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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research, which examines the same set of people, and/or the same issue or situation
over a period of time (Robson, 1993).

As Robson (1993) points out there are three main purposes of enquiry: exploratory,
descriptive and explanatory. This study mainly adopts an exploratory purpose, because
such research has not been undertaken previously in Japan. Findings in this study may
enable a more accurate description of students perceptions of specific contexts, and
their effects, which may also enable integration of previous research. This study will not
deepen existing knowledge, but rather explore whether and why there are differences in
the perceptions of pupils’ attitudes towards learning mathematics between 5^th and 8^th
graders and their teachers and how these relate to different teaching methods. The
explanatory purpose, as Robson (1993) defines it, is less important in this study.

Research tactics are the methods or techniques used to collect information. Robson
(1993) points out that there are three main research tactics for enquiring about ‘the real
world’: observation, interview and questionnaire. This survey, first, adopted a
questionnaire method with both teachers and pupils. Afterwards, an interview method
was employed with approximately one-third of the teachers who completed the
questionnaires. The interview method was not employed for pupils, chiefly because of
the difficulties of obtaining school and parental permission for such individual contact
with children. The chief reason for using the questionnaire method in this study lies in its
suitability for collecting a wide range of information from a large number of participants in
a limited time. The larger sample size also improves the possibility of generalising the
findings (Oppenheim, 1996).

The information obtained through a questionnaire survey, however, may lack reliability
and validity. A questionnaire method may secure only limited compatibility between
participants’ responses on the questionnaire and their acts in ‘real life’ (0skamp, 1977;
Hanson, 1980). In order to obtain a meaningful result through a questionnaire survey,
the questionnaire needs to be well constructed, instructions need to be very clear and
unambiguous, and questions require careful wording. Interpretation may pose another
limitation on validity and reliability (Robson, 1993). However, these concerns are also
shared in relation to the interview method, which obtains information through
interpersonal communication. Overall, the observation method is the one most likely to

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