Japanese Elementary School Students Research Articles

小学生用算数のカリキュラムに基づく尺度（算数CBM）の開発と信頼性・妥当性の検討:基礎的な算数スキルに着目して

小学生用算数のカリキュラムに基づく尺度（算数CBM）の開発と信頼性・妥当性の検討:基礎的な算数スキルに着目して

Attitude towards Food Associated with Food Preferences in Japanese Elementary and Junior High School Students

Food-related preferences and practices are formed in early childhood. Our prior study suggested that children’s food preferences were related to their attitude towards food, especially “concern about food” and “respect for food.” In this study, we investigated the association of the high and low level of “attitude towards food” to food preferences of 6–16-year-old students. In 2017, a questionnaire was given to 1,658 students and guardians who attended public school and junior high school in the Hyogo prefecture of Japan. A total of 497 (29.9%) completed questionnaires were returned. The Kruskal–Wallis, Mann–Whitney U, and Jonckheere–Terpstra tests were employed to assess any associations between the independent variables and three levels of “concern about food” and “respect for food” with significance being at p < 0.05. The number of foods disliked by the students significantly decreased with increasing levels of “attitude towards food”. The present study suggests that the students’ “attitude towards food” was associated with their food preferences.

What Japanese Children Actually Do and What They Wish To Do in Their Free Time

ABSTRACT Aim: Investigating the relationship between what Japanese elementary school students (aged 8 to 12) actually do and what they want to do in their free time, and clarifying the problems concerning Japanese children’s free time. Background: Previous studies reported that 51.2% of Japanese fifth and sixth graders answered that they were either “very busy” or “busy” when asked about their after-school time. Only 21.3% of the boys and 11.4% of the girls answered that they played outside after school. Further, children aged between 9 and 13 responded that they wanted more free time. Methods: Using a self-filled questionnaire, demographic data and responses about their top activities were collected for 1,230 children who were third to sixth graders (8-12 years old). Participants were asked “What do you want to do when you have free time?” and the answer was selected among 11 choices. The relationship between free time and living time was based on multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis. Results: The top activity was utilising a digital device and then “physical activity”. The results show that there was a correspondence between children’s top activity and what they were actually doing. Children who chose screen time activity attended a cram school and had longer indoor play times and shorter outdoor play time than other children. Conclusions: Children chose an activity that could be easily done alone in a short time, and there was a lack of free time. In addition, children who chose physical activity had longer outdoor play time and shorter indoor play time than other children. We surmised that the only play that they knew was actually chosen, because there was little experience of other activities. Thus, Japanese children seem to have reduced choices and time for activities during their free time.

Development of the Japanese Version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ‐ES‐J)1,2

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire – Elementary School (AEQ‐ES), which assesses enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom experienced by elementary school students within the settings of attending class, doing homework, and taking tests. Japanese elementary school students (n = 863 for the first survey; n = 332 for the second survey) participated in the questionnaire survey. The results showed that the psychometric properties of the Japanese AEQ‐ES were comparable to those of the original version. Moreover, the results showed that students' achievement emotions were associated with their control and value appraisals, as well as their academic motivation, learning strategies, academic performance, and support from teachers. These results indicated that the Japanese version of the AEQ‐ES was a good measure of elementary school students' emotions and supported the propositions of the control–value theory of achievement emotions.

Effect of Hypothesis-Experiment class (Kasetsu) on resolution strategies for interpersonal conflict in Japanese elementary school students

Effect of Hypothesis-Experiment class (Kasetsu) on resolution strategies for interpersonal conflict in Japanese elementary school students

The association between asthma and anxiety in elementary school students in Japan.

Studies on the association between asthma and anxiety in Asian children are limited. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the association between asthma and anxiety among Japanese elementary school students. A cross-sectional study of the association between asthma and anxiety in primary school children in Matsuyama City was conducted in 2014. The questionnaires included inquiries on asthma, anxiety, and other demographic variables. After excluding missing values, 17 752 (51.5% male) children were included in the analysis. The presence of asthma (yes/no) was answered by guardians. A score of four or more on the emotional symptom subscale of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire was considered as having anxiety. A Rohrer index score of 145 or more was considered as overweight. We estimated the prevalence ratio (PR) of having anxiety in relation to the presence of asthma based on the Poisson regression model. The multivariate PR (95% confidence interval) of having anxiety in asthmatic boys compared with non-asthmatic boys was 1.56 (1.21-1.99). The association was more evident in older than younger boys, where PR = 1.32 (0.93-1.88) for younger versus 1.87(1.32-2.64) for older boys (P for interaction = .08); and in non-overweight boys than overweight, where PR = 1.64 (1.27-2.13) and 0.94 (0.41-2.19) (P for interaction = .22), respectively. Similar associations were not found for girls. Asthma was significantly associated with anxiety in boys, particularly in older boys.

