A study of the relationship between playfulness and creativity was conducted with a sample of Japanese children who attended a preschool that emphasized whole-group orientation. Playfulness was assessed using The Child Behaviors Inventory, teacher interviews, and observations. Creativity was measured using The Creativity Thinking-Drawing Production Test (Jellen & Urban, 1986), The Drawing Test (Acharyulu & Yasodhara, 1984), teacher interviews, and observations. Although the statistical data analysis indicated no significant relationship between playfulness and creativity, the qualitative data analysis indicated that such a relationship may exist. However, conclusions must be qualified because analysis of the qualitative data revealed confounding factors in the concepts of playfulness and creativity. Some children who were rated by their teachers as non playful were described as internally playful and this internal playfulness was more evident in a one-to-one interaction and was manifest as joy, sense of humor, and active involvement. The internally playful child was described by the teachers as the child who possesses a lot of imagination inside but may not be able to express it externally in a group situation. Although the study focused on artistic creativity, the teachers in this study discussed a global view of creativity rather than artistic creativity. Thus, the results of qualitative data analysis appeared to contradict those of quantitative analysis. Further research on the relationship between playfulness and creativity is needed to understand such a relationship. / Ph. D.

This study explores the tremendous pressure Japanese students must endure in the pursuit of academic achievement. It identifies the sources of student's pressure and discusses the cultural, social, and economic conditions that influence a fiercely competitive educational system. The focus of this study is the impact of academic pressures on Japanese students. / Japanese education is a single-minded drive for achievement that results in what many refer to as examination hell. The university entrance examination is at the root of the pressures that are placed on students and is the primary mechanism responsible for driving competition. The life-long ramifications of students performance on this examination are far reaching. As a result, the pressures that are exerted upon students to achieve are overwhelming. Mothers, teachers, peers, and society contribute to the pressures that are placed on students to achieve, while many children continue to fall victim to emotional, psychological, and physical harm. / The study provides richly descriptive narrative accounts of student's experiences, thoughts and feelings seen from a student's perspective. The study gives voice to Japanese students and invites them to tell it like it is.

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published_or_final_version / Japanese Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This study investigated the changes in attitudes of Japanese first and second grade children who were exposed to microcomputers in school. Eight hundred and three first-and second-grade children were selected from six Japanese public schools. Approximately half of the subjects were selected from urban, suburban, and rural schools using computers, while the remaining subjects were from schools not using computers. The Young Children's Computer Inventory was the instrument used for this study. It was derived from a questionnaire originally developed at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and contained four subscales: Attitudes Toward Computers, Motivation to Study, Empathy, and Creativity. A Japanese language version of the questionnaire was mailed to the principal of each school, where teachers distributed the questionnaires.for the subjects to complete with their parents at home. Ninety-one percent of the students returned completed questionnaires. Demographic information was also collected for each classroom.

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