The aim of the present study was to investigate effects of participation in sports as an extracurricular activity on goal orientation and adjustment in the academic and daily life of high school students. Students belonging to sports clubs (N=231)and students not belonging to any club (N=200)in 3 high schools completed a questionnaire based on goal theory by Nicholls (1992), assessing 4 types of goal orientation toward academic work (task, cooperation, ego, and work-avoidance), satisfaction with academic activities, and apathy about life (self-unawareness, interpersonal distrust, and fatigue). The results revealed that the students participating in sports clubs reported higher task and cooperative goal orientation, greater satisfaction with academic activities, and less apathy about life (self-unawareness) than the students not belonging to clubs. Task orientation was negatively associated with apathy status, but not with satisfaction with academic activities. These findings suggest that high school students' participation in sports as an extracurricular activity is associated with more positive academic goals and better adjustment in the students' academic and daily lives.

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In everyday life, we encounter mathematical problems that require 2 or more solutions. However, pupils in Japanese elementary schools only encounter problems that require a single solution. The present study examined whether second- to fifth-grade pupils have learned skills for generating multiple solutions when necessary, and also examined the influence of these learning experiences. The results of Study1indicated that the proportion of students who could generate multiple solutions after learning experiences was higher in the fifth grade than in the second, third, and fourth grades, and also indicated that these students were able to solve correctly not only problems requiring single solutions, but also several types of problems requiring multiple solutions. The results of Study 2, in which fifth graders repeated the learning experience 3 times in 3 weeks, confirmed the results of Study 1. The present results suggest that it is useful for students in the fifth grade or higher to work on problems that require multiple solutions.

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The present study investigated the relation between pubertal development and adolescents' depression, as mediated by acceptance of pubertal development and body change behavior. The participants were 870 young adolescents (445 boys, 425 girls; mean age 13.84) who were junior high school students. Participants completed a questionnaire on pubertal development, acceptance of pubertal development, depression, body satisfaction, body change behaviors to lose weight, body change behaviors to gain weight, and behavior to avoid exposure. The main results were as follows: (1) For the boys, there was no association between pubertal development and adolescent depression, neither a direct effect nor a mediated effect.(2) For the girls, there was little direct effect in the relation between pubertal development and adolescent depression, although increasing subcutaneous fat was directly related to depression.(3) For the girls, acceptance of pubertal development was related to body satisfaction and behavior to avoid exposure. Body satisfaction and behavior to avoid exposure were correlated with depression in the girls.

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The present study examined new elementary school teachers trajectories of participation to a community of practice. Participating teachers were 4 men and 7 women, 22-26 years old, with 1-3 years' teaching experience. Analysis was based on the theory of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Teachers participated in semi-structured interviews, from which transcripts were prepared. Using a Modified Grounded Theory Approach (Kinoshita, 1999, 2003), which describes trajectories of participation, a developmental model was developed. The teachers reported that they had had to acquire concrete skills and knowledge to become experienced teachers, while simultaneously believing that interactions with other teachers, children, parents, and others in the community were also necessary. The analysis revealed that these teachers believed that “becoming a teacher” was not just an individual achievement, but rather was socially achieved within social interactions. These results suggest a concept of learning that includes both individualistic achievement and socially constructed achievement.

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The present study proposed a hypothesis evaluation schema that was expected to promote the effectiveness of collaborative discovery. This schema refers to knowledge about hypothesis evaluation activities, such as the logical design of experiments, the prediction and observation of outcomes, and the drawing of reasonable conclusions. Junior high school students (N=54) were assigned to work either alone or with a same-sex partner on a discovery task. Half of the students in each condition were introduced to the hypothesis evaluation schema, and half were not. The results showed that the students who had worked together and received the hypothesis evaluation schema were more likely to make discoveries than the other groups of students. A process analysis revealed that introducing the students to the hypothesis evaluation schema engaged them in hypothesis evaluation activities. In addition, the students who worked together with the hypothesis evaluation schema changed their theories when they obtained counterevidence. It was concluded that introducing students to the hypothesis evaluation schema was an effective tool for collaborative discovery.

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The present study investigated effective support methods for various states of school non-attendance. Elementary, junior, and senior high school teachers (N=290) completed questionnaires. In order to understand the states of students not attending school, 4 factors (“self-assertion,” “behavior/lifestyle,” “obsessive-compulsive tendencies,” and “physical symptoms”) were extracted with factor analysis, after which measurement scales were created. Using these scales, the states of the students were assessed, and the effectiveness of each support method was evaluated with a chi square test. The results of this investigation suggested that the following support methods were effective:(1) For students with poor “self-assertion”: Provide learning and lifestyle guidance, supporting the family.(2) For students with disruption in “behavior/ lifestyle”: Use lifestyle guidance to encourage school attendance, keeping good relations with the student.(3) For students with “obsessive-compulsive tendencies”: Establish a support system and encourage spending time in other rooms, supporting the family and collaborating with specialized organizations.(4) For students with “physical symptoms”: Establish a support system, such as allowing them to stay in the school nurse's office, in addition to providing psychological support.

