the COVID-19 attack and DRP. This study aims to conceptualize how their academic managers in some regions of China exhibited traits of entrepreneurial leadership involving competence and resilience. Qualitative research methods included content analysis of policy documents, observation of tutorial lessons and semi-structured interviews with academic managers. Without overgeneralization, this study merely acts as a motivational guide for complementing the existing research literature on cram schools in China and enriching the international research literature on entrepreneurial leadership in mass tutoring.

Shadow education, Bourdieu, & meritocracy: towards an understanding of Juku and inequality in Japan

ABSTRACT Private educational activities designed to enhance student outcomes outside the formal schooling system are increasingly referred to as shadow education. In Japan, shadow education traditionally consists of for-profit cram schools or juku. Juku take many forms in Japan, yet their primary function is to offer students extra educational opportunities. As such, there is a strong belief that investment in shadow education leads to a higher educational level, thereby strengthening educational inequality by unfairly advantaging families of higher socio-economic status (SES). By applying Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of social reproduction and symbolic violence, this study seeks to elucidate the extent to which neoliberal policies and a lack of guidance from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) have allowed shadow education in Japan to sustain anti-meritocratic access to higher education. The study critically analyses how laissez-faire policy-making decisions, a reliance on juku attendance, and an emphasis on English language as a test subject operate in conjunction with neoliberal policies to disadvantage lower SES families through uneven access to educational opportunities.

Does cram school participation bring about negative emotions? Causal inference based on Chinese Education Panel Survey (CEPS) data

This study focuses on the causal relationship between teenagers’ participation in cram schools and their emotional well-being. Our analysis is based on Chinese Education Panel Survey data (CEPS 2013–2015). We construct instrumental variables and introduce lagged variables to mitigate possible endogeneity problems. The major findings are as follows. First, the participation of socioeconomically disadvantaged teenagers in cram schools significantly exacerbates their negative emotions. Teenagers of advantaged family socioeconomic status (SES) show better ability in emotion regulation and in avoiding specific negative emotions. Second, we explore class heterogeneity in emotion regulation. Specifically, we propose a preliminary theoretical framework based on a typology of parenting styles. We conjecture that parents of different social classes may respond differently to their children's negative emotions. And for children who attend cram schools, there might be intergroup disparities in their own emotion-regulation ability by their class origins. Empirically, we carry out a counterfactual analysis to further illustrate the association between class difference in emotion regulation and that in the depressive effect of cram school participation, providing supporting evidence for our theoretical framework. In sum, our study is helpful to further our understanding of the implications of emotional health inequality which may derive from the “shadow education” system.

Using "Gaze Theory" to Explore the Plight of Women in Literary Rhetoric and Real Society in "Fang Siqi's First Love Paradise"

"Fang Siqi's First Love Paradise" is a novel by the late Taiwanese female writer Lin Yihan, the main content of the novel is that the junior high school girl Fang Siqi was sexually assaulted by cram school teacher Li Guohua for a long time, and finally had a nervous breakdown. "Fang Siqi's First Love Paradise" has attracted the attention not only Fang Siqi, who has been sexually assaulted but also a large number of female images under the gaze of male power ideology and male subjects, losing freedom and discourse, unconsciously being shaped into the appearance of male hope, the novel directly exposes the survival dilemma of women's reality in this regard. At the same time, Lin Yihan writes in the highly rhetorical language of literature, exposing the violence of male power in the world of rhetoric and skillfully outlining the plight of women in the world of literary rhetoric. Starting from the theory of "gaze", it focuses on analysing women's postures in both literature and reality and explores the manifestations and reasons for women's double dilemma.

The "secrets" of English private tutoring in China: Chinese students' experiences of study abroad test preparation in cram schools.

English private tutoring, a.k.a. "shadow education" has been an important way that international students rely on for overseas test preparation. Despite the plethora of research on private tutoring in various countries and regions, scarce research focuses on the type of EPT that prepares students for overseas tests. Therefore, this study investigated the experience and perceptions of EPT in preparing for overseas writing tests of 187 Chinese students through retrospective interviews and questionnaires. The present study investigated Chinese students' experience in and perceptions of EPT for study abroad writing test preparation. The results showed that most students received EPT in writing in various ways at cram schools and they devoted themselves to EPT in cram schools intensively. They favored EPT in cram schools mainly because the test-taking strategies taught there could help them obtain a higher grade on the writing section in overseas tests. With respect to writing teaching in cram schools, the most frequent teaching activities included teaching test-taking strategies and providing writing templates. Although most students acknowledged the usefulness of EPT in writing in terms of preparing themselves for the writing test, it was not necessarily the case for improving their general writing abilities. The students believed that the writing instruction was test-oriented and had a ceiling effect in improving their general writing abilities. However, with enough long time in EPT, the cramming nature of cram schools can be less obvious.

홈스쿨링 청소년의 진로정체감 형성과정에 대한 생애사 연구

The purpose of this study was to investigate in-depth the process of forming career identity of adolescents who were homeschooled in a life history study. The specific research agenda is to look at the process of forming career identity in the course of life for homeschooled adolescents, and to look at the turning points in life in the process of forming career identity. To this end, data were collected through three in-depth interviews from August 2022 for adolescents who had homeschooling for eight years from the age of 11. The collected data were analyzed using Mandelbaum’s life history analysis framework. As a result of the analysis, the study participants’ areas of life are defined as “Family Life Area - Fantasy in Career Development with Jjangi’s Family,” “School in the System - Why Jjangi could not find meaning in school 1,” and “Jjangi and Jangjeonggi 2 in Career Development” who discover themselves through homeschooling. The turning point in life is ‘Meeting a role model - Real life in class with a role model and career development 1: Back to institutional education to become a doctor’. The adaptation methods were analyzed as “the crisis is an opportunity- turning the grades in classrooms into reality and positive thoughts learned at the cram school,” “fight with oneself-reality in career development 2: being stricter with oneself,” and “standing again like a Ottogi-leaving the cram school and beginning a journey of new challenge.” In the conclusion section, opinions were suggested on what is necessary for teenagers who were homeschooled in the process of forming career identity and the limitations of this study were presented.

