Excellence gaps are differences in advanced education outcomes among student groups. This study replicates and extends an earlier study on the prevalence and magnitude of excellence gaps based on student sex and immigrant status using Grade 8 TIMSS data. Data were included for the 12 countries that have participated in each TIMSS administration…

Purpose: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the ability to adjust grip strength by comparing the characteristics of force generation and relaxation from childhood to adulthood. Method: This study included 225 participants aged 6, 11, 17, and 19-23 years (adults) who performed isometric hand-grip force as follows: maximum, half…

This study investigated cross-cultural differences in visual attention patterns during comic reading, focusing on participants with Japanese and American cultural backgrounds. Using an eye-tracking paradigm, we examined attention processes as participants viewed pages from American comics and Japanese manga featuring objective or subjective…

Background: Individuals pursue teaching careers for numerous reasons, such as for instrumental or prosocial purposes. Aims: This study examined the personal (instrumental motivation) and social (prosocial motivation) utility of teaching as predictors of teaching quality in terms of clarity of instruction, classroom management, and cognitive…

This paper explores how middle-class mothers' involvement in and how the meanings of a public school choice are shaped by the class differences in cultural capital and economic capital between the mother and father within one family. It examines the practices of choosing a public school that shapes a middle-class mother, rather than the school…

Some families opt not to enroll their children in free public junior high schools, choosing instead those requiring rigorous entrance examinations. Attending selective junior high schools facilitates better education, employment, and higher salaries. To evaluate the significance of junior high school entrance examinations, this study investigated…

This paper presents comparative information on the strength of the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and literacy skills at ages 6-8, drawing on data from France, Germany, Japan, Rotterdam (Netherlands), the United Kingdom, and the United States. We investigate whether the strength of the association between SES and literacy skills in…

In "Teaching Expertise in Three Countries," Akiko Hayashi shows how teachers from Japan, China, and the United States think about what it means to be an expert teacher. Based on interviews with teachers conducted over the span of fifteen years and videos taken in their classrooms, Hayashi gives us a valuable portrait of expert teachers…

This study undertakes a comparative analysis of the learning of functions in Japanese and Indonesian curricula. Using praxeology, a primary construct of the anthropological theory of the didactic, this study analyzed how functions are approached in both countries' school mathematics textbooks. The analysis results revealed a noteworthy contrast:…

While several studies on study abroad have examined the impact of personal factors (e.g., gender, age, and family environment) on the decision to study abroad, a factor analysis has not yet been conducted on the reasons why some students choose not to study abroad. This paper highlights the role of academic study abroad programs in promoting…

Earlier studies have concluded that the religious sphere is less open to creativity than are other areas of human activities. Also, it has been suggested that artistic freedom and creative expression are unwelcome in the domain of religious iconography. In the present study, we address this subject with regard to children's artistic expression of…

Self-construal refers to how individuals view themselves independently from others (Independent self-construal) or interdependently with others (Interdependent self-construal). Although the self-construal theory claimed a connection between self-construal and motivation, none of studies explored the relation between self-construal and reading…

We investigated performance levels on conducting continuous two-footed jumping of preschool children (4 years old) to high school students (16 years old) to clarify the developmental progression and sex differences in motor coordination and agility. In total, 450 children (boys: 227; girls: 223) participated in this study. We set 10 obstacles to…

This is the first meta-analysis to examine the outcomes of nonfamilial, intergenerational programs (IGP) on youth and older adults. Relevant studies were identified by screening the abstracts from five systematic reviews on the impact of intergenerational programs on psychosocial outcomes. After all studies were screened 23 independent studies…

This study compared the characteristics of 'good mothers' of children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) as perceived by mothers of children with ASD in two countries--the U.S. and Japan. Grounded in the theory of culturally-influenced construal of the self, we hypothesized that U.S. mothers would prioritize fostering self-reliance and advocating…