This paper reviews recent developmental studies on children during infancy, early, and middle childhood in Japan. The targeted studies included poster presentations in the Proceedings of the 66th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Educational Psychology, and journal articles from The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, The Japanese Journal of Developmental Psychology, The Japanese Journal of Psychology, and Japanese Psychological Research, published between July 2023 and June 2024. Trends in the research areas and methods of these studies were analyzed quantitatively. Subsequently, from the perspective of "non-cognitive (social and emotional) skills," which have attracted significant attention worldwide in recent years, the contents of the journal articles were examined by categorizing them into three areas: self, sociality, and environment. Based on this review, directions for future research are discussed.

  This study aimed to review the trends and future directions of developmental research in Japan based on the Proceedings of the 66th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Educational Psychology (2024) and academic papers on developmental studies published in domestic academic journals between July 2023 and June 2024. The research is categorized into studies focusing on development up to adolescence and those targeting adulthood and beyond, with a review conducted from the perspective of contemporary social issues. The findings suggest that while both categories address essential developmental aspects specific to their respective stages, they also reflect current social issues. For instance, studies on adolescence highlight issues such as adjustment within school life and problems related to internet usage. In the context of adulthood, the research emphasizes topics such as parenting, child-rearing challenges, and studies focusing on specific professions or experiences. Based on these findings, the study discusses essential perspectives for advancing future developmental research.

  This article reviews research on instruction, learning, and cognition, with an emphasis on motivation and learning within social contexts. First, poster presentations from the 2024 annual meeting of the Japanese Educational Psychology Association were categorized. Second, recent research on learning within social contexts was examined in detail. The author discusses contextual effects, focusing on "learning with peers," "classroom (school) contexts," "contexts surrounding classrooms (schools)" and "family."

  Several studies addressed classroom contexts (e.g., classroom goal structures), while unique topics also emerged, such as the context surrounding classrooms, including club activities, psychological safety for teachers (e.g., teacher-parent relationships), and local communities. The article concludes by discussing its limitations and proposing future directions for educational psychology research in Japan.

  The aim of this paper is to examine recent trends in research on educational social psychology. First, the scope of educational social psychology is discussed, emphasizing the importance of focusing not only on education and interventions conducted within schools but also on those implemented outside of schools, including community-based interventions. Next, research trends in the field are analyzed, with a particular focus on presentations delivered at the 66th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Educational Psychology (2024) and articles published in The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology between July 2023 and June 2024 (Vol. 71, No. 3-Vol. 72, No. 2). Finally, trends in education and interventions conducted outside of schools and within communities are examined, followed by a discussion of associated challenges and future directions for the field.

  This paper reviews recent trends in personality trait change research. To understand domestic research trends, it summarizes studies on personality change published in Japan over a three-year period from July 2021 to June 2024. The review highlights findings on the extent of personality change, individual differences, and key influencing sources such as genetic predispositions, life events, social relationships, and intervention or educational programs. The paper also explores theoretical frameworks from international literature, with a focus on the integrative-source model and the four mechanisms of personality change: preconditions, triggers, reinforcers, and integrators. Moreover, it highlights the emerging concept of volitional personality change, offering an overview of the findings accumulated to date. Future directions include the need to conduct research in line with the latest trends, to explore a broader range of personality traits, to focus on individual differences in personality change, and to examine the significance of such changes.

  This article reviews current clinical psychological study trends in Japan published from July 2023 to the end of June 2024. The studies are classified into "clinical psychological problems" and "clinical psychological interventions", and each of these is further classified into more specific themes. Many studies deal with school-related problems and psychological issues occurring in students. Among these, there are several studies that examined the people around the students with special needs, rather than the students themselves. In recent years, when providing support for people with disabilities, it has become necessary to provide reasonable accommodations. It is important to accumulate research findings that will help to "remove social barriers (barrier-free)" for people with special needs. In the future, more research is needed that focuses on the environment of the people with special needs, rather than the individuals themselves.

  This paper presents an overview of recent research on special needs education for communication support, individualized classroom support, and teaching methods. The research reviewed covers studies published from July 2023 to June 2024. In the area of communication support, we review previous studies on understanding intentions, inferring emotions, and adopting others' perspectives. In the area of individual support in the classroom, we categorize it into "support for students" and "support for teachers," and review research conducted from the perspective of both the recipients and the providers of support. Regarding educational methods, we discuss studies conducted from the viewpoints of the children and students involved, and from the viewpoints of the teachers, as well as their parents. Finally, we discuss future directions for research, including the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration and the potential of neurodiversity.

  This study reviews research trends in school psychology in Japan between July 2023 and June 2024. It also examines how these trends address issues in school psychology research that have been identified since 2015. A total of 96 presentations at the annual meeting of the Japanese Association of Educational Psychology and 36 published papers were analyzed. The analysis revealed the following key trends: (a) practice-based research and studies using single-case design have been conducted, (b) studies employing sample size planning or longitudinal survey designs remain limited, and (c) research perspectives based on intersubjectivity, environmental, or systemic approaches remain underrepresented in the published literature. Future challenges involve advancing research and practice while establishing a foundation for effectively sharing the knowledge gained and utilizing it to inform subsequent research and practice.

  The paper first aims to explore trends in research methodologies and statistical analyses in The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology. It then focuses on the field of educational measurement and evaluation, covering topics such as university admissions, educational surveys, computer-based testing, and measurement theory and practice. The study compares data collection and statistical methods in these research areas to identify potential cross-disciplinary insights. The paper concludes that measurement theory should be updated in alignment with the advancements in digital and online data collection, emphasizing the need for their evolution.

  The digital transformation in education encompasses the shift towards learner-centered and personalized learning facilitated by the digitalization of educational processes. Relatively little research has been conducted on this topic by the Japanese Association of Educational Psychology, compared to other Japanese academic societies. This study aims to define digital transformation in education, focusing on three key areas related to the learner's body, and to summarize the current state of research both in Japan and internationally. First, research on distance learning is categorized into four areas: learners, educators, physical environments, and social environments. Second, the study reviews research on digital tools in education, including digital texts, personalized devices, and cloud services. Third, it examines research on virtual reality, encompassing VR materials and avatars. The author explores how these digital technologies can facilitate personalized learning. The digitalization of education alters the way learners interact with their environment. Therefore, educational digital transformation necessitates consideration of the environment in which the learner's body is situated and how it interacts with that environment.

  In recent years, the rapid increase in long-term school absences has become a major issue. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) (2024), the number of students absent for long periods of time during the 2023 school year was the largest ever. In this paper, we examine the background of long-term absences and recent trends in support methods. First, as background factors, the existence of the child's own emotional issues, lifestyle, and developmental characteristics are examined. In addition, interpersonal relationships within the school, the school environment, and guardians and siblings within the family are also considered. On the other hand, support methods are examined in terms of in-school educational support center, teachers, school counselors, in-school educational support centers, experiential activities, out-of-school institutions, online, and preventive support. Based on the above, we discuss how to improve the current situation by circulating research and support.

  In this paper, I first explain the background of mandatory programming education, which has become a requirement for elementary school students from 2020. The purpose of programming education at elementary schools is to explain programming thinking. Furthermore, I introduce what kind of teaching materials are used to provide programming education to elementary school students. Second, practical research on programming education conducted by the Japanese Society of Educational Psychology and related academic societies are introduced. For example, there are various studies on the development of thinking, motivation of children, and anxiety of teachers. Next, the results and issues of these studies are discussed. Finally, as a summary, I discuss what kind of contribution can be made by educational psychology in the future.