Summary and Discussion
●Purpose of Analysis
In the Press Release of Survey Results last year (issued on April 20, 2022, in Japanese only), we reported that more than 50% of children answered, "I do not feel like studying," which indicates children's motivation for learning is decreasing. We also confirmed the same trend in the 2022 survey results, indicating that children are still struggling with decreasing learning motivation. Therefore, to find solutions to improve children's motivation for learning, we analyzed survey data focusing on whether children "know how to study."
●More children are facing problems in how to study
Regarding whether children know how to study, the percentage of affirmative answers to the question item "I don't know how to study effectively" has continuously increased since 2019 (Figure 1). More precisely, the percentage of children who answered "Strongly agree" or "Somewhat agree" increased by 10.3 points over the past four years, accounting for 57.2% in 2019, 59.6% in 2020, 61.5% in 2021, and 67.5% in 2022 against the surveyed children (i.e., overall children in 4th through 12th grades). These results indicate that more children are facing problems trying to figure out how to study, showing a. particularly significant increase in elementary school children.
●Significance and effects of "knowing how to study"
Then, how are the children's status of "knowing how to study" associated with their motivation for learning? As a result of our analysis, the factor of "Knowing how to study" correlates with "motivation for learning," "study hours," and "academic achievements," respectively (Figure 2). In particular, a strong correlation exists between children's status of knowing how to study and their motivation for learning. In addition, the correlation coefficient of "academic achievements" is higher than that of "motivation for learning." Therefore, it can be concluded that acquiring studying strategies will improve children's motivation for learning and academic achievements.
We further examined the significance of the status of knowing how to study, leveraging the advantage of our longitudinal survey that tracks the same children over time. We analyzed survey data by comparing changes in each factor between the 2021 and 2022 surveys. When looking into changes whether children knew how to study between 2021 and 2022 (by dividing the participant children into four groups based on their changes in "do know" or "do not know), we confirmed that the "Keep 'Knowing'" group accounted for 20.6%, the "shifting to 'Know'" group, 12.5%, the "shifting to 'Do Not Know'" group, 19.5%, and the "Keep 'Not Knowing'" group, 47.4% (Figure 3).
Next, we analyzed correlations between changes in "motivation for learning" and "academic achievements." The occurrence rate of "improved learning motivation" was high among the "shifting to 'Know'" group. In contrast, the occurrence rate of "decreased learning motivation" was high among the "shifting to 'Do Not Know'" group, indicating in the association with each factor (Figure 4). In other words, the motivation for learning increases in children who come to know how to study. In the case of changes in "academic achievements," the occurrence rate of "higher academic scores" was high among the "shifting to 'Know'" group, confirming a significant difference between changes in the status of "knowing how to study" and "academic achievements" (Figure 5). Therefore, it can be concluded that knowing how to study will positively affect children's motivation for learning and academic achievements.
Children's status of knowing of how to study not only improves their academic achievements but also correlates with their logical thinking and persistence (Figure 6). In sum, acquiring studying strategies in childhood can help them develop a life-long ability to tackle challenging problems.
●Family and school support is necessary for children to know effective studying strategies
Then, what kind of studying strategies do children use after they know how to study? Figure 7 shows that children take a metacognitive approach to be conscious of their own learning conditions, and adjusting themselves using the "Self-regulation strategy," "Planning strategy," "Monitoring strategy," and so on. In addition, strategies such as "Balance strategy" (keeping one's concentration while studying), "Comprehension-enhancement strategy" (multi-dimensional thinking), and "Deeper-learning strategy" (further exploring what they learned) are also effective in acquiring studying techniques. Therefore, families and schools should assist children in acquiring studying strategies, thereby enhancing their motivation for learning, academic achievements, and other capabilities.
Research Overview
| Title | ISS BERD Joint Research Project "JLSCP"Japanese Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (JLSCP) 2016-2022 (the 2nd to 8th survey) * The 2015 Survey (the first survey) is omitted because these results were not included in this analysis. |
|---|---|
| Theme | Child Survey on Awareness and Actual Conditions of Children's Life and Learning Parent Survey on Parental Perceptions and Attitudes towards Child-rearing and Education * The survey was conducted with parents only for children in 1st through 3rd grades. |
| Period | Between July and September every year |
| Method | This survey used a self-recording questionnaire between 2016 and 2020, partially used an online questionnaire in 2021, and was an entirely online questionnaire in 2022. |
| Samples | Children in the 1st through 12th grades and their parents across Japan
(Only parents answered for children in the 1st through 3rd grades.) *They are survey participants for this research project. The table below shows the number of parent-child samples in each survey year.  * The results of children in the 1st through 3rd grades are omitted from the above table because they were not included in this analysis. |
| Members of Children's Life and Learning Research Project | ● Project Leaders Kaori Sato (Professor at the University of Tokyo) and Yuki Nozawa (General Manager of Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute) ● Project Members Hiroaki Mimizuka (Professor emeritus at Ochanomizu University, visiting professor at Aoyama Gakuin University), Kiyomi Akita (Professor at Gakushuin University, Professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo), Kayo Matsushita (Professor at Kyoto University), Hiroshi Ishida (Distinguished professor at the University of Tokyo), Sho Fujihara (Associate professor at the University of Tokyo), Shiroh Ohno (Project associate professor at the University of Tokyo), Hiroko Osaki (project associate professor at Rikkyo University), Haruo Kimura (Principal researcher at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute), Runa Matsumoto (Senior researcher at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute), Masataka Tomonaga (Researcher at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute), Satoshi Okabe (Senior researcher at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute), Koji Nakajima (Senior researcher at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute), Aiping Liu (Senior researcher at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute), Hatsue Ouchi (Research staff at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute), and Mio Watanabe (Research staff at the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute) ● Research Working Group Members Kosuke Sudo (Associate professor at Meisei University), Ryosuke Onoda (Associate professor at the Graduate School, University of Yamanashi), Yasufumi Yamaguchi (Former assistant professor at Teikyo University) *Titles and affiliations are as of April 2023. |
Note: All values in percentage(%) used in this report have been calculated by rounding to one decimal place based on the calculation method for each item. Therefore, the total percentage does not always add up to 100.
Additional Information on Survey Data
For more detailed data, please visit the website of the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute. You can download the "Summary Report (Daijesutoban)" describing the content of this report and survey data. The Summary Report indicates data other than stated in this press release or summarized data by educational stage. Please visit the link below (in Japanese):
https://berd.benesse.jp/shotouchutou/research/detail1.php?id=5855
Read the full press release report (PDF).