The Relationship between Neighborhood Environment and Child Mental Health in Japanese Elementary School Students.

Limited research has examined the relationship between neighborhood environment and mental health outcomes in elementary school students (middle childhood). In countries with high relative poverty, little is known about how neighborhood conditions are related to children’s health after controlling for family socioeconomic status; thus, it is necessary to distinguish the particular neighborhood characteristics relevant to behavioral risk in children, independent of socioeconomic position. Using a self-report survey completed by parents, we assessed neighborhood environment characteristics, children’s behavioral outcomes, and family socioeconomic status in fourth grade students from Nagoya, in Aichi prefecture, Japan (n = 695). A multiple linear regression was conducted to evaluate to what extent neighborhood characteristics predict child behaviors, after adjusting for socioeconomic variables. Greater aesthetic quality, walkability, accessibility of healthy foods, safety, and social cohesion were inversely linked to children’s behavioral problems and positively linked to social competence, suggesting that quality of living environment may affect behavioral outcomes in children, even after controlling for socioeconomic factors. Developing a quality environment that matches these characteristics may minimize the negative impact of a family’s socioeconomic distress and is likely to aid socioeconomically disadvantaged parents and their children. Thus, policies and programs that enhance the neighborhood environment for socioeconomically disadvantaged families should be promoted.

Measuring School Climate among Japanese Students-Development of the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC).

School climate is a significant determinant of students’ behavioral problems and academic achievement. In this study, we developed the Japan School Climate Inventory (JaSC) to see whether it measures school climate properly. To do so, we investigated whether or not the measurement with JaSC varies across sub-groups of varying grade and of gender and examined the relationship between the perception of school climate and the psychological and behavioral traits at individual levels in a sample of Japanese elementary and junior high school students (n = 1399; grade 4–9). The results showed that the measurement was consistent, since single-factor structures, factor loadings and thresholds of the items were found not to vary across sub-groups of the participants. The participants’ perception of school climate was associated positively with quality of life, especially in school (β = 0.152, p < 0.001) and associated negatively with involvement in ijime (bullying) as “victim” and “bully/victim” (β = −0.098, p = 0.001; β = −0.188, p = 0.001, respectively) and peer relationship problems (β = −0.107, p = 0.025). JaSC was found to measure school climate consistently among varying populations of Japanese students, with satisfactory validity.

言語的特徴に基づく小学生向けストーリー教材の分類： 英文解析プログラムを用いた多面的な分析:Clustering English Story Materials for Japanese Elementary School Students Based on Their Linguistic Features:A Multidimensional Approach Using a Text Mining Tool

言語的特徴に基づく小学生向けストーリー教材の分類： 英文解析プログラムを用いた多面的な分析:Clustering English Story Materials for Japanese Elementary School Students Based on Their Linguistic Features:A Multidimensional Approach Using a Text Mining Tool

Why is Japanese Elementary School Students’ Abilities for Explaining Phenomena Scientifically Markedly Lower?

Why is Japanese Elementary School Students’ Abilities for Explaining Phenomena Scientifically Markedly Lower?

Association between Attitudes toward Food and Chewing Habits among Japanese Elementary School Students

Association between Attitudes toward Food and Chewing Habits among Japanese Elementary School Students

『児童・生徒作文コーパス』を用いた 漢字使用能力の発達過程の分析

『児童・生徒作文コーパス』を用いた 漢字使用能力の発達過程の分析

小学生のための語彙サイズテストの開発:Developing a Vocabulary Size Test for Japanese Elementary School Students

小学生のための語彙サイズテストの開発:Developing a Vocabulary Size Test for Japanese Elementary School Students

Application focused on structural comprehension of mathematics contextual problems for kindergarten students

There has been a lack of research into conceptually teaching the structure of contextual problems to kindergarten students. This is despite the popularity of contextual problems and the difficulties that students have with them. This study focuses on creating a textless, image-based application that uses the Triplet Structure Model to teach about the structure of contextual problems. This model has been successfully used in the past to teach Japanese elementary school students. The pilot study suggests that young children are successful at learning about the structure of contextual problems by using the application. The results suggest that users’ interactions are not thoughtless and that the interactions improve as they use the application.

Children\u2019s Perceived Competence Scale: reevaluation in a population of Japanese elementary and junior high school students

BackgroundIt is important for children to maintain high self-perceived competence and self-esteem, and there are few measures to evaluate them through elementary to junior high school days in Japan. To evaluate psychometric properties of the Children’s Perceived Competence Scale (CPCS).MethodsData were collected from 697 elementary school and 956 junior high school students. Some of these students completed measures for construct validity, whereas others repeated the CPCS.ResultsThe results demonstrated the three-factor structure of the CPCS: cognitive (nine items), social (eight items) and physical (nine items). Factorial invariance was confirmed between elementary and junior high school students, as well as between boys and girls. Construct validity was excellent. Scores on the cognitive, physical and general self-worth domains declined with increasing age. Boys scored significantly higher than girls on physical and general self-worth domains.ConclusionsThe CPCS is a valid and reliable measure of perceived competence in Japanese children aged 6–15 years. The CPCS may be applied to students from elementary through junior high school days as a measure of self-perceived and psychological state in Japan.

