Cultural Factors Influencing Japanese Female College Students' Perceptions of Learning in a Web-Based Environment: Implications for Web-Based Instructional Designers
type: CreativeWork
description: The burst of the Japanese bubble economy in 1992 brought about many reforms in Japanese education. One example of these reforms is the recent introduction of web-based instruction into Japanese classrooms. Since traditional Japanese education has been greatly influenced by elements of Confucianism, many educators are concerned about the integration of web-based instruction with traditional Japanese teaching methods. The purposes of this study were to investigate Japanese female junior college students' attitudes and/or perceptions of learning in a web-based environment, and to measure performance between students in a traditional teacher-centered course with another group of students learning via web-based instruction. This study utilized a mixed-methodology design to investigate the following two research questions: (a) What cultural factors related to Confucianism influence Japanese freshman female college students' perceptions of learning in a web-based environment, and (b) Are there significant differences between pre and posttest mean scores on the Pre-TOEFL Test of those Japanese female college students taking a TOEFL preparation course via web-based instruction, and the mean pre and posttest scores of another group of Japanese female college students taking a similar course in a teacher-centered class? Sixty Japanese female college students aged 18–19 years old participated in the study. The students were randomly assigned by last name into a Treatment group which took a TOEFL course via web-based instruction, and a Control group which studied via a teacher-centered class. For the qualitative section, six students from the Treatment group were interviewed three times each; before, during, and after the treatment. Results indicated a movement away from cultural influences of Confucianism as the treatment progressed. For the quantitative investigation, a Pre-TOEFL test was given to both groups before and after the treatment. Results indicated there were signifi…
abstract: The burst of the Japanese bubble economy in 1992 brought about many reforms in Japanese education. One example of these reforms is the recent introduction of web-based instruction into Japanese classrooms. Since traditional Japanese education has been greatly influenced by elements of Confucianism, many educators are concerned about the integration of web-based instruction with traditional Japanese teaching methods. The purposes of this study were to investigate Japanese female junior college students' attitudes and/or perceptions of learning in a web-based environment, and to measure performance between students in a traditional teacher-centered course with another group of students learning via web-based instruction. This study utilized a mixed-methodology design to investigate the following two research questions: (a) What cultural factors related to Confucianism influence Japanese freshman female college students' perceptions of learning in a web-based environment, and (b) Are there significant differences between pre and posttest mean scores on the Pre-TOEFL Test of those Japanese female college students taking a TOEFL preparation course via web-based instruction, and the mean pre and posttest scores of another group of Japanese female college students taking a similar course in a teacher-centered class? Sixty Japanese female college students aged 18–19 years old participated in the study. The students were randomly assigned by last name into a Treatment group which took a TOEFL course via web-based instruction, and a Control group which studied via a teacher-centered class. For the qualitative section, six students from the Treatment group were interviewed three times each; before, during, and after the treatment. Results indicated a movement away from cultural influences of Confucianism as the treatment progressed. For the quantitative investigation, a Pre-TOEFL test was given to both groups before and after the treatment. Results indicated there were signifi…
author: Lally, Theresa L., EdD
keywords: college students, Confucianism cultural factors, higher education, Japanese, perception, qualitative, quantitative, Test of English as a Foreign Language--TOEFL, web-based instructional designers, women, Leadership Studies
date published: 2000-04-07T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:40:49Z
provider: University of San Diego
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of San Diego