5th and 8th grade pupils’ and teachers’ perceptions of the relationships between teaching methods, classroom ethos, and positive affective attitudes towards learning mathematics in Japan

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1: What are the overall aims of this study?

This chapter describes the overall aims of this study, the background to it and the main
research questions. The research, overall, aims to examine teachers’ and pupils’
perceptions of whether widening the range of teaching methods adopted in mathematics
classes can positively promote pupils’ affective attitudes towards learning mathematics.
The research is motivated by the educational reforms which the Ministry of Education in
Japan introduced in the Course of the Study for 2002. The Course of Study is the main
resource and reference for schools and teachers reflecting on their practice in relation to
curriculum issues. It includes general educational aims and the curriculum which is to be
covered. It also includes guidance on planning, teaching classes and assessing pupils’
performance across all subjects and for every specific subject. Whitburn (2000) noted
that the course of study for mathematics education in Japanese schools specified both
topic content and how it should be taught more clearly than the National Curriculum in
England and Wales. The level of detail in the course of study is to help Japanese
teachers to have a shared interpretation of the curriculum.

Mathematics has been the focus of considerable educational reform in Japan. The
Ministry of Education (1999) established two aims for mathematics education, which are
common for both elementary and junior high school levels. One is to ensure pupils’
acquisition of fundamental mathematics competencies. The other is to promote pupils’
positive attitudes to learning mathematics. The latter aim arose as a result of
international surveys such as SIMS (Second International Mathematics Study) and
TlMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) in which Japanese pupils
reported negative attitudes to learning mathematics, although they performed well in the
subject. The Ministry of Education in Japan has attempted to achieve these aims in
mathematics teaching through two measures. One is the reduction of the curriculum
content. The other is through widening the range of teaching methods deployed in
mathematics classes (Ministry of Education, 1999).

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