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The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of students' social comparison and perceived academic competence in improved academic performance. Junior high school students (N=579) completed a new Social Comparison Behavior Scale that was composed of performance and learning comparison items. The scale was designed to examine effects of social comparison and students' perceived academic competence on improved academic performance. The results showed that in math, the effect of students' perceived competence on improved academic performance depended on the level of performance comparison.These results were similar to those of Toyama (2006). In the students' Japanese classes, the results revealed significant interaction effects between students' perceived academic competence and learning comparison on improved academic performance. If students who perceived themselves as less competent compared their learning with others', their academic performance was more likely to improve. In contrast if students who perceived themselves as less competent did not compare their learning with others', their academic performance fell off.

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The purpose of the present study was to examine the functions of consultation and mutual consultation in a coordination committee for psychological and educational services in a junior high school, focusing on the teachers' experiences. A semi-structured interview covering reasons for and advantages of participating in the committee was conducted with the 8 teachers who regularly participated in the committee. Examination of the interview results suggested that as a result of their participation, the teachers received advice on knowledge and skills from the school counselor, regained confidence, and obtained new viewpoints relating to their psychological and educational services to the students. In addition, communication among teachers in a given grade was facilitated. It was also suggested that from mutual consultation, the teachers felt accepted, shared the time and place regarding their services, and in addition, could take students' issues as their own.

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The present study examined the process whereby a skilled teacher helps children foster ground rules for classroom discussions. Sixth graders (18 boys, 21 girls) in a Japanese language arts class were observed, and their teacher (a male in his forties with more than 20 years' teaching experience) was interviewed. Quantitative analysis of the classroom discussions, utilizing 3 types of coding categories, succeeded in organizing the rules and identifying the discourse process by which the rules were given. Qualitative analysis further illustrated salient features of the discourse process. The results were as follows (1) Throughout the classroom discussions, the teacher acknowledged the students' perceptions of the discussion which thwarted their initiatives to learn from each other. Moreover, he generated unique rules that reframed the students' perceptions.(2) The teacher believed that since rules depend on context, a one-sided approach would not enable the students to understand the concrete meaning of the rules and share the importance of the rules. Based on this belief, he reformulated rules that emerged during the discussion. The refined rules were then presented clearly to the students.

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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of a psycho-educational program for prevention of depression in female undergraduates. The experimental group (N = 23) participated in a 7-week prevention program based on cognitive behavior therapy, as part of a psychology class. No special experience or training was given to the control group (N=81). In each experimental session, the participants rated their degree of comprehension of the material covered; this was the psycho-educational program. They were encouraged to comment freely on their feelings. The participants' ratings and comments suggested that they understood the contents of the program well, and were interested in the class. All participants completed questionnaires measuring self-efficacy for coping with depression and the state of their mental health before and after the experimental program. The results indicated that, after participating in the program, the experimental group had increased self-efficacy for coping with depression, compared to the control group, and that this increase was related to an increase in satisfaction with their present situation.

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The present study examined the collaboration between the students, teachers, and visiting performers in a music class, from the viewpoint of learning as participation. Observations were made of 2 Noh players who taught students Noh chanting and the shoulder drum for 2 hours per class at 11 junior high schools. It was found that this collaboration was constrained by time, contents of the lessons, and the instruments. An analysis of videos of 21 classes in 7 of the schools illustrated the process of participation in aspects of the task, configuration of the resources, and responsibilities as follows: (1) Participants worked together to accomplish the purpose of the activity, while transforming learning goals (expected skills and manners) and the composition of the lesson according to the conditions and their needs,(2) the performers and the students' teachers learned to arrange the participants and objects so as to encourage the students' learning, and (3) the students came to have the responsibility of notonly completing the task, but also deciding on the task and controlling their learning process.

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In response to reports of a notable increase in the number of children exhibiting school-based academic, social, and behavioral problems, research has been done on children's school adjustment and how to enhance that adjustment. However, the very definition of school adjustment is variable across studies, as are the methods for evaluating effects of the interventions. Based on an integrative literature review, we propose a 3-level assessment model of school adjustment. The levels represent:(1) children's behavioral functions, including emotional and cognitive processes,(2) environmental functions that reinforce children's behavior, and (3) children's subjective evaluation of school adjustment, a measure that reflects whether the interaction between the children and their school environment is positive or negative. From this 3-level assessment, it is possible to examine if children have appropriate behavior, if their behavior is functioning in the school environment, and if children feel comfortable in school. The application of this model to preventive interventions relating to school adjustment was discussed.

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[in Japanese]

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