title: Cross-cultural comparison of motivation to learn in physical education: Japanese vs Swedish schoolchildren.
abstract: The present study compared differences between Japanese and Swedish schoolchildren in learning motivation-related variables in physical education. The subjects were 1,562 Japanese fifth and sixth graders (776 boys and 786 girls) ranging in age from 10 to 12 years and 573 Swedish fifth graders (306 boys and 267 girls) from 10 to 13 years (M = 11.4, SD = 0.5). They completed three questionnaires to evaluate the children's learning motivation, factors supporting motivation to learn, and preferences of learning behavior. The questionnaires were taken from Nishida's Diagnosis of Learning Motivation in Physical Education Test, a multidimensional and comprehensive test that measures learning motivation. A 2 x 2 (country by sex) multivariate analysis of variance indicated both Swedish boys and girls scored significantly higher than the Japanese children on most subscales. Results were discussed in relation to differences in the sports environment and culture of the two countries.
authors.affiliation: Research Center of Health, Physical Fitness and Sports, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan. nishida@htc.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tamotsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Hirohisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Isogai
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aström
authors.forename: Staffan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karp
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johansson
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D002648:Child; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D015995:Prevalence; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden