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The researchers examined the relationship between informal digital gameplay and learner profiles in two Japanese private universities. Seventy-eight participants responded to 59 items on a digital questionnaire that consisted of four sections: 1) Learner Profiles, 2) Digital Game Usage, 3) Open-Responses, and 4) Demographics. The results of the study demonstrated that students positively identified with the learner profiles featured on the questionnaire (M = 3.80). The highest mean values were associated with the profiles of Digital Citizen (M = 4.30) and Knowledge Constructor (M = 4.15). It was discovered that participants engaged in digital gameplay most often with smartphones (M = 3.64) and game consoles (M = 2.79). Simulation (M = 2.81) and real-time strategy (M = 2.66) games were the most frequently played. The results of a Pearson Product Moment Correlation showed that there was no significant relationship between informal digital gameplay and learner profiles. Furthermore, self-identified gamers and non-gamers did not significantly differ on the Learner Profile Total Scale or subscales.

This paper presents a midterm review of a 4-year factor analysis project aimed at validating an outcome-based assessment of study-abroad programs attended by Japanese students. This paper outlines how the results from the initial two years captured changes in perceptions and reasons for studying abroad. It found that students have become increasingly focused on how the experience will impact their future careers. This is a shift from those who studied abroad before the COVID-19 pandemic. Those students motivations for studying abroad were primarily internal and experiential, such as wanting to improve their language skills and experience life in another country, or external and passive reasons arising from the circumstances or opinions of family or friends. The research also indicates how awareness of this shift could assist administrators in designing and conducting successful international experiences.

Children all over the world learn language, yet the contexts in which they do so vary substantially. This variation needs to be systematically quantified to build robust and generalizable theories of language acquisition. We compared communicative interactions between parents and their 2-year-old children (N = 99 families) during mealtime across five cultural settings (Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina, Germany, and Japan) and coded the amount of talk and gestures as well as their conversational embedding (interlocutors, function, and themes). We found a comparable pattern of communicative interactions across cultural settings, which were modified in ways that are consistent with local norms and values. These results suggest that children encounter similarly structured communicative environments across diverse cultural contexts and will inform theories of language learning.

This is a composite article which brings together the international perspectives of the editorial board of the Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning to explore the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on the field of adventure education and outdoor learning (AE/OL). Building on the AE/OL profession's response to the impacts of COVID-19 on outdoor and environmental education in 2020, this article includes authors from 10 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Japan, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Wales. The statements discuss the impacts and opportunities of AI for the AE/OL professions, researchers, the nature of being in and with the outdoors, and Indigenous knowledges. The intention of this article is not to present a definitive summary of the state of the profession, but to provide examples of the ways in which diverse people are responding to the challenges and opportunities of AI. By sharing these views, and identifying some commonalities, we hope that AE/OL educators, practitioners, researchers and managers can creatively and cautiously seize the opportunities of this technological revolution.

In this article, we analyze and compare photographic images from some of the most widely circulated Japanese and American high school history textbooks regarding their treatment of the Pacific War. We focus on the visual component of war technology, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the visibility or invisibility of women, especially regarding the comfort women issue. We argue that images in the textbooks are articulated by a dialectic relationship between the visible and the invisible as a political question, thinking about the "off-screen space" as the structural principle of what we see. The textbooks' visual memories about the Pacific War are not only influenced by what is shown but also by what is omitted and virtually depicted in the surrounding media.

This article describes a collaborative and data-based reflective practice study carried out by two language teachers in a Japanese tertiary education context. This research utilized conversational analysis (CA) of audio-recorded classroom data which was subsequently discussed as part of a critical friendship. Both the inclusion of CA data and collegial discussion were in response to recent calls for increasingly data-led and dialogic reflective practice methods. In this study, the two teacher-researchers identified salient issues that they saw as incongruent with their stated teaching beliefs. They then collaboratively determined interventions to deal with the inconsistencies between their beliefs and their actual behavior and repeated the CA data collection and dialogic analysis phases. The two teachers found that the CA data and the opportunity to collaboratively interpret it provided valuable insights into their classroom practice while also offsetting the tendency for excessive self-criticism. This study provides a concrete example of a reflective practice approach that is both theoretically grounded and tied to bottom-up issues that are of interest to teachers.

