Shingo Yotsutsuji

This study examined reliability and validity of Classroom-Based School Life Orientation Scale. The scale was created from the results of a survey to 644 pupils in the 5th and 6th grades asking about how they like to live life in the classroom group. The following 5 factors were found from the answers: other-focus, teacher-focus, self-focus, enjoyment-focus and close-friend-focus. Inter consistency of these factors proved the scale reliability. Relation between the factors and classroom climate showed the validity of the scale. Regarding gender differences, girls had higher scores on other-focus, and boysʼ scores were higher on self-focus and enjoyment-focus. Difference in school years was as follows: 5th graders had higher scores on other-focus and teacher-focus, while 6th gradersʼ scores were higher on enjoyment-focus.

A scale was developed to examine elementary school children’s perspectives on bullying and its factor structure, reliability and validity were examined. A questionnaire survey was conducted with fourth to sixth graders (N=599) about their perspectives on bullying. Explanatory factor analyses (maximum likelihood procedure, promax rotation) were conducted and the factor structure was refined. As a result, the “Scale of Elementary School Children’s Perspectives on Bullying,” which consists of three factors and 11 items, was developed. The factors were: “Limited acceptance for the bullying,” “A keen sense of bullying,” and “Solvability for the bullying.” Furthermore, adequate reliability and validity of the scale were confirmed.

Previous studies on improvement programs to psychological issues in Japanese educational settings were analyzed from the perspectives of "statistical verification of the effects of different improvement programs" and "consistency with learning contents of subjects and fields determined by government curriculum guidelines." Moreover, new improvement programs are discussed. Among various psychological issues in Japanese educational settings, "classroom collapse," "learning motivation," "selfesteem," "satisfaction with classes," and "motivation for school life" were focused. Previous practical studies (N=28) dealing with these issues were analyzed from the two perspectives described above. Among 28 studies, 24 conducted statistical analyses of the effects of the methods and all of them indicated significant effects. Moreover, 19 articles mentioned the subjects and fields in which the practice was conducted. Among the 19 articles, 11 described the consistency between practice and subjects and fields. The above results suggest that previous improvement programs to psychological issues in educational settings might not be sufficient from the perspectives of statistical verification of the effects and consistency with learning contents of subjects and fields that are determined by government curriculum guidelines and further accumulation of research is required. Based on the above, future improvement programs to psychological issues in Japanese educational settings are suggested from the following three perspectives: (1) developing programs as annual curriculums consisting of small units having statistically verified effects, (2) developing programs for moral education, periods of integrated study, and special activities, which are often utilized as improvement programs to psychological issues, by clarifying the correlation with the government curriculum guidelines, (3) developing programs for comprehensively solving psychological issues in educational settings. It is suggested that comprehensive improvement programs for dealing with psychological issues in educational settings should be developed based on the three perspectives described above.