Abstract

Undokai, a Japanese school sports festival, is widely implemented in schools and is assumed to offer learning opportunities beyond physical development. However, few studies have systematically examined students’ reflections using large-scale open-ended data, including differences by school stage and gender. This study aimed to clarify students’ perceived learning outcomes and self-growth through undokai and to examine (a) school-stage and gender differences in word-use patterns and (b) how word co-occurrence patterns vary according to students’ favorability toward undokai. Open-ended reflections were collected after undokai from 932 students in Japan (junior high school: n=425; elementary school: n=507) from two elementary schools and one junior high school. Responses were analyzed using quantitative content analysis supported by KH Coder, including co-occurrence network analysis with KWIC-based contextual checks, correspondence analysis with school stage and gender as external variables, and co-occurrence network analysis treating favorability ratings as an external variable. Favorability toward undokai was associated with co-occurrence patterns involving attitudes toward exercise and others’ gaze. Themes of perceived learning outcomes and self-growth were broadly consistent with educational goals articulated in the Courses of Study (e.g., solidarity/responsibility and fostering familiarity with exercise). Correspondence analysis indicated differences by school stage and gender: elementary students emphasized personal physical development, whereas junior high students highlighted relationships with peers and the school community; gender-related differences were more evident among junior high school students. Quantitative content analysis of large-scale student reflections helps clarify students’ perceived learning outcomes and self-growth through undokai, providing practical implications for developing instructional strategies that consider students’ favorability toward undokai, school stage, and gender in Japanese schools.

Keywords

Undokai, School Sports Festival, Sports day, Physical Education, Quantitative Content Analysis, Text Mining, Student Reflections,

References

  1. Adler, A. (1932). What Life should mean to you. Chapter 3 Feelings of Inferiority and Superiority, In Porter A. (Eds.), Martino Publishing, 49-70.
  2. Aiba, K. (2020). Taiikusai no dance ni okeru iseiai no kouchiku [Dance Performances of Cheering Squads and the Construction of Heterosexuality], Journal of Sport and Gender Studies, 18, 6-19.
  3. Akiyama, T. (2020). Undokai and Sports Events in the Japanese School System. Pediatrics International, 62, 1230-1233.
  4. Carlson, T.B. (1995). We Hate Gym: Student Alienation from Physical Education. Journal of Teaching Physical Education, 14(4), 467-477.
  5. Couturier, L.E., Chepko, S., Coughlin, M.A. (2005). Student Voices-What Middle and High School Students have to say about Physical Education. Physical Educator, 62(4), 170.
  6. Griffin, P.S. (1981) One Small Step for Person kind: Observations and suggestions for Sex Equity in Coeducational Physical Education Classes. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 1(1), 12-17.
  7. Hasegawa, Y. (2009). Difference of Educational Significance of School Events by Social Stratification -Case of School Sports Day. Bulletin of Hijiyama University, 16, 135-144.
  8. Haslett, J.G. (1990). The uniqueness of “undokai” in Japan: bringing the community/family together through dance and sport-like activities. Bulletin of Chukyo University Research Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, 4, 57-65.
  9. Higuchi, K. (2016). A Two-Step Approach to Quantitative Content Analysis: KH Coder Tutorial Using Anne of Green Gables (Part I). Ritsumeikan Social Sciences Review, 52(3), 77-91.
  10. Higuchi, K. (2017). A Two-Step Approach to Quantitative Content Analysis: KH Coder Tutorial Using Anne of Green Gables (Part II). Ritsumeikan Social Sciences Review, 53(1), 137-147.
  11. Ishikawa, A., Yamaguchi, T., Matsuzaki, K. (2013). A Study on School Adjustment and how to Improve It: Changes in School Adjustment due to Sports Festivals. Atomi Gakuen Women's University, Bulletin of the Department of Clinical Psychology, 1, 69-83.
  12. Katsuki, Y., Kishimoto, A. (2005). A Case Study of a Junior High School Athletic Festival: From the Viewpoint of Gender Equality Program. Research Reports of Environment and Humanity University of Hyogo, 7, 157-163.
  13. Kawamoto, A. (2014). The Developmental Significance of School Event Experiences in Junior and Senior High Schools: Focusing on Retrospective meaning-making among University Students. J-Stage, Developmental Psychology Research, 25(4), 453-465.
  14. Kimura, K., Takahashi, H., Katsumata, K., Kawabata, A. (1995). A Study on the Development of School ‘Undokai’ in Japan. Research journal of health and sport sciences, Chukyo University, 36, 9-17.
  15. Kishimoto A., Katsuki Y. (2005). Gender Bias in Junior High School Athletic Meet: A Study of Programs in H and S Cities in Hyogo Prefecture. Journal of Sport and Gender Studies, 3, 42-52.
  16. Kubota A. (2021). Long-Term Effects of School Event Experiences in Junior High and High School on University Life - A Retrospective Study from the Perspective of Group Socialization Theory. JASEA Journal, 29, 31-40.
  17. Kubota A. (2023). The Downsizing of Primary School Sports Events in COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Attitude toward Social Participation: A Retrospective Study of Parent- Child Pairs. JASEA Journal, 31, 49-58.
  18. Landolfi, E. (2014) Teachers’ Understanding of Students’ Attitudes and values toward Physical Activity in Physical Education Dropout Rates and Adolescent Obesity. The Physical Educator, 71(3), 365-390.
  19. Mackieson P. Shlonsky A. (2018). Connolly M. Increasing Rigor and Reducing Bias in Qualitative