2014 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Japanese Children's Books as Intercultural Learning Resource
Project/Area Number |
26381274
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Research Institution | Kyushu University |
Principal Investigator |
J・I Pollack 九州大学, 留学生センター, 教授 (50403910)
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Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
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Keywords | intercultural learning / children's literature / Japanese values / Japanese norms |
Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The first phase of the project, involving the administration and analysis of a city-wide survey, resulted in the identification of a large number of children's books most favored for instructional purposes by hundreds of Fukuoka elementary school teachers. The survey also elicited teachers' views on the edifying qualities of each book, yielding a substantial, authentic, representative database of professional judgments on the didactic virtues of an accessible literature of considerable potential learning benefit, for the insights offered into normative foundations, to students of Japanese culture.
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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
As originally proposed for Year One (FY 2014) of the project, a questionnaire seeking Fukuoka elementary school teacher identification of favorite children's literature used in first through third grades was developed and distributed to 157 schools. Respondents were also asked to identify specific moral/practical lessons each book conveyed, selecting from a survey-included list of 69 conventional Japanese norms or values compiled by the PI and his research assistant, or providing their own. Replies endorsing nearly 180 books, with some 50 mentioned multiple times, were received from 144 teachers in 24 schools across seven wards. All responses were reviewed, coded, and entered in a database, generating a list of 50 titles for synopsis and eventual inclusion in the envisioned online intercultural learning resource.
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Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The project is proceeding according to schedule. The survey data collected in Year One (FY 2014) has been analyzed and 50 children's titles selected for annotation. Writing of synopses, based on the careful interpreting of each multiply endorsed text by the PI and his research assistant together, has begun and will constitute the majority of the work of project Year Two (FY 2015). Any late survey responses will be accepted and integrated into the database analysis and any follow-up interviews with respondents conducted as appropriate. The synopses with links to an expository cultural value framework will comprise the learning resource website planned for building and launching in project Year Three (FY 2016).
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Causes of Carryover |
Difference between allocated and used funds reflects overestimation by PI of research assistant hours needed.
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Expenditure Plan for Carryover Budget |
Anticipated personnel cost: roughly 970,000 (43 weeks of 18 hours per week at a wage rate of 1,250 yen per hour) for FY 2015. Original personnel expenditure allocation for FY 2015 is 700,000; requesting transfer of 270,000 yen of unused funds from FY 2014 budget to FY 2015 budget.
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