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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preferred traditional methods, while others preferred more innovative methods. The
qualitative findings supported the findings from the quantitative data. Teachers of both
age groups perceived that promoting pupils’ positive affective attitudes towards
mathematics learning was important, although teachers perceived that satisfying pupils’
enjoyment and sense of security was difficult, because of individual differences, the
heavily loaded curriculum, the rigorous entrance examination system and parental
concerns about their children’s attainments. This was the case particularly at 8^th grade,
because of the approaching high school entrance examination.

Teachers of both age groups perceived that adopting a variety of teaching methods
promoted pupils’ cognitive development. Most 5^th grade teachers believed that adopting
a variety of teaching methods promoted pupils’ personal development and allowed for
individual differences in learning styles. This reflects the philosophy of education as the
development of the whole-person (Cummings, 1980; Lewis, 1995), found in Japanese
elementary schools. 5^th grade teachers stressed the possible advantages of using a
variety of methods as the Ministry of Education in Japan (1999) had suggested. 8^th
grade teachers did not acknowledge these factors. They stressed that the heavily loaded
curriculum meant that time pressure precluded promoting pupils’ enjoyment and
motivation.

To conclude, 5^th grade teachers were more likely to agree with the adoption of various
teaching methods and evaluated the recently developed teaching methods more
positively than 8^th grade teachers. Overall, the qualitative data supported the quantitative
findings in that teachers tended to perceive that different teaching methods contributed
to enjoyment and motivation as opposed to sense of progress or security. They
perceived that meeting individual differences and promoting pupils’ understanding of the
curriculum were factors contributing to sense of progress or security, while they
perceived that positive involvement and interest were factors contributing to enjoyment
and motivation. 8^th graders suggested that understanding the curriculum promoted all
four aspects of attitudes towards mathematics. Lack of confidence in being able to adopt
the recently developed teaching methods and lack of resources were also factors which
prevented teachers from adopting the recently developed teaching methods. Time
limitation was an additional factor at 8^th grade. Pupils also stressed the importance of
interactions with peers and teachers. For teachers, interaction was not a strong factor

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