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

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accomplishment and confidence (ap.6.1.38.8^th). Some of these teachers mentioned that
they valued pupils’ independent thinking, and made ample opportunities to assess
pupils’ thinking processes through encouraging pupils to raise views in class and
examining pupils’ notebooks regularly (ap.6.1.39.8^th). Almost all of the 8^th grade teachers
believed that their pupils would develop their sense of progress from their results, as did
5^th grade teachers. However, 8^th grade teachers emphasised less the discrepancies
between what they believed pupils’ sense of progress was and what they supposed
pupils perceived as a sense of progress. 8^th grade teachers seemed to understand that
pupils at this age level required tangible evidence of their progress towards the high
school entrance examination. Their tone was sympathetic rather than critical
(ap.6.1.40.8^th).

Summary of 6.1

Almost all the teachers believed that the promotion of pupils’ enjoyment, motivation,
sense of security and sense of progress was important. They believed that positive
attitudes towards mathematics learning resulted in the improvement of mathematics
performance; motivation and sense of progress were particularly stressed. Some
teachers mentioned that pupils’ positive and negative attitudes were observable through
classroom behaviour, while others mentioned that teachers might not notice a
deterioration of pupils’ attitudes. Promotion of pupils’ sense of security was perceived by
some to be important for the development of pupils’ personality, especially at 5^th grade.

However, in general teachers perceived that it was difficult to ensure pupils’ enjoyment
and sense of security because of individual differences, the pressured curriculum, the
rigorous entrance examination system and parental concerns about their children’s
attainment. These difficulties increased at 8^th grade. Some teachers believed that their
pupils rarely felt anxiety in mathematics classes. Many teachers perceived that pupils
measured progress from tangible results. This was a particular concern especially for 5^th
grade teachers, who valued learning processes.

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