The ubiquity of smartphones and the growing popularity of smart speakers have given rise to cloud-based, intelligent personal assistants (IPAs), such as Siri and Google Assistant. However, little is known about the use of IPAs for Autonomous Second Language Learning (ASLL). Thus, the aims of this study were twofold: to assess Japanese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' perceptions towards IPAs, also known as virtual assistants, for ASLL, and to better understand learner behavior of these technologies. A total of 14 Japanese university students were given smart speakers and interacted with a companion IPA, Amazon Alexa, over a two-month period in their homes. Moreover, the participants completed a survey consisting of Likert-scale items and open-ended questions to obtain their views of the IPA for ASLL. While the results indicated that the students had mostly favorable views of Alexa for L2 learning, many of them did not actively engage with the virtual assistant during the data collection period. Furthermore, students tended to give up when faced with communication difficulties with the IPA. These findings highlight the potential of IPAs for ASLL and underscore the gap between what students say, and what they actually do, with language learning technology.

In this narrative article, I document my implementation of action logs as a tool for reflective practice and teacher development as I transitioned from working in a small "eikaiwa" (English conversation) school to working in a private international university. After providing a brief description of my contextual background and how I came to start action logging, I give examples of student feedback I received and their relevance to my reflective teaching. Finally, I explain the varied ways in which I feel using action logs aided me in improving the efficacy of my classroom practice and influenced my evolving teacher identity during a stressful transition between two markedly different professional worlds.

Within Japanese ELT, private conversation ("eikaiwa") schools are commonly viewed as the bottom rung of the professional ladder. In contrast to "eikaiwa's" marginalized position, language teaching in university is regarded as the pinnacle of the field's professional hierarchy (Nagatomo, 2016). The aim of this paper is to examine first-hand perspectives of teachers who have transitioned between these two 'spheres of experience' (Zittoun, 2006) and analyze perspectives on each context's pedagogical constraints and affordances. Drawing on Zittoun's sociocultural framework related to life transitions, an investigation of the lived experiences of eleven teachers was conducted. This explorative study focused on changes in skills and knowledge, identity, and personal meanings that stemmed from moving from "eikaiwa" to university teaching as well as cognitive and social resources that mediated the transition. Teachers revealed that "eikaiwa" teaching provided them with experiences that contributed to their pedagogical skillset and evolving teacher beliefs. Conversely, university teaching afforded enhanced professional identity due to factors such as increased teacher autonomy and authority in the classroom. This study supports a nuanced view of different teaching contexts that recognizes diverse affordances and constraints rather than subscribing to a linear, hierarchical view of certain ELT settings.

While research on Western multimedia platforms, such as YouTube, is prolific and interdisciplinary, Asian portals remain unknown. We explore this field by analyzing the juvenile and intercultural uses of a popular visualization system in Japan and China, known as "danmaku" or "danmu". This technology inserts dynamic and contextualized comments on a photogram, with several typographical possibilities. Based on a corpus of 1,590 comments on "The Ministry of Time", collected from a fandom platform with millions of users, we analyzed the topics that arouse the most interest among Chinese fans. We combine content analysis, which incorporates coding and counting techniques of the categories with the most interventions (n>16), with multimodal discourse analysis (TV series, Asian platform and user comments). Results show that the viewers are most interested in the film genre (time travel), the characters, the plot, certain sociocultural contents, and the Spanish language. Their discussions address issues of interculturality, some topics that are taboo in China and the fandom culture in Asia. Our study illustrates the potential of participation, communication, and learning in Asian social media, and constitutes an interesting and innovative contribution to the field of media and digital literacy, with various suggestions to promote intercultural competence with the use of popular culture.

