Climate strength was first conceptualised in the organisational psychology literature as the within-group agreement on the perceptions of climate. In contrast to the deep study of climate level, climate strength has not been clarified by school climate research. The purpose of this cross-cultural study is to identify the main effect of…

The author examined the simultaneous influence of Japanese middle school student and school socioeconomic status (SES) on student math achievement with two-level multilevel analysis models by utilizing the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Japan data sets. The theoretical framework used in this study was…

This study adopts Oxford's (2017) definition of language learning strategies (LLS) framed by self-regulation theory and explores the longitudinal development in the use of three second language (L2) writing strategies (global planning, local planning, L1-to-L2 translation) by Japanese university students as it interacts with cognitive, affective,…

Japanese compulsory education is considered as relatively egalitarian since poorer regions receive more funding from the central government, which standardizes the quality of education nationwide. Nevertheless, the literature indicates socioeconomic status-based achievement and educational attainment gaps. As parts of explanations of these gaps,…

The purpose of the present study is to examine whether performance on the "TOEFL iBT"® Reading practice test is affected by 3 different levels of feedback provided to learners upon completion of reading exercises: (a) correctness of learner response (the knowledge of correct results [KCR] feedback), (b) KCR feedback and rationales for…

This article examines inequality in different dimensions of student academic achievement (math, science, and reading) by family background and school context in three East Asian (Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea) and three Western (United States, Germany, and the Czech Republic) nations. Building on Hauser (2009), we develop a novel…

Preparation is an effective and necessary activity; however, most students do not prepare for future lessons. The present study addressed this problem and examined how learners' motives, beliefs, and perceptions affected their strategy use during preparation for future lessons. Participants were 219 Japanese junior high school students who…

This study explores the effects of various motivational variables operating within 44 English classes on 1-year-long gains in the English reading proficiency of 1,149 Japanese university students. The study adds new knowledge to the recent outcomes of second language (L2) motivational studies in 3 major ways. First, the explanatory variables…

Based on a one-year longitudinal experimental study with 3,782 kindergarten school children across 15 countries, this article examines the association between prayer and happiness. Results show that the post-test scores on the faces scale were higher for the participant group who had taken the prayer lessons vis-à-vis the comparison group.…

This study analysed 10 top-performing regions in PISA 2015 on their science performances and instructional practices. The regions include Singapore, Japan, Estonia, Taipei, Finland, Macao, Canada, Hong Kong, China and Korea. The science performances of the 10 regions and their teaching practices are described and compared. The construct of…