2022 Volume 25 Pages 37-54
This study examined the impact of a physical education class on university students’ self-authorship (SA) as well as the factors and process related to their SA development when Action Socialization Experience (ASE) is adopted as teaching material based on the constructivist educational approach. For this purpose, a mixed methods analysis was conducted, involving a quantitative analysis using a Japanese Self-Authorship Scale (JSAS) (Study 1) and a qualitative analysis of students’ term papers (Study 2). For this study, 113 students were divided into three groups, the ASE group and the two control groups (participating in individual ball games or artistic sports), and their SA scores were compared. The results showed that the SA scores improved significantly after the class only in the ASE group. In addition, a content analysis was conducted on the term papers submitted by 80 students in the ASE class. According to the analysis, about 90% of these students wrote about their SA development in their term papers. As for the experience that may have triggered the above results, six categories and 17 subcategories were extracted, such as “confronting the unknown challenges” “doing trial and errors for problem solving,” “building a trusting relationship with group members,” “self-understanding through interacting with others,” “generating knowledge and methods,” and “completing the challenge” indicating the process through which the students developed their SA. Their SA development was based on how they perceived their differences with others as they strived to achieve their goal through trial and error, how they recognized and fulfilled their roles, and how they acquired self-confidence through this process.