Purpose: What does it take to successfully implement new educational innovation in schools, and what roles does lesson study play there? In order to answer this question, this study investigated the implementation of Sesame Street's Dream-Save-Do (DSD) curriculum that was designed to help children in a Japanese elementary school learn to pursue their own dreams. Design/methodology/approach: The authors first reviewed available documents on the DSD curriculum in the district, and then conducted DSD class observations. The authors also interviewed the students, teachers, the principal, the lead teacher at the school, the school district staff in charge of the operation as well as the Sesame Japan staff in order to collect the data for the study. Findings: The study found that students were highly engaged in open-ended discussions about their future dreams and how to achieve them in observed DSD classes. The implementation of the new curriculum benefited from utilizing lesson study as the main arena for curricular innovation. A further analysis of the data suggests that the success of the curricular innovation owed much to an inside-out implementation process that situated the iterative lesson study cycle of the teachers as the key driver of change while external actors supported the lesson study process in an inside-out fashion. Research limitations/implications: The study implies that guiding an educational innovation to success requires not only institutionalized lesson study, but also cross-institutional collaborative dialogues to support the lesson study process with mutually established trust among key players of the innovation. Further studies are needed to investigate how this model sustains as principals and how this model works (or do not work) in other pilot schools and beyond. Practical implications This study implies that what matters most is that the school embodies a vision shared among teachers, school leaders and external curriculum developers, all working together across institutions in a spirit of collaboration. This type of inside-out implementation would be a path to ensure and sustain the success for those who plan any new educational innovation. Social implications: What matters most was found to be that the school embodies a vision shared among educators, school leaders and external curriculum developers working together across institutions in a spirit of collaboration. Originality/value: Guiding an educational innovation to success requires not only new ideas and effective curriculum plans but also a social structure that allows teachers to engage in effective implementations of the desired curriculum. Lesson study is often considered to be a within-school or school-to-school collaborative process. It is rarely connected to outside agents that bring in new ideas for educational innovation. This study found how inside- and outside-school actors can work together to actualize educational innovation, and what roles lesson study play there.

The global pandemic caused by coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) disrupted both public and private life for many. Concerning medical students, practical teaching and classrooms were substituted with a virtual curriculum. However, how this new academic environment has affected students' health and lifestyles has yet to be studied. In this study, we surveyed 2,776 students from nine different countries about changes in their university curricula and potential alterations in their daily habits, physical health, and psychological status. We found negative changes across all countries studied, in multiple categories. We found that 99% of respondents indicated changes in their instruction delivery system, with 90% stating a transition to online education, and 93% stating a reduction or suspension of their practical activities. On average, students spent 8.7 hours a day in front of a screen, with significant differences among countries. Students reported worsened studying, sleeping, and eating habits with substantial differences in Latin American countries. Finally, the participants frequently expressed onset and increase in both mental and physical health symptoms: backache, asthenopia, irritability, and emotional instability. Altogether, these results suggest a potential risk in the health and academic performance of future doctors if these new academic modalities are maintained.

Several researchers have compared the efficacy of digital flashcards (DFs) versus paper flashcards (PFs) to improve L2 vocabulary and have concluded that using DFs is more effective (Azabdaftari & Mozaheb, 2012; Basoglu & Akdemir, 2010; Kiliçkaya & Krajka, 2010). However, these studies did not utilize vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) as a way to support the vocabulary development of those using PFs. This is significant because DFs often offer a range of features to promote vocabulary development, whereas PFs are much more basic; thus, learners who study via paper materials are at a disadvantage compared with those who use DFs. Given the success that VLSs have had in fostering L2 vocabulary enhancement (e.g., Mizumoto & Takeuchi, 2009), their incorporation could have influenced the previous studies. Therefore, one of the primary aims of this study was to find if there were significant differences in receptive and productive L2 vocabulary improvements between students who used PFs in conjunction with 3 VLSs -- dropping, association, and oral rehearsal -- and those who used the DF tools Quizlet and Cram. Additionally, the researchers examined the learners' opinions to see if there was a preference for either study method. A total of 52 EFL students at two Japanese universities participated in the 12-week study. Pre- and post-tests were administered to measure the vocabulary gains in the PF group (n = 26) and the DF group (n = 26). Results from a paired t-test revealed that both groups made significant improvements in receptive and productive vocabulary. However, the difference between the gains was not significant, which contrasts with past comparison studies of DFs and PFs and highlights the importance of VLSs. A 10-item survey with closed and Likert-scale questions was also administered to determine the participants' opinions towards the study methods. Higher levels of agreement were found in the experimental group, indicating that the students viewed DFs more favorably than PFs.

