2013 Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 127-140
The present study is a survey research targeting Japanese Grade 5 students at elementary school as well as Grade 9 students at junior high school, which used the framework of the international comparative study “The Third Wave” , in which 11 countries are participating. The questionnaire carried out in this study consists of three types of questions regarding “What I Find Important in Mathematics Education”. This paper discusses general trends, as well as commonalities and differences between the target groups (HiroshimaMiyazaki-Osaka prefectures, elementary-junior high school levels, or among schools) regarding the 64 items in the Section A of the questionnaire.
As a general trend, many of the answers were positive, and general items such as “Problem solving” and “Explanation by the teacher” are shown to have a strong positivity. On the other hand, “Appreciating the beauty of mathematics” was shown to have a lower value among the answers, which might be a point from the attitudinal side to be considered. A significant difference of more than 80% (55 items) could be observed when elementary and junior high school levels’ answers are compared. Similarly, a significant difference could be observed among the three prefectures ranging from 30% to 60% (22 to 44 items), as well as among the schools in Hiroshima prefecture, ranging from 20% to 50% (14 to 39 items). Only the items “Problem solving” and “Explanation by the teacher” do not show a significant difference among prefectures and schools. In this sense, it is necessary to be cautious when discussing the common values. Regarding the comparison among classrooms in the same elementary school, almost no difference was observed; in that sense, it might be said that the influence of the homeroom teacher system is not strong.
