Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-136). / xiv, 136 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Appendices in English and Japanese. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-117). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Appendices in English and Japanese. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-117). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-176).

The number of Japanese students who experience overseas schooling is increasing. After a few years overseas, these children accompanied by their families return to Japan. Because of serious schooling competition and exclusive social climate against foreigners and returnees, those children sometimes find it extremely difficult to readjust to the Japanese school and society. One of the reasons for this condition lie in misconceptions about the returnees and the lack of concern by school teachers in Japan. Concurrently, teachers in local schools overseas have some difficulty understanding the situation and needs of their Japanese students who temporarily stay in their schools. This thesis discusses the background of Japanese overseas schools, and reviews governmental documentations on these institutions. It investigates a case study of the Vancouver Hoshu Jugyo Kou, a supplementary Saturday school. Survey questionnaires were administered to 99 students in Grades 4 to 9 in this school, interviews were conducted with the principal, twelve mothers, a consulate from Japan, and ESL specialists of the Vancouver School Board. The HJK school report in 1986-7 has been analyzed. Study findings indicated the distinctive role of the HJK for Japanese students in Vancouver and the particularities of its locating in the Vancouver Japanese community. Some suggestions for the future development of overseas Japanese schools are examined. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This qualitative study examined Japanese students' study abroad experiences in Vancouver. I conceptually framed study abroad as contested space where global and local (national) discourses converge and shape these students' experience. Based on this conceptual understanding of study abroad, I reviewed three global and local (national) discourses that were relevant to Japanese students' study abroad experiences: neocolonialism, "internationalization," and nihonjinron (discussions of Japanese uniqueness). These three discourses were monitored throughout Japanese students' study abroad experiences to examine how they would shape these students' experiences and how these students would negotiate to construct their experiences in the midst of these discourses. Furthermore, as the sub-theme of the study, I examined Japanese students' study abroad experiences in terms of Edward Said's (1995) hope for the creation of non-essentialist, nondominative, and non-coercive form of knowledge. I examined the possibility of study abroad experience as a transformative educational experience that helps students decipher the hegemonic and ideological limitations on their knowledge of "race" and nation. From May to November 1999,1 conducted participatory observations and semi-structured interviews with seventeen Japanese male students who had resided in Vancouver for more than six months. The data suggested that the three discourses of necolonialism, "internationalization," and nihonjinron (discussions of Japanese uniqueness) were manifested to shape the Japanese students' experiences. I argued that as a consequence of the manifestation of these three discourses, the Japanese students rendered "Canadians" into the "Other." Furthermore, this bi-polar and essentialist understanding of "Self and "Others" led to their objectification and commodification of "Canadians" as a medium for "internationalizing" themselves. I conclude that study abroad experiences in Vancouver was not effective in helping the Japanese students go beyond the global (neocolonial) and local (national) ideological discourses. Rather, the study suggested that the Japanese students' study abroad experiences reinforced their preconceived sense of human difference, leading them to view "Canadians" as discontinuous from "us," which enabled them to commodity them merely as a medium for "internationalizing" themselves. Given the findings of the study, I suggest for employing a postcolonial perspective in the examination of foreign students' study abroad experience. I also call for critical re-evaluation of study abroad experiences of foreign students, in particular, Japanese students and for the attempt to turn study abroad into a transformative learning opportunity that helps students move beyond hegemonic imperial discourses of "race" and nation. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

