the Weekly Rhythms of Japanese Junior High School Students and the Structure of Yutori(Leisur): Using the Experience Sampling Method

Research Project

Project/Area Number	11680054
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	体育学
Research Institution	TOKAI UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator	NISHINO Hirotoshi Tokai University, Department of Physical Recreation, Professor, 体育学部, 教授 (90119694)
Project Period (FY)	1999 – 2001
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2001)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000) Fiscal Year 2001: ¥700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000) Fiscal Year 2000: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000)
Keywords	leisure / daily experience / Japanese adolescent / Experience Sampling Method / recreation / adolescent life / yutori / free time / 日常行動
Research Abstract	Since April 1995, Japanese schools have changed their schedules from six-day weeks to two five-day and two six-day weeks a month. This research project focuses on the effect of this change on Japanese adolescents' weekly rhythms. The main purpose of this research was to describe Japanese students' daily experiences, especially yutori (defined as the subjective perception of leisure) experience and to clarify the structure of yutori time. Research on 499 junior high school students was conducted from December 1999 to January 2001, using the Experience Sampling Method. More than 11, 000 self-reports of daily experiences were collected from 12 junior high school students surrounding the area surrounding. The data include activities, locations, companionship, mood, feelings of yutori, and perceptions of yutori experiences. The research yielded the following results : 1. Students are involved in various activities, although much of their time is spent on Bukatsu and Juku. Bukatsu is general Japanese term for after-school sports and cultural activities organized by schools. Juku refers to cram schools where students go to receive supplementary instruction, mainly in preparation for entrance examinations. While attending bukatsu and juku, students' overall mood is quite negative and their yutori feeling is low. 2. In their remaining free time, Japanese adolescents spend most of their time watching TV, reading, resting and relaxing. 3. The weekly pattern of yutori feeling score is measured. Mean yutori feeling score were predictably higher on weekends than weekdays. 4. Mean yutori feeling score were not significantly different between five-day and six-day school weeks. 5. As a yutori feeling increases, perceived freedom and intrinsic motivation increase. This finding supports the explanations of the concept of leisure by Neulinger, Kelly, and Iso-Ahola. This result is very important for conducting cross-cultural research in the area of leisure.