The present study aims to explore the English learning motivation of students in the general education course of senior high schools in Japan. A set of questionnaires on English learning motivation was administered to 244 senior high school students. The data were analyzed first using a factor analysis in order to extract factors that could best explain the subjects' perception of their English learning motivation. The results revealed that their perception was explained by four kinds of motivation. The obtained data were further analyzed using a 2 × 2 MANOVA with the sum of the scores for each factor as the dependent variable and year (grade) and gender as the independent variables. The results indicated that there were significant differences between the 2^<nd> year and the 3rd year (2^<nd> year > 3^<rd> year) for the intrinsic motivations (F1, F2) and amotivation (F3). It was also found that there were significant differences between males and females (females > males) for the intrinsic motivations / knowledge and growth (F1), extrinsic motivation (F3) and amotivation (F4)

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The purpose of this research is to find out, using empirical methodology, what factors make an outstanding English teacher. The research is based on the viewpoints of learners (students at an academic high school). I collected data from 296 students of an average level academic high school, using questionnaires with a 5-point likert scale. Principle factor analysis was used to analyze the data. After using exploratory factor analysis to account for professional skills of outstanding English teachers in a typical academic high school in Japan, I have singled out six important factors. They are as follows: teachers who, (1) give good lessons to make sure students will pass entrance exams; (2) are knowledgeable and cultured; (3) give student-centered lessons; (4) treat students with a "counseling mind"; (5) are strict on students in class, but can improve their achievement in English; (6) speak English fluently. Following this I carried out a three-way analysis of variance where each factor score is a dependent variable and the attributes (grade or interest, score, and gender) of the subjects (high school students) are independent variables.

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There are many reports that the teaching of creative dance in Junior High Schools can be very difficult. The aim of this study is to develop software that aids students in learning creative dance in Physical Education Classes and to investigate its effectiveness from the viewpoints of students. The subjects were from the same grade at the same school. They were classified in two classes according to the teaching method. One class was taught by first being introduced to the software and thereafter by using the traditional teaching method of words and pictures on a chart. The second class was first taught using the traditional method and thereafter by using the software. The results of the students' responses can be summarized as follows: In the case of separated investigations for each method, affirmative reactions were generally found for both methods, but there was no significant difference between the two classes. However, in the case of comparative investigations, students recognized that the software is more effective than the traditional teaching method. These results show that the software for aiding creative dance is more effective in the understanding and composition of creative dance.

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The purpose of this research is to discuss the output of the international cooperation, which has been managed since 1994 by Yokota-cho, Shimane, based upon abacus education. This project aims at the improvement of the calculation ability of primary and junior secondary students in Loiet, Thailand, where the scarcity of teaching aids is noted as a serious problem. In this research the researchers employed questionnaires and interview methods to collect data, and we noted the following points through analysis: (i) there is a discrepancy between the calculation ability of students in urban and rural areas; (ii) the students who have learned with an abacus performed better than those who have not; (iii) abacus education influenced students' interest and attitudes towards mathematics. From these findings it is suggested that abacus education should be interpreted not only as a tool to promote calculation ability but also as a stimulus to break down the status quo of the present poor quality of education in that area. In conclusion, the significance and future issues of this project have been identified. As regards the significance of this project, at first, a prefectural government in Japan has taken a very positive initiating role in this project. Secondly, the project focuses upon the issue of developing basic learning ability at the primary education level. Thirdly, a unique Japanese tradition, the abacus, is being utilized in this project. Finally, the project can be seen as a good opportunity to activate in-service training of teachers in rural areas. In order to realize fully these four points, we have concluded that integration of abacus education into school mathematics education should be seriously considered, and Japanese experience on curriculum research and development can play an important role in this integration.

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A great number of studies have been carried out in order to construct a more complete picture of English language learning motivation. Although such studies are able to provide a broad picture of learning motivation, (1) a dynamic interplay between motivation and other variables, and that of various types of motivational components, is not clear enough. At the same time (2) the results of the previous studies tend to be distant from actual classroom situations. In this study, we analyzed the narrative of a girl who is a first-grade student in a junior high school. As a result, a detailed and dynamic picture of English language learning motivation could be described, and a complicated mechanism of English language learning motivation was developed based on practical considerations. The results also show that the girl has: (1) an unsatisfied need to be praised through teacher feedback which tended to be disturbed by the classroom atmosphere; (2) an ambivalent feeling toward the relationship between low-level lessons and high-rank evaluation; and (3) mental strife due to the conflict between an awareness of the social demand for English and that of the absence of her own justification for learning English.

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The purpose of this research is to look at the way in which home economics education became established in Japan, through an analysis of the way it was taught in Kagawa prefecture in its early stages. In this report, the "Sakaide attached elementary plan (1947〜55)" was analyzed. This is because Sakaide attached elementary school played a pioneering role in education in Kagawa Prefecture in postwar days, through shifting from the core curriculum (1947〜49) to a curriculum organized by subjects (1952〜55). In the core curriculum home economics was absorbed within family relations and home management in the "Core study (course)"; the skills of food, clothing, and housing were included in the "Non-core study (course)" as art skills. Therefore, "home economics" did not exist independently on the curriculum. It was not seen as a separate subject but this evaluation was in actual fact a limitation of the core curriculum. On the other hand, Mitsuko Ohki, a home economics teacher, identified home economics as being placed in the curriculum organized by subjects with the aim of the "Acquisition of practical skills for domestic life in Japan through teaching them systematically". She developed "Home economics study standards", "Kagawa Prefecture elementary schools' home economics curriculum (tentative plan)", and "Methods and techniques of instruction in home economics". In addition, she further established home economics as a subject by opening home economics classes based on those theories to the public.

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"Awareness" is one of the key words of Life Environment Studies Education. But little is known about the concept of "Awareness" in this subject because it is a hard word to define. The purpose of this paper is to show the concept of "Awareness" by examining the Course of Study and the Cumulative Guidance Record of Life Environment Studies. I found some gaps between the descriptions in the Course of Study and the Cumulative Guidance Record. It should be noted that "Awareness" in Life Environment Studies means to notice facts, relations, questions, emotions, and feelings through purposeful learning activities. Teachers have to help children develop awareness through activities involving observation, making, thinking, expression, discussion and so on. It is especially important to help children develop strong determination, a critical approach, and a sense of purposes toward the activities. The concept of "Awareness" of Life Environment Studies showed here is tentative. Therefore this concept will be examined with reference to situations in many actual lessons.

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The present paper explores trends in research on science education, based on the analysis of studies in The Bulletin of Japanese Curriculum Research and Development (1976-2003). Studies in the field of science education are classified into four groups based on the style of analysis: delimiting the subject; considering underlying issues for science education; discussing aims and content; and looking at methods and practice. The results revealed that practice and evaluation are necessary in order to devise a definite "teaching-learning" curriculum for character building.

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