2020 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Modeling a Conceptual Framework of College- and Career-Readiness in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics): A Comparative Study of American and Japanese Students' Global Competencies
| Project/Area Number |
20K14028
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| Research Institution | Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science |
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Principal Investigator |
小村 桐子 東京薬科大学, その他部局等, 研究員 (80861682)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | Global Comptencies / STEM / Higher Education / Career-Readiness / Education Reform |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between students' global competencies and students' educational attainment in STEM fields of study. This study requires different forms of quantitative analysis by using both primary and secondary datasets. Due to the Corona Virus Pandemic, the PI was not able to proactively collect primary data to assess a retroactive program conducted at universities in both Japan and the United States. Moreover, the PI needed to reconsider instruments originally planned in this study which include reselection of variables among secondary datasets. As a result of contextual challenges effecting data collection choices, the PI's research activities fully focused on reworking toward a methodological design that will include both quantitative and qualitative analysis. Exampled of detailed research activities include: 1)The PI discussed with a research collaborator in the U.S. about possible data collection including qualitative interview data instead of required travel on the part of the PI, 2)the PI reviewed the literature to revise the research questions to enable the study to utilize additional variables related to ICTs from other secondary datasets, and 3)the PI conducted a small case study to measure college and graduate students' ICT familiarity as a competency. Finally, the result of the case study was presented virtually at the international educational research conference in January 2021. The presentation helped this study to structure a possible conceptual framework that will be built during the second year of this study.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Due to the Covid-19 situation, the PI needed to spend quite a bit of time to restructure the whole study, particularly, instruments and research design.To this point, the study required consideration regarding redesigning and determining data collection methods and instruments. The PI worked and consulted remotely with research collaborators and mentors to resolve such issues. As a result, the PI was able to conduct a case study internationally, even though remotely. Fortunately, the results of the case study brought a few outcomes including an international conference presentation, purchasing useful equipment to conduct international remote research, and defining additional variables and scales to use for the large study. As progress was still able to be made in spite of the contextual difficulties, the PI selected the progress status as‘progressing rather smoothly'.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
As the second year continues, the PI intends to take several steps toward meeting the research goal. The first step is to complete a literature review to reframe additional issues which were not indicated in the original research proposal. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, college students faced extraordinary challenges to deal with a new normal college life and unexpected activities toward preparation for their career paths. The review of the literature will include students' perceived motivation, engagement, and achievement by dealing with irregular stress discussed in cognitive and education psychology fields of study. The second step is to select appropriate variables to measure global competencies. This approach will different from the original plan, but the PI hypothesizes that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) familiarity is a significant indicator which will influence creating a conceptual framework and model throughout the study. Third, the PI will develop a survey to collect both quantitative and qualitative data remotely and will administer the instrument to subjects affiliated with the participating institutions. By following each participating institution's policies including Institutional Review Board (IRB), or equivalent, approval, the survey will be distributed to the respective institution's students to collect primary data. These details are a summary of the plans for the newly designed research scheme during the 2021-2022 academic year.
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| Causes of Carryover |
Covid-19の影響で旅費と人件費・謝金が発生しなかった為。
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Research Products
(2 results)