Intercultural Communication has become a relevant focal point within a variety of fields--science, psychology, politics, journalism, economics, and education, to name a few. Yet, current university students may not even be aware of Intercultural Communication's role in these fields, as well as their studies and future careers. A survey was first conducted to show the absence of Intercultural Communication in higher education, as well as the need for incorporating exercises and activities that stress the importance of communicating to people from different cultures, and respecting their differences. Two classes involving intercultural communication activities were then given to two groups of Japanese students who were studying English in a Japanese university. Results from another survey revealed a majority of the students felt the exercises helped them with self-reflection, as well as evaluating their beliefs and biases, thus supporting the notion of incorporating more Intercultural Communication exercises and activities in English language classes.

In a time of growing competition for tertiary education, international students represent an important resource. However, more work is required to detail the factors that influence destination choice in study abroad. Drawing from a representative sample (n = 620) of the adult population over 19 in the Republic of Korea, the present study examined the ideal choice of study abroad destinations for Koreans. The analysis tested for differences in their perceived country image of China, Japan and US and the demographic variables (age, educational attainment and monthly income) of those who selected the European Union, US, or other locations as their ideal primary study choice. ANCOVAs found that only US competence image (p < 0.05) and age (p < 0.01) were significant indicators of destination choice. These results suggest that country image and demographic background are not accurate predictors for destination choice. In fact, individual perceptions may be less important than country-level variables in the initial stages of study abroad destination choice.

In universities throughout Japan, English language learners are required to stand in front of their peers and make a presentation with the aid of software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. This type of public speaking activity can often be an anxiety-inducing, glorified reading or memorization exercise of text-heavy slides that fails to meet the intended objective of developing the learners' presentation skills. This paper reports on the perceptions of Japanese university students toward an action research project that utilized poster presentations in conjunction with mobile-video reflective feedback. An activity systems analysis helped uncover the systemic contradictions and tensions that existed in the participants' English as a foreign language (EFL) oral presentation lessons. One hundred and twenty-nine undergraduate economics students from nine classes completed a paper-based survey. In addition, seven students from the same second-year international economics course participated in a focus group interview. The results indicated that most participants viewed mobile-video enhanced self- and peer-reflective feedback as beneficial tools that could help improve the quality of their EFL presentation performances. However, many students expressed concern about public speaking anxiety, the protection of personal privacy, as well as the cultural contrast between Western and Japanese presentation styles.

This paper presents one of the first cross-nationally comparative studies on the economic and social returns to grit (perseverance and passion for long-term goals). Specifically, we investigated whether grit incrementally predicted objective (income) and subjective (job satisfaction) career success over and above cognitive skills and educational attainment; whether grit's association with career success was moderated by individual characteristics; whether grit's associations with career success varied across countries; and whether this variation could be explained by labour market conditions (unemployment rates). Multi-group structural equation models with data from 6,738 respondents from 19 countries revealed that grit was incrementally associated with income and job satisfaction in some but not all countries. Grit's effect sizes were mostly modest, yet there were some indications for variations by education and labour market conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that the associations between grit and career success are not uniform but vary across individuals and contexts.

In recent decades Japanese university students have been characterised as politically apathetic and disinterested in organising for grassroots change. Despite a variety of socio-contextual factors that have contributed to this reality, a student movement known as SEALDs emerged in 2015 and successfully mobilised a substantial number of Japanese youth and shifted public discourse on social activism. By taking a case study approach, this paper analyses the movement and focuses on their unique ability to mobilise the masses through a unique utilisation of what Castells terms 'spaces of autonomy'. The authors argue that while existing in a hybrid of cyberspace and urban space SEALDs was able to resonate with the country through social networking sites, music, fashion, and pop-culture appeal. Unlike other movements that aim to 'radically disrupt the system' SEALDs found success through branding and popular appeal. We suggest the case study of SEALDs offers a novel contribution to the research of student activism worldwide, and highlights the importance of social context in any attempt to understand particular manifestations of student-led activism.

