An Empirical Research on High School Students' Attitudes toward Learning.

• Project/Area Number: 10610183
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 社会学(含社会福祉関係)
• Research Institution: Tohoku Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: KATASE Kazuo Tohoku Gakuin University, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Professor., 教養学部, 教授 (30161061)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KITANI Shinobu Tohoku University, Graduate School/Faculty of Agriculture, Associate Professor., 農学部, 助教授 (20169866) ; KOGA Masayoshi Miyagi University of Education, Faculty of Education, Associate Professor., 教育学部, 助教授 (90178244) ; AKINAGA Yu'ich Tohoku University, Graduate School/Faculty of Education, Associate Professor., 教育学部, 助教授 (90212430) ; MIZUSHIMA Kazunori Tohoku University, Graduate School/Faculty of Education, Assistant., 教育学部, 助手 (00219627) ; KIMURA Kunihiro Tohoku University, Graduate School/Faculty of Arts and Letters, Associate Professor., 文学部, 助教授 (80202042)
• Project Period (FY): 1998 – 2000
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2000)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000); Fiscal Year 2000: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000); Fiscal Year 1999: ¥1,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000); Fiscal Year 1998: ¥800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000)
• Keywords: Educational Aspiration / Occupational Aspiration / Educational Attainment / Cultural Capital / Attitude toward Learning / 学校外教育投資 / 規範意識 / メディア接触 / 性別役割意識 / 文化活動

Research Abstract

We conducted "4^<th> Survey on High School Students' Attitudes toward Education and Society" in 1999. We got answers from 1259 families of high school students (2^<nd> grade) and their parents in Sendai area, Miyagi prefecture.
Our major findings are as follows :
1. Compared to 3^<rd> Survey (1994), educational aspiration of high school students have been warmed up, especially the proportion of girls who have intentions to enter university instead of junior college has increased. In this respect, it is ascertained that 'mass education society' has been actualized. Moreover, as to occupational aspiration, many students have professional orientation. On the Other hand, we found that parents' social status still determines students' educational and occupational aspiration through their school rank. There remains stratification gap in educational attainment.
2. In order to make clear the mechanisms of the stratification gap in educational attainment, we investigated the transmission of cultur al capital in families. We found that parents' social status has significant influence on students' cultural capital through their cultural capital, and mothers' cultural capital has greater influence on students' cultural capital than fathers'. As to determinants of students' educational attainment, for boys, fathers' social status has greater influence on their attainment than boys' cultural capital, whereas for girls, their cultural capital, although it is determined by mothers' cultural capital, has greatest influence.
3. We found three elements of students' attitudes toward learning : positive attitude towards learning, flexibility in learning, and other-oriented attitude towards learning. Many students who attend university-oriented schools had a positive attitude towards learning. However, the positive attitude towards learning and flexibility in learning warmed up aspiration for university, regardless of high school rank. In this respect, students' attitudes towards learning functioned to some extent as a determinant of their educational aspiration.