Psychometric Properties of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale with Adolescents in Japanese High Schools

This study investigated anxiety symptoms of Japanese adolescents in community high schools. Japanese high school students (N = 1500) from diverse types of schools including general, vocational, and part-time schools completed the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS). First, confirmatory factor analysis supported the 6-factor structure with strong goodness-of-fit indices comparable with the original studies as well as those with Japanese elementary and junior high school students. Girls showed more anxiety symptoms, and items related to worry, insects/spiders phobia, checking, and fear of negative evaluations were the most common symptoms, similar to younger youth. Finally, students who attended part-time high school reported higher anxiety symptoms than those in full-time schools. The utility of the SCAS for assessment of anxiety symptoms in high school students and the need for preventive interventions for students at risk for developing anxiety were discussed.

Schools can improve motivational quality: Profile transitions across early foreign language learning experiences

Elementary school is as much about developing attitudes as competence. With this fact in mind, the Japanese national government established a plan to enhance elementary school students’ motivation for learning English. The success of this program has, however, not been empirically tested. This study aimed to assess the longitudinal, discrete development of Japanese elementary school students’ motivation for learning English as a foreign language. A cohort of 513 Japanese elementary students participated in the study across 2 years of school. Students responded to surveys regarding the quality of their motivation at three time points, and their engagement at two time points. Latent profile analysis followed by latent profile transition analysis was used to assess the sample for latent subgroups. With subgroups established at three time points, a Mover–Stayer model was tested to estimate the movement of students among the subgroups across three time points and 2 years of elementary school education. Three theoretically consistent latent subgroups were observed at each of the time points. Based on theory and past empirical research, the subgroups (presented from least to most adaptive) were labeled: Poor Quality, High Quantity, and Good Quality. Across the three measurements, an overall shift of students to higher quantity and quality motivational subgroups was observed. This study provides evidence that the low-stakes, high-interest approach currently undertaken may have the desired effect of improving students’ motivation to learn across 2 years of schooling. Implications for both practice and national policy are discussed.

小学校児童の音声と文字による英単語認知能力 : 授業外学習経験者と非経験者の比較から(理論研究・実証研究,第43回中部地区英語教育学会富山大会)

小学校児童の音声と文字による英単語認知能力 : 授業外学習経験者と非経験者の比較から(理論研究・実証研究,第43回中部地区英語教育学会富山大会)

Time-Use Data and Japanese Elementary School Students' Learning of Gender Differences

Time-Use Data and Japanese Elementary School Students' Learning of Gender Differences

Relationship between the experience of being a bully/victim and mental health in preadolescence and adolescence: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundSeveral studies have proven that the experiences of being bullied or bullying others are associated with poor mental health among adolescent youths. Our study aims to investigate the relationship between the experience of the bully/victim and mental health among preadolescents and adolescents.MethodsSubjects were the Japanese fifth and sixth grade elementary school students (preadolescents: mean age = 11.3 years; n = 338) and junior high school students (adolescents: mean age = 13.8 years; n = 486). A self-report questionnaire was administered containing items concerning the experience of being a bully/victim and the Youth Self Report (YSR).ResultsFour groups relating to the experience of being a bully/victim were formed: “Victim Only,” “Bully Only,” “Victim and Bully,” and “Neither.” Approximately 65% of preadolescents and approximately 25% of adolescents engaged in bullying behaviors. Of these, the rate of participants in the “Bully Only” group was low, and that in the “Victim and Bully” group was high. Regarding the relationship between the experience of being a bully/victim and mental health, both preadolescents and adolescents of the “Victim Only” group had significantly higher scores on the YSR’s internalizing problems compared with the “Neither” group. Moreover, both preadolescents and adolescents of the “Bully Only” group had significantly higher scores on the YSR’s externalizing problems compared with the “Neither” group. Regarding the relationship between the experience of being a bully/victim and suicidal ideation for both preadolescent and adolescent girls, the relative risks of suicidal ideation were significantly higher in the “Victim and Bully” group than in the “Neither” group.ConclusionsPreadolescents indicated a higher rate of bullying behaviors than adolescents. In both preadolescents and adolescents, different effect patterns on mental health were found for the “Victim Only,” “Bully Only,” and “Victim and Bully” groups. The prevention and intervention methods for mental health should be tailored according to the type of experience associated with being a bully/victim and according to the developmental stages of preadolescence or adolescence.