Racism and other prejudices have hindered efforts to diversify and further many fields, including education, psychology, politics, law, and healthcare (Race for Opportunity, 2010). Although there are many ways to combat these prejudices, intercultural communication continues to be a vital component in assisting individuals and groups with valuing the past, understanding the present, and preparing for the future of communication in a global society (Sadri and Flammia, 2011, p. 19). This paper provides a brief overview of pertinent research and major theories related to communicating with people of different cultural backgrounds, as well as useful techniques and strategies to use when teaching in international or multinational classrooms, and working or consulting in international or multinational companies, organizations, and educational institutions. It also includes data collected via surveys and interviews that helps to shed light on underlying issues of racism and discontent in Japanese and Nigerian populations within Japan, and concludes with a description of a new approach to one of the most common intercultural communication exercises called the E.A.D. (Evaluate, Analyze, Describe). While this exercise has proved to increase cultural awareness and open the lines of communication between individuals from various cultural and lingual backgrounds, research also shows that other strategies may be necessary to achieve desired levels of communication.

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) have become important tools in higher education language instruction, which can facilitate both student learning and the administration of courses. The decision regarding which LMS a particular university adopts is a complicated process where the needs and opinions of several stakeholders, including administrators, students, and faculty members, must be considered. The researchers conducted a focus group session with faculty members at a private Japanese university regarding their usage and perceptions of the LMS Manaba. The results of this study indicate that while perceptions towards the LMS were positive overall, successful integration of the technology is hampered by a lack of institutional support.

Internationalisation is a polyvalent policy discourse, saturated in conceptual and ideological ambiguity. It is an assemblage of commodification, exploitation and opportunity and is a container for multiple aspirations, anxieties, and affordances. It combines modernisation, detraditionalisation, and expansiveness, with knowledge capitalism, linguistic imperialism, and market dominance. There are notable policy shadows and silences, especially relating to the emerging subjectivities, motivations and narratives of internationalised subjects, and experiences that expose the gendered, racialised, epistemic and affective inequalities constituting academic mobility. This paper explores the affective economy and policyscape of internationalisation drawing upon interview data gathered in one private and one national university in Japan with 13 migrant academics. What emerged from our study is that internationalisation policies, processes and practices generate multiple affective engagements. Internationalising oneself can be repressive and generative, with migrant academics finding themselves both vulnerable and animated by their diverse and frequently embodied experiences.

Despite having studied English for some 33 months, the students at the private junior high school in Japan described in this paper had never before been asked to write original compositions in the language. The researchers undertook a quasi-experimental pilot study in which the 156 (n= 156) participants were each asked to write four compositions, two using Microsoft Word and two using pencil and paper. Their writings were analyzed for length, Japanese word usage, grammar, and spelling. Descriptive statistics and graphs show that the students produced higher word counts using pencil-and-paper, but used fewer Japanese words in their computer-based writings.

This article describes the implementation of technology-mediated tasks in an English for academic purposes (EAP) curriculum at a Japanese university. The course addressed the needs of English majors at the school by enabling more efficient completion of academic work, including essay writing. One way that technology supported this goal was through tasks conducted via a chat module integrated into the Moodle course management system (http://moodle.org/). A classroom-based study was designed to evaluate the potential of convergent and divergent tasks to promote the development of second language competence through computer-mediated communication (CMC). During class, dyads completed two tasks via chat. Building on past research in face-to-face settings, quantitative and qualitative analyses of the discourse were conducted. Results are discussed in terms of the similarities and differences between these findings in CMC situations and those of the aforementioned research carried out in face-to-face settings. Implications for second language pedagogy, as well as methodological limitations, are discussed in the conclusion. (Contains 4 figures and 2 tables.)

Sustainable use of freshwater is globally important. Yet implementation of changes in water management is poor, especially in developing countries. This is an indication that, despite our dependence on freshwater, we lack awareness of the need to protect these systems. Here we promote dragonflies as an easy-to-learn tool in environmental education programs. Dragonflies have been employed successfully as indicators of ecosystem health in environmental impact assessments and monitoring programs globally. They can be used as environmental sentinels and as whistleblowers for freshwater health, providing an effective tool for environmental impact assessments and freshwater monitoring. We give detailed examples here of some successful projects from South Africa, Tanzania, and Japan. The approaches developed are models that pave the way for more water awareness projects elsewhere, especially in developing countries, where biodiversity and pressures on freshwater systems are high.

Researchers investigated perceptions of Japanese college students toward the use of digital games in English-language learning. The study was conducted at one large private university in Japan. Undergraduate students who were enrolled in 14 English-language courses were invited to complete a paper-based survey during class time. The survey included the following constructs: ease of use, learning opportunities, experience, preferences, and actual use. Participants were also invited to share potential advantages and disadvantages for digital game use in the classroom. Two hundred and twenty-two students completed the survey. Results indicate that most students viewed the potential integration and utilization of digital games as positive. However, some students expressed concern that the use of games may not be an effective or efficient method of learning.