Effects of Attending Extracurricular Lessons and Cram School on Independent Mobility in Japanese Children.

Independent mobility and its related factors were examined among Japanese elementary school children. Based on the responses of 1,824 mothers with elementary school-aged children, the effects of demographic variables such as children’s grade, gender, and birth order as well as regional characteristics, neighborhood environment, distance to and means of getting to school, children’s use of bicycles, keys and cell phones, and the number of weekdays spent attending lessons or cram schools were explored. Factor analysis revealed that independent mobility comprised activities in public places, including outings to supermarkets, and traveling by bus and train as well as activities in the school district such as visiting friends’ homes and parks. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses that comprised five steps were conducted in which the number of days of attending lessons and cram school was entered in the final step. There was a strong gender effect and grade effect for outings to public places and activities in the school district. Concerns about traffic accidents and security were associated with lower independent mobility. With regard to activities in the school district, proximity to school, use of bicycles, and possession of house keys had a positive effect. It is noteworthy that the effect of the number of days spent attending lessons or cram school was observed even after the other variables were entered, thus resulting in a negative effect. It is recommended that further comparative studies involving other Asian countries be conducted to evaluate the effects of extracurricular activities.

High prevalence of myopia and low hyperopia reserve in 4411 Chinese primary school students and associated risk factors

PurposeTo investigate the prevalence of myopia in Chinese primary school students and their ocular biometrics including axial length (AL), corneal radius of curvature (CRC) and spherical equivalent refraction (SER). To analyze their association with potential myopia risk factors, such as body mass index (BMI), cram school, time of outdoor activity and electronic screen use.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study of 4500 primary school students from 5 schools, participants underwent refraction using non-cycloplegic autorefractor and visual acuity testing. A follow-up study in the same schools was conducted in 2022. Myopia was defined as SER ≤ -0.50 diopter (D) and uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) < 0.00 logMAR (6/6). Logistic regression models were used to determine factors associated with myopia.ResultsAfter excluding 389 participants, the overall prevalence of myopia was 33.6%. The prevalence of high myopia was 0.6%. The prevalence of myopia in girls was significantly higher than that in boys (37.6% vs. 30.0%, p < 0.001). The height, weight and BMI were significantly associated with AL (r = 0.471, r = 0.440, r = 0.276, p < 0.001, respectively). AL/CRC ratio was more highly correlated with SER than AL alone. Regression analysis showed that AL/CRC and hyperopia reserve were associated with myopia onset in the subsequent year (F = 201.557, p < 0.001; F = 68.934, p < 0.001). The cut point of hyperopia reserve for myopia in the subsequent year for grade 1 students was + 0.31D. Age (p < 0.001), parental myopia (p = 0.001) and lack of outdoor activity between classes (p = 0.049) were independently associated with higher prevalence rates of myopia.ConclusionThe prevalence of myopia among Chinese schoolchildren is alarming high. Consistent with previous cross-sectional data, AL/CRC and hyperopia reserve could function as myopia detection indicators. The hyperopia reserve among children aged between 6 ~ 7 years was low. Healthcare providers need to raise parents’ awareness of the importance of regular eye examination and proper optical correction.

Effects of Helicopter Parenting on Tutoring Engagement and Continued Attendance at Cram Schools.

Attending cram school has long been a trend in ethnic Chinese culture areas, including Taiwan. Despite the fact that school reform policies have been implemented in Taiwan, cram schools have continued to prosper. Therefore, in this educational culture, how to achieve a good educational effect is also a topic worthy of discussion. However, whether students really engage in those tutoring programs provided by cram schools has seldom been studied. To address this gap, this study explored how parents’ hovering attitude toward life and coursework influences their children’s engagement in cram schools. This study targeted those students who attend English cram schools to test the correlates between two types of helicopter parenting, tutoring engagement and continued attendance at cram schools. A total of 320 questionnaires were sent out, and 300 were returned, giving an overall response rate of 93.75%. Excluding seven incomplete or invalid questionnaires, 293 valid questionnaires were received. The results of this study show that hovering behavior awareness is negatively related to cram school engagement, whereas cram school engagement is positively related to the intention to continue attending cram school. Moreover, the results imply that parents should alleviate their helicoptering behavior to enhance their children’s engagement in cram school tutoring programs.

Peer effects and shadow education

Peer effects are crucial to school activities contributing to students' human capital accumulation. However, existing studies offer little evidence on how peers affect a student's private tutoring, commonly called shadow education, outside the formal schooling. This paper investigates peer effects on the student's shadow education activities by using an instrumental variable approach with a randomization sample of junior high school students in China. We find that an increase in the proportion of classmates receiving shadow education, defined as participating in cram schools or extracurricular courses, positively affects a student's shadow education participation, expenditure, and time spent on weekends. To corroborate the identification strategy validity, we conduct various robustness checks that consider exclusion restriction, peer characteristics, sample exclusion, and personality traits. Heterogeneous analyses suggest that peer effects are more pronounced among male students, students from high-income families, senior students, and public school students.

What drives parents to choose a cram school from the perspective of planned behaviour theory: evidence from Taiwan

What drives parents to choose a cram school from the perspective of planned behaviour theory: evidence from Taiwan