2021 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 Competencies / STEM Education / Higher Education / Career-Readiness / Education Reform |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the second year of the study, the Primary Investigator (PI) originally planned to approach meeting the research goal in several stages. The preliminary step was to complete a literature review to define the theoretical framework of the study. The literature was selected from a series of cognitive learning theories in self-efficacy, motivation and attribution. Secondarily, the PI designed and conducted a case study with a sample of Japanese college and graduate students to assess the students’ self-efficacy and satisfaction in online communication in English as a part of the students’ global competencies. This case study was an application of the previous year’s case study regarding the measurement of the college and graduate students’ Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) familiarity as a competency. This year, the PI successfully collaborated with an institution in the U.S. to develop a virtual biotechnology cross-cultural conversation program. Online surveys and in-person interviews were administered to the program participants. Though the sample was small, the study was able to proactively collect primary data from the participants of the virtual program. Currently, the PI is analyzing the data to examine the students’ global competencies in communication skill. The results of the study will be presented at a conference during the third year of this study.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
As demonstrated through this year’s research achievements, good progress was made. However, the progress did not proceed as planned as initially proposed, and the study has not reached a stage for preparation for presentation and/or publication. Due to continued effects of the Corona Virus Pandemic, the PI’s institution did not allow researchers to travel overseas to conduct collect data with Kakenhi. As a result, the PI was unable to assess a retroactive program implemented at an institution of higher education in the United States. The study had to be adapted for proceeding virtually in order to continue moving forward. Moreover, the PI attempted to present the case study internationally, but the form of the conference changed from virtual to in-person. Overall, the PI selected the progress status of this year as “slightly delayed”.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Next year is the final year of this Kakenhi research grant. The PI has set the goal of presenting the research at both national and international conferences, domestically and abroad, and in peer-reviewed publications. In order to meet the original purpose of this study, examining the relationship between students’ global competencies and students’ educational attainment in STEM fields of study, the following steps are intended to bring the study to fruition. First, based on two small case studies conducted in the first and second years of this study, the PI needs to redefine the research questions so that they are consistent with the theoretical framework. Second, the study needs to collect more data to perform several forms of quantitative analysis to measure students’ global competencies. Third, the study will utilize the results of data analysis to find any differences between this study and previous scholarly studies in the field. Finally, the study attempts to model a conceptual framework of college- and career-readiness in STEM.
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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
(1 results)
