Japanese kids and motivation

　　　　　－　Mainichi Daily (Apr 26, 2010)　－

　　More Japanese children lack motivation,
　　　　　　　value inner happiness

Japanese children are increasingly becoming "herbivores" (lacking in motivation), a survey conducted by a university researcher and education and publishing company Benesse has found.

The survey, which was administered for the first time in five years since the first round in 2004, aimed to investigate the lifestyles and attitudes of children. It was conducted between August and October of last year among children across the country in fourth grade through the second year of high school, with responses from 13,797 children.

Children were asked to answer the degree to which they imagined the following to be true of themselves around the age of 40: "caring for parents," "leading a free and laid-back life," "rich," "famous," and "successful on the world stage."

Those who answered that it was "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that they would be "caring for parents" topped off at 74.9 to 82.9 percent, while 59.8 to 68.7 percent said they would be "leading a free and laid-back life."

On the other end of the spectrum, only 12.3 to 16.2 percent of respondents said that they would be "successful on the world stage" and only 12.3 to 17.2 percent said they imagined themselves to be "famous."

"Children today are not very zealous," says Haruo Kimura, the previous manager of the Educational Research Office at Benesse Educational Research and Development Center. "The children we surveyed are generally grandchildren of baby-boomers born after World War II. They have been brought up in a mature society and have led emotionally stable lives. They may have come to have passive personalities as a result of that."

Meanwhile, Kimura also expresses concern for the findings. "The fact that children are lacking in this much spirit makes me worry about the country's future," he says. "Especially considering that we'll have to compete even more with China and other East Asian countries."

In a section of the survey on meals, the percentage of children who said they "often" or "sometimes" go to school without eating breakfast declined since the previous survey. The same downward trend was seen for responses to the statement, "I eat only the foods I like and leave what I do not like."

The only rise was seen in the statement, "I watch how much I eat for weight control." Among high school girls, 27.8 percent responded that this statement "often" or "sometimes" is true of them, compared to 19.1 percent in the previous survey.

When asked if they try to accommodate what other people say so as not to be treated as an outcast, 51.6 percent of elementary school students said that they do, up from 46.7 percent five years ago, while 44.4 percent of middle school students and 41.1 percent of high school students said the same, up from 43.3 percent and 39.1 percent respectively. There was a larger percentage increase among boys than girls.

The proportion of children among elementary, middle, and high school students who say that they "often" or "sometimes" chide friends when they do bad things rose as well, from 60.0 percent in the previous survey to 65.3 percent, 49.7 percent to 54.5 percent, and 54.8 percent to 58.4 percent, respectively.

With regards to satisfaction levels in everyday life "relationships with friends," "relationship with family," and "relationships with teachers" all saw an increase.

Fewer children now say that they "know what job they want to have in the future" than in the previous survey, dropping to 50.6 percent from 58.1 percent.

"Level of motivation is low, and a vision of the kind of person children want to become is lacking," Kimura says. "There's a possibility they're scared to experience setbacks."

Kiyoshi Takeuchi, an educational sociology professor at Sophia University, participated in the survey project as an analyst of the results. "Children fear that in a society with a widening gap between the rich and the poor, making a big mistake will prevent them from moving up in the world, which diminishes their ambition and motivation," he says. "Under such circumstances, Japanese children who value inner happiness (more than success) cannot be blamed.

"Students from China, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere are highly motivated to study and actively seek education abroad, while the percentage of Japanese students who study overseas has been in decline. Some Japanese corporate executives now say they want to hire new graduates from Asia rather than Japan.

"A social apparatus -- including efforts by corporations, volunteers and NPOs -- must be implemented to motivate and empower Japanese children."

　　＝＝　Comment　＝＝

The article mentions parents but it is
also the SOCIETY is not providing them
with the motivation.....schools and government.

Doug