Recent scholarship looks at the relationship of learning to space and place within educational research. The purpose of this article was to put data produced from teaching in four Japanese preschools into conversation with spatial theory and Ma, a Japanese spatial esthetic. We seek to understand "how" and "what" spaces (physical, curricular, and relational) are produced in Japanese hoikuen. We engage with Soja's Firstspace, Secondspace, and Thirdspace in order to examine space in the Japanese preschools. We also think with concepts from Ma esthetics in order to understand the appreciation of unexpected moments and interactions. Specific insights gained from analysis focus on the design of the preschools, flexibility of furniture, shared workspaces, field trips, inquiries with nature, bonds between students, and addressing conflict. We present these insights to add to an emerging discussion of how spatial aspects of environments influence teaching and learning in early childhood education.

This case study examines the implementation of "Foreign Language Activities" (English language education), which officially began in Japanese elementary schools in 2011. Subjects in this study included 37 Japanese classroom teachers (20 males and 17 females) in four elementary schools in Tokyo. The Teacher Foreign Language Anxiety Scale [Horwitz, E. K. (2008). "Becoming a language teacher: A practical guide to second language learning and teaching". Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon], observations in classrooms, and individual interviews were used to investigate teachers' responses to English as a Foreign Language policy reform. The study found that this new policy, which required fifth- and sixth-grade teachers to team-teach English with native English speakers (assistant language teachers [ALTs]), resulted in affective and pedagogical changes. Seventy-three percent of the teachers reported anxiety about their ability to speak or instruct in English. Teachers expressed concern about working with ALTs, whom they considered poorly qualified. Suggestions are made for successful policy implementation.

Whether national and local governments should assume larger financial responsibility for reducing disaster risk remains a controversial issue. Local governments lack resources to cover the full cost of managing mega-disasters and need assistance from higher level governments. However, national governments covering all costs may create moral hazards, discouraging local governments from investing in ex-ante measures. This study identifies national and local governments' fiscal responsibility determinants for disaster management. Despite the differences between the federal system in the US and the centralized system in Japan, the two countries' national governments share common practices. Both have continuously developed legislation to expand their financial responsibilities for relief and recovery efforts as disaster consequences have increased. We argue that despite major institutional differences in Japan's unitary and the US federal government systems, both have expanded the areas covered by national assistance along with the amount over time. These findings bring with them recommendations for governments in an era of increasing extreme weather events due to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is continuing interest in the identification of student and instructional factors associated with the mathematics achievement of students in Japan. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessments have provided opportunities to examine factors associated with mathematics achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between confidence in mathematics and algebra test scores for eighth-grade students in Japan using data from the TIMSS 2011 assessment. There were a number of significant results from this study. Students who showed high levels of algebra achievement tended to indicate that they usually did well in mathematics and learned things quickly in mathematics. Similarly, students who felt they were good at working out difficult problems tended to show high test scores. Conversely, students who reported negative comparisons of themselves to their classmates tended to earn lower test scores. These findings indicate that it is important to consider student confidence in mathematics when assessing factors associated with algebra achievement.

One problem common to many Oral Communication (OC) classrooms in universities in Japan and other countries is that English major students often lack the impetus to proactively develop their oral language proficiency. In this paper, we present our investigation into whether regular self-, peer-, and teacher-assessment would promote the use of spoken English in the classroom as well as a greater degree of engagement with English language learning. The investigation was conducted in a Japanese university and involved students on an OC course that employed a task-based approach. Utilizing Guilloteaux and Dornyei (2008) Student Motivational State Questionnaire, we developed a framework to assess the students' willingness to speak in class, attitudes to the course, linguistic self-confidence, activeness, as well as their beliefs regarding their autonomy. Pre- and post-surveys were used to evaluate change over the period of one term. Limitations notwithstanding, our results revealed that regular assessments conducted by the students and peers in addition to those of the teacher led to significant increases in their frequency of spoken English in the class and a higher level of engagement with English learning outside the classroom. The paper closes with directions for future research. (Contains 5 figures and 3 tables.)

