The purpose of the present study was to examine sequential relations between items of the Value-Intention Scale (VIS), which measures 6 types of personal values based on Spranger's (1950) theory. An analysis method, Sequential Relation Analysis (SRA), was developed to enable judgments of sequential relations between items. In Sequential Relation Analysis, each pair of items is examined to determine whether the relation between them is sequential or equal. If there is a higher correlation and a larger mean difference between them than the defined criteria, the relation between them is judged to be sequential. If there is a higher correlation and a smaller mean difference than the defined criteria, the relation between them is judged to be equal. Treegrams were drawn to enable visualization of the sequential and equal relations. Participants (320 university students: 156 men, 164 women; average age, 20.0 years) completed the Value-Intention Scale. Sequential Relation Analysis was applied to the resulting data. Six treegrams for the 6 subscales (theoretical, economic, aesthetic, religious, social, and political) of the Value-Intention Scale were drawn. Some characteristic sequential relations were found, which accords with Spranger's theory.

  The present study examined associations among working a part-time job, students' mental health, and earning university credit. Study 1 investigated relation between having a part-time job and depression. Undergraduates (N=284) completed questionnaires. Decision-tree analysis revealed that interpersonal stress in the workplace, such as trouble with a supervisor or lack of support resources, was associated with a higher risk of depression, compared to stress associated with working at night. Study 2 investigated the relation between having a part-time job and credits earned at university. Undergraduates (N=324) completed questionnaires. Decision tree analysis revealed that being absent from classes due to working a part-time job and working during the term-end examination period were associated with a high risk of failure to obtain university credit. These results suggest that (a) a higher mental workload may lead to failure to obtain university credit because of depression, and (b) short sleep duration associated with working at night and consequent accumulation of fatigue may lead to failure to obtain credit because of poor attendance at lectures.

  The value of a student's major is the value that students demand from or assign to that subject. The purpose of the present study was to examine relations between the value of students' major subject and the critical thinking ability that they acquired as a result of their university education. Ability to ask questions, attitude toward asking questions, and orientation toward critical thinking were investigated. Canonical correlation was used to analyze the first set of variables on 4 sub-scales measuring the value of major subjects and the second set of variables on all the subscales measuring critical thinking. The results showed that all of the sub-scales that measured the value of the major subject correlated with high scores on measures of attitude toward asking questions, orientation toward critical thinking, and questions asking for facts. Moreover, although high scores on public attainment value and low scores in interest value were correlated with scores on the measure of questions asking for facts, they were negatively correlated with scores on orientation toward critical thinking and several higher-order questions. These results suggest that valuing their major subjects might help students acquire critical thinking ability, and that examining the interactive effect of multiple values is meaningful.

  The purpose of the present research was to (a) develop a Social Achievement Goals Scale for Junior High School Students and confirm the reliability and validity of the scale, (b) examine relations between social achievement goals and prosocial and aggressive behavior, and (c) examine moderators of the relation between social performance-approach goals and aggressive behavior. Junior high school students (N=965) completed a questionnaire. The results of factor analysis suggested that the Social Achievement Goals Scale consisted of 4 factors: "social mastery-approach goals", "social mastery-avoidance goals", "social performance-approach goals", and "social performance-avoidance goals". In addition, path analysis revealed that social mastery-approach goals had positive effects on prosocial behavior and negative effects on aggressive behavior. Social mastery-avoidance goals had positive effects on prosocial behavior and negative effects on relational aggressive behavior. Social performance-approach goals had positive effects on prosocial behavior and physical aggressive behavior. Social performance-avoidance goals had negative effects on prosocial behavior and positive effects on relational aggressive behavior. Moreover, hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that social mastery-approach goals moderate positive relations between social performance-approach goals and aggressive behavior.

  The present study examined classification of university students' friendships in relation to their attitudes toward relationships and social skills, with the aim of clarifying the relationship of friendships as so classified to students' feelings of group identity (ibasho). Participants (357 undergraduate students: 122 males, 235 females) completed questionnaires, including an ibasho scale, a friendship scale, and a social skills scale. The students could be classified with cluster analysis into the following 5 patterns: (a) students who were reserved about their friends and were low on diligence and social skills, (b) students who were indifferent about being hurt by their friends and who had standard skills, (c) students who were careful not to be hurt by their friends and who had high social skills, (d) students who were careful not to be hurt by their friends and who had low social skills, and (e) students who were positive about their relations with their friends and who had high social skills. The results of an ANOVA showed that the students in categories (c) and (e) scored higher than those in the other 3 groups. The implications of these findings for multiple friendships of university students were discussed.

  The purpose of the present study was to explore factors that may affect teachers' level of aspiration to become school administrators. In the first of 2 preliminary studies, 5 candidate teachers for positions as school administrators participated in a semi-structured interview that provided information about factors such as their past work experience, their sense of self-efficacy in teaching, how they perceived or valued their work as public education personnel, and their level of acknowledgement and perspective about becoming a school administrator in the future. In the second preliminary study, 68 teachers who also were candidates for positions as school principals completed questionnaires in which they described characteristics of their role model for school principal and gave a more in-depth description of how they perceived the work of public education personnel. From the data of these 2 preliminary studies, a scale for measuring the level of aspiration to become a school administrator and a scale to measure related factors were developed. In the main study, 310 elementary and junior high school teachers participated in a survey conducted on-line. The results of a hierarchical regression analysis of the data suggested that the presence of an innovative and professional leader as role model and a sense of accomplishment achieved through experience in school management increased the teachers' willingness to contribute to school management and built a positive attitude toward school principals, thereby indirectly increasing their aspiration to become school administrators.

  The purpose of the present study was to examine effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral program aimed at preventing junior high school students' depression, through a comparison involving a normative sample, and including 1- and 2-year follow-ups. The intervention group consisted of 51 seventh graders who participated in the cognitive-behavioral program. The normative sample consisted of 1,817 junior high school students who did not attend the program. The intervention was a cognitive behavioral program, offered in 6 group sessions. To assess the effects of the program, the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children, the Social Skills Scale, and the Automatic Thoughts Inventory were completed by participants at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 2 follow-ups (1 year and 2 years later). The intervention group's pre-intervention depression levels were not significantly different from the seventh graders in the normative sample. However, their depression levels at the first follow-up (8th grade) were significantly lower than those of the normative sample. Additionally, positive messages and skillful rejections on the Social Skills Scale and positive factors (expectancy for the future and expectancy for support) on the Automatic Thoughts Inventory were higher at post-intervention and follow-up than they had been pre-intervention. These results suggest that the universal depression-prevention program provided to the intervention group in the present study may be an effective technique for use with junior high school students.

  The purpose of the present study was to do a comprehensive investigation of what university students expect from foreign-language education. Participants were 62 university students in Japan who were studying foreign languages such as Chinese, German, Spanish, French, and Korean. Free-answer data were analyzed using a capture rate. Analysis of these data suggested the importance of (a) lessons being practical, (b) a focus on difficult points, and (c) the design of the course. The participants were classified into subgroups using demographic information from the questionnaire responses, and the capture rate for each class was then calculated. This analysis indicated that those students who were not planning to use the foreign language when studying or working abroad also expected that foreign-language education would include practical lessons.