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Transitional Gaps and Resilience in Japan

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Creativity, Talent and Excellence

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Abstract

This chapter reviews a study on resilience and school transition gaps in Japan. The author developed an inventory: school diagnosis chart. The participants were 119 secondary school freshmen. The author categorized participants into three groups according to their change of metacognitive ability: the uptrend, the same, and the downtrend. The downtrend group was overconfident in their metacognitive judgments as compared to the uptrend group. The former did not judge their weak points from the start of their school year. The participants who evaluated their metacognitive abilities from the lowest among the three groups improved to a moderate metacognitive ability level. They became efficient students in terms of metacognitive judgments at the end of the school year. The group-oriented factor, metacognitive ability, and higher-order learning strategies contributed positively to the study motivation of math. Good use of higher-order learning strategies contributed to “academic resilience” which could prevent them from losing motivation to study.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Miyagi University of Education, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

    Makio Taira

Authors
  1. Makio Taira
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Makio Taira .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore, 637616, Singapore

    Ai-Girl Tan

Appendix (Questionnaire)

Appendix (Questionnaire)

School Diagnosis Chart

Group-oriented activities

  1. 1.

    Classroom activities are going well.

  2. 2.

    My feelings are understood in the classroom.

  3. 3.

    The class activities are interesting.

Relationship with friends

  1. 4..

    My friend may worry when I am absent from school without notice.

  2. 5.

    My friend admits my goodness.

  3. 6.

    My friend understands me when I make a mistake.

Relationship with teachers

  1. 7.

    Teachers understand me when I make a mistake.

  2. 8.

    My teacher likes me.

  3. 9.

    My teacher accepts me warmly.

Help-seeking behaviors related to learning subject matter

  1. 10.

    I ask my friend when I could not understand something.

  2. 11.

    I ask my family when I could not understand something.

  3. 12.

    I ask teachers when I could not understand something.

Social class

  1. 13.

    After returning home from school and on my days off, I often play outside.

  2. 14.

    I talk with my family about what I have learned at school.

  3. 15.

    I read scientific articles and watch science TV programs.

  4. 16.

    I read newspapers and watch the TV news.

  5. 17.

    I use books or dictionaries when I study.

Attitude (motivation) toward math

  1. 18.

    Math is one of my favorite subjects.

  2. 19..

    I can get good marks in math.

  3. 20.

    I can understand math classes.

  4. 21.

    Learning math is interesting.

  5. 22.

    I would like to tackle harder math problems.

  6. 23.

    I want to continue learning math even after becoming an adult.

Learning styles (metacognitive ability): math

  1. 24.

    When math class is difficult, I try to figure out the reason.

  2. 25.

    I know how to overcome my weak sides in math.

  3. 26.

    I can set up learning goal in math.

Learning strategy (memory-oriented): math

  1. 27.

    In math classes, rote learning is important.

  2. 28.

    Repetition is important part in math learning.

  3. 29.

    I try to copy down everything that was written on the blackboard by teacher.

Learning strategy (elaboration-oriented): math

  1. 30.

    I try to organize my notebook to understand meaningfully what I learned in math classes.

  2. 31.

    When I learn a new idea in math, I try to make concrete image of it.

  3. 32.

    I try to understand topics not only by memorizing but also by inferring the meaning.

Learning strategy (organization-oriented): math

  1. 33.

    When I organize my math notes, I try to integrate the material.

  2. 34.

    I try to create a new conceptual category in which different topics could be grouped.

  3. 35.

    I try to connect what I learn in math classes to daily life.

Attitude (motivation) toward science

  1. 36.

    Science is one of my favorite subjects.

  2. 37.

    I can get a good mark in science.

  3. 38.

    I can understand science classes.

  4. 39.

    Learning science is interesting.

  5. 40.

    I would like to tackle harder science problems.

  6. 41.

    I want to continue learning science even after becoming an adult.

Learning styles (metacognitive ability): science

  1. 42.

    When science class is difficult, I try to figure out the reason.

  2. 43.

    I know how to overcome my weak points in science.

  3. 44.

    I can set up a learning goal in science.

Learning strategy (memory-oriented): science

  1. 45.

    In science classes, rote learning is important.

  2. 46.

    Repetition is an important part in science learning.

  3. 47.

    I try to copy down everything that was written on the blackboard by teacher.

Learning strategy (elaboration-oriented): science

  1. 48.

    I try to organize my notebook to understand meaningfully what I learned in science classes.

  2. 49.

    When I learn new idea in science, I try to make concrete image of that.

  3. 50.

    I try to understand topics not only by memorizing but also by inferring the meaning.

Learning strategy (organization-oriented): science

  1. 51.

    When I organize my science notes, I try to integrate the material.

  2. 52.

    I try to create a new conceptual category in which different topics could be grouped.

  3. 53.

    I try to connect what I learn in science classes to daily life.

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Taira, M. (2013). Transitional Gaps and Resilience in Japan. In: Tan, AG. (eds) Creativity, Talent and Excellence. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4021-93-7_17

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