The concept of Japanese Bushido and its seven virtues were introduced by the authors in this article for the practice and application of couple communication. The Bushido Matrix Worksheet (BMW) was created for enhancing couple's awareness and understanding of each other's values and experiences. An activity and a case study to demonstrate the use of the BMW were also included.

We examined associations between child inhibitory control, harsh parental discipline and externalizing problems in 120 4 year-old boys and girls in the US, China, and Japan. Individual differences in children's inhibitory control abilities, assessed using behavioral tasks and maternal ratings, were related to child externalizing problems reported by mothers. As predicted, both child inhibitory control and maternal harsh discipline made significant contributions to child externalizing problems in all three countries. Across countries, child inhibitory control and maternal harsh discipline made significant "independent" contributions to early externalizing problems, suggesting an additive model of association. Our findings supported the cross-cultural generalizability of child inhibitory control and parental harsh punishment as key contributors to disruptive behavior in young children.

This paper emerges from the continued analysis of data collected in a series of international studies concerning Childhood Peak Experiences (CPEs) based on developments in understanding peak experiences in Maslow's hierarchy of needs initiated by Dr Edward Hoffman. Bridging from the series of studies, Canadian researchers explore collected retrospective narrative CPE accounts, and focus on the implications claimed by participants of the meaning and significance of CPEs in participants' lives. Through the analysis of participant accounts, researchers identified several recurring themes that indicate possible life long impacts of CPEs such as vocational path, attitudinal/emotional orientation, sense of self and philosophical/religious orientation. The authors consider some of the implications for therapeutic work with children and youth, including integration of CPEs, their role in strength-based approaches and as potential resources for intervention. (Contains 4 figures.)

This study examined whether the theoretic role of equity in predicting relational maintenance strategies is modified by participant country and culture. Research on equity theory in relationships has been conducted primarily in the United States and Western Europe. We argue that equity theory predictions regarding relational communication probably change according to the countries and values under consideration. People from six countries self-reported their assessments of equity and recent relational maintenance strategy use. To assess cultural values, we used Inglehart and Welzel's (2005) cultural map based on the World Values Survey (WVS) results and assigned participants' codes that reflect their country's cultural values: Survival/Self-Expression and Traditional/Secular values. Findings for the entire sample reveal that self-reported relational maintenance strategies vary as equity theory predicts, which probably was due primarily to United States and Spanish responses and slightly to Japanese self-reports of one maintenance strategy. The predicted equity-maintenance links did not emerge for China, South Korea, and the Czech Republic. Secular values decreased the overall self-reports of relational maintenance use. Finally, Self-Expression values altered the influence of overbenefitedness (but not underbenefitedness) on self-reported maintenance behaviors. Still, being overbenefited resulted in fewer self-reported relational maintenance strategies, regardless of one's country or level of cultural modernization.

Research findings indicate that specific instructional strategies, such as the use of real-world examples and independent learning activities, are positively related to mathematics achievement. This study was designed to investigate relationships between classroom instructional strategies and mathematics achievement of elementary-school students in Japan. Students included in this analysis were 4,077 students from the TIMSS 2007 Population 1 (fourth-grade) sample from Japan. Variance estimation procedures for complex sampling designs were used in this study. These findings identify a number of classroom instructional strategies that were significantly associated with mathematics achievement for elementary-school students in Japan. Students who frequently worked problems on their own and explained their answers during mathematics lessons tended to earn higher mathematics achievement test scores. Further, students who memorized how to work mathematics problems also showed higher achievement levels. These results extend previous findings by examining a national sample of students in a cross-cultural setting where high levels of mathematics achievement have been identified. (Contains 1 table.)

This article presents major results of TIMSS, along with practical suggestions and questions that mathematics teachers can ask themselves in terms of how to apply the results to the improvement of their practice.

There is evidence that student beliefs about science and classroom instructional strategies are related to achievement outcomes. This study was designed to examine relationships between student beliefs about science, instructional activities, and science achievement of elementary-school students in Japan. Students included in this analysis were 4,006 students from the TIMSS 2003 Population 1 (9-year-olds) International Sample from Japan. Variance estimation techniques for complex sampling designs were employed in this study. Cooperative learning activities and active learning strategies were positively associated with science achievement. In addition, these findings indicated that student beliefs about science were significantly related to achievement, even after considering the effects of teaching activities. Students who held positive beliefs about their science ability earned higher test scores while students who expressed negative comparisons of themselves to other students showed lower science test scores. These results indicate that science beliefs and instructional activities should be examined simultaneously when assessing factors related to science achievement. (Contains 1 table.)

