2016 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
The Development of Foreign Language Motivation in Secondary School: A Longitudinal Investigation
| Project/Area Number |
16K02924
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Fukuoka University of Education |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
|
| Keywords | Motivation / Secondary School / EFL / National Language / Mathematics / Self-concept / Longitudinal model / Classroom climate |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the 2016-2017 academic year, I met with schools, coordinated the contents of the research, and gathered data from the participants. From April through August, I established relationships with the participating boards of education and principals, and received signed permission to carry out the research. I conducted the first round of motivation surveys, scanned the data, and confirmed the construct validity. In August, I attended the International Conference on Motivation in Thessaloniki, Greece to present preliminary research findings. From September through August, I received the second round of surveys on classroom climate, scanned the data, and integrated it with the larger data set. In March, I received the final surveys and achievement data, and have begun final processing.
Data has shown acceptable levels of internal reliability and validity based on standard statistical tests. Teachers and administrators showed some concern over item wordings, and my co-author and I have worked with them to refine the surveys in order to create more acceptable instruments. These results and the research have been invited for publication in a forthcoming book on engagement and motivation in East Asian settings.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Data has been collected according to the schedule set for the first year. Surveys and achievement data have been received from the participating schools. Analysis is currently underway, and preliminary results have largely confirmed the hypotheses of the research.
Results for the current full year of data have been accepted for presentation at the 2017 Biennial EARLI Conference in Tampere, Finland. These results are currently being written up for publication in international journals. Results are also being returned to the participating schools and boards of education in order to disseminate results directly to administrators, teachers, parents, and students, as well as provide feedback for future educational improvements.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Following the original plan, data collection with the target cohort of students will continue into the second year of the research. Data collection will follow the same schedule as the first year of data collection.
New models are currently being generated in response to new questions generated by these results. Survey instruments will also be refined slightly to ensure validity and acceptability of the concepts based on feedback from the first year. Future models and research questions will help to demonstrate the applicability of the current theory to teaching and learning in Japanese secondary schools, as well as provide a model for how to develop intervention programs for schools.
These results are aimed at international level conferences and published in well-known journals.
|
| Causes of Carryover |
In order to promote awareness of this research in global academic society, this work will need to be presented at conferences outside of Japan. Currently, many researchers in the United States and Europe still have many misconceptions about the nature of education in Japan. We hope to present our research in order to improve global understanding of the Japanese educational setting.
|
| Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
Research funds will be used for travel to international conferences to create interest in this research. My co-author and I will attend the EARLI Biennial Conference in Tampere, Finland in order to create greater awareness of how Japanese students develop motivation for their school learning over the course of secondary school.
|
Research Products
(3 results)
