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

48

at 7^th grade. Similarly, children’s perception of their own cognitive competence and the
teachers’ judgement of their pupils’ cognitive competence became more consistent as
they proceeded through the grades, but at 7^th grade, this consistency dropped
dramatically. These drops were later reversed. Pupils’ decreased perception of their own
competence made them vulnerable to environments which promoted extrinsic motivation
and increased anxiety (Harter, 1992).

Wigfield et al. (1994) have suggested that negative motivational consequences might be
due to environmental factors. They proposed that the environment of junior high schools
lacked ‘stage-environmental fit’ to the developmental needs of adolescents. Children are
also likely to have developed their mastery attempts by the late stage of elementary
schools (Harter, 1978). Children, who were previously dependent on external cognitive-
formational structures such as the teachers’ opinion or judgement and external sources
of evaluation, are more likely to have an internal sense of judgement (Harter, 1981).
Peer evaluations are a more important tool for junior high school students than for
elementary school students, and internalise others’ opinions about the self (Rosenberg,
1979). The nature of school and classroom environments becomes more competitive,
evaluative and controlling (Wigfield et al., 1994). Teachers increase their control of their
students, and the quality of teacher∕student relationships decline after 7^th grade (Eccles,
1993). Such environments affected low-achievers more negatively (Eccles, 1993).

Harter (1986) also suggested that there were negative effects of environmental factors in
junior high school on pupils’ motivation. Environmental factors such as strict evaluation
and salient social comparison diminished the children’s intrinsic motivation and their
motivational actions. Children who perceived their competence as low were more likely
to be vulnerable to a new environment after transition (Harter, 1992). In contrast,
students who perceived their competence as high were more likely to have positive
affect, putting value on success, than children with low perception of their competence
(Harter, 1992). Bandura (1997) emphasised the effects of pupils’ sense of their own
efficacy on the transition to junior high school. He suggested that the transition to junior
high school did not necessarily affect all students’ motivation and emotion; this is
because students’ sense of efficacy mediates the impact of the transition (Bandura,
1997).

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