This study explored the use of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) as a culturally responsive intervention and a prevention treatment method for the psychosocial well-being of Japanese children in the United States. In light of the demand for the evidence-based therapeutic treatment for children as well as the need to conduct multicultural research without ignoring within-group differences, this study was composed of two research methodologies; quantitative research design and individual analysis. Single-group repeated measures ANOVA was utilized for the group analysis and linear regression was employed for individual analysis in addition to qualitative data obtained through parent feedback and the researcher's observation of play therapy sessions. The participating children received a total of eight CCPT sessions. The impact of CCPT was measured by a decrease in a child's behavioral problems perceived by a parent measured by scores of the Internalizing Problems, Externalizing Problems and Total Problems on the Child Behavioral Checklist and a reduction of parent-child relationship stress manifested in the Child Domain, Parent Domain and Total Stress Score of the Parenting Stress Index. Data from a total of the four assessment points; the baseline, pretest, second assessment, and third assessment, was gathered for use in the analysis. A total of 16 children were recruited from the Japanese School of Dallas for participation in this study. However, some children did not complete the entire set of 8 play therapy sessions, and as a consequence, neither were all assessments completed by their parents. Therefore, data from 10 children, age ranging from 4 to 9, were utilized for the statistical analysis. The results of the analysis did not reveal any statistical significance. However, large and medium effect sizes were obtained on all the six aforementioned subscales during the treatment period. Individual analysis provided further information on possible environmental, developmental, and cultural factors that are considered influential issues on the change of individual scores.

Short-term intercultural exchange programs provide a wealth of information and experiences for participants. Participants are given the opportunity to travel out of their native country and are exposed to new languages and cultures. This case study looks at the Japanese sojourners in the Northwest/ Pacific Rim {NWPR) summer program. The purpose was to examine the language use of the Japanese sojourners throughout the course of the NWPR program. This case study sought to determine when the Japanese sojourners used English and/or Japanese, in which situations, what strategies the Japanese sojourners employed and who initiated contact with whom. All of the data was gathered from a participant observer who also employed various ethnographic methods. The Japanese sojourners were observed informally and six were interviewed formally. All four of the ESL teachers were also formally interviewed to provide as wide a range of information as possible. The results showed that the Japanese sojourners did, in general, have a positive experience in the NWPR program but they did not learn as much English and intercultural sensitivity as they could have. Although this case study was focused on the language use of the Japanese sojourners aspects of program evaluation inevitable infiltrated in.

International students have long been an important part of the U.S. higher education community, but generally they have received inadequate attention in the classroom. Also, American teaching and learning strategies have not taken full advantage of international diversity. The purpose of this narrative study was to qualitatively understand the experiences of Japanese graduate students in U.S. higher education classrooms. The study highlights the challenges that Japanese graduate students faced due to cultural differences, pedagogical differences, and language problems and provides a number of suggestions for faculty, domestic students, and institutions to help create a more welcoming environment for Japanese graduate students.

This study attempted to locate some possible sources of oral Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) among Japanese students in the United States. This study proposed that the following three factors were possible sources of FLA: 1) the subjects' traitlike anxiety, which is carried by individuals across all communication-bound contexts; 2) the subjects' self-perceived oral proficiency levels in English and 3) the subjects' gapsize (i.e., the distance between their self-perceived and their self-expected oral proficiency levels in English) . This research examined whether the above three independent variables and the dependent FLA variable were significantly correlated, and if so, which one had the strongest correlation with the FLA variable. Also, whether the subjects' biographical variables had a significant effect on their FLA levels was investigated. All the variables were quantified through a questionnaire. The subjects' FLA levels and traitlike anxiety levels were measured by a 10-item, Personal Report of Communication Apprehension inventory (PRCA, Mccroskey, 1978). The subjects' self-perceived oral proficiency levels were measured by asking the subjects to rate their self-perceived oral proficiency level from 1 (poor) to 5 (fluent). The gapsize was quantified by asking the subjects to rate it on a scale from 1 (minimal) to 5 (maximal). The statistical methodology used in obtaining the PRCA scores in this study differed from McCroskey's in its interpretation of Likert type scales. The scales were treated as interval data in McCroskey's study, while, in this study, they were interpreted as ordinal data. After hierarchically ordering the subjects' answers, non-parametric tests were performed on them. Overall, each of the three variables and the FLA variable were found to be significantly correlated at p < .01. The traitlike anxiety variable, the proficiency variable and the gapsize variable correlated at .46, -.45 and -.33, respectively. The participants' demographic variables (age, gender, status at school or year(s) of residence in English speaking places) did not have a significant effect on their FLA levels. A discussion of the results was provided, with references to previous studies.