This article presents information on 2 international educational effectiveness studies, one completed and the other ongoing. The 2nd study is, to a large degree, a reaction to a methodological problem encountered in the 1st study, the lack of an internationally valid instrument measuring teacher effectiveness. This article presents 4 reasons for conducting the 2nd study (International System for Teacher Observation and Feedback (ISTOF)) and then details the overall work plan for ISTOF-I (2004-2006) and ISTOF-II (2006-2007). The sample of 20 fully participating country teams in ISTOF is very diverse with representatives from nearly all geographic areas of the world (North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia), many of which have never participated in teacher or school effectiveness research. This article summarizes progress made on the development of the ISTOF protocol, including the generation of components and indicators of teacher effectiveness. In many ways, the study is already a success, due to the diversity of the participating countries and their generation of major parts of the protocol during ISTOF-I. Nevertheless, this article concludes with a discussion of some of the major challenges that the research team will face as it begins ISTOF-II. (Contains 4 tables and 6 notes.)

Student self-beliefs are significantly related to several types of academic achievement. In addition, results from international assessments have indicated that students in Japan have typically scored above international averages (D. L. Kelly, I. V. S. Mullis, & M. O. Martin, 2000). In this study, the author examined relationships between mathematics beliefs and achievement of elementary school-aged students in the United States and Japan. The students had participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS; A. E. Beaton et al., 1996). The author examined several self-beliefs and used variance estimation techniques for complex sampling designs. The author identified a number of significant relationships between self-beliefs and mathematics achievement. Students who attributed success in mathematics to controllable factors (e.g., hard work, studying at home) showed higher test scores whereas students who attributed success in mathematics at school to external factors (e.g., good luck) tended to earn lower mathematics test scores. These results extend the findings of previous research results because the author examined large national samples of students in cross-cultural settings as part of a comprehensive international assessment. (Contains 2 tables.)

This article deals with the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). TIMSS has provided a comprehensive assessment of educational contexts and mathematics and science achievement (National Research Council, 1999). The initial TIMSS assessment was conducted in 1995 (TIMSS 1995) and several studies have examined factors related to science achievement. Several types of data were collected on the TIMSS student questionnaire, including information regarding instructional activities, student characteristics, out-of-school activities, learning resources, and science achievement. Students included in these analyses were from the TIMSS Population 1 International Sample (9-year-olds) from Japan. There were 7,941 students (3,946 females and 3,995 males) who completed all of the measures used in this study. This study examined the effects of several classroom instructional strategies. Several procedures were used in this study, such as: (1) jackknife variance estimation procedure; (2) computation of correlation coefficients; and (3) multiple regression procedures. There were several significant findings from this study. Students who more frequently did an experiment in class also tended to earn higher science achievement test scores. In addition, students who more frequently used cooperative learning strategies (we work together in pairs or small groups) during their science lessons also showed higher science test scores. Among other things, this study presents a number of directions for additional research. (Contains 3 tables.)

An important area for the application of instructional design is the development of effective teaching strategies for mathematics. Activities that include the use of computers, cooperative learning, and active learning materials are associated with mathematics achievement. Student self-beliefs are also significantly related to mathematics achievement. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously examine relationships between instructional strategies, self-beliefs, and mathematics achievement of students in Japan. Students included in these analyses were from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study 1999 (TIMSS 1999) International Sample (13-year-olds) from Japan. Variance estimation procedures for complex sampling designs were employed and the dependent measure used in this study was each students' algebra score on the TIMSS mathematics assessment. There were several significant findings from this study and these results identify significant relationships between classroom teaching practices and algebra achievement. Further, students who held positive attitudes toward mathematics tended to have higher algebra test scores while students who attributed success in mathematics at school to good luck tended to have lower algebra scores. These results emphasize the importance of instructional strategies and the consideration of student motivation and self-beliefs when designing instructional programs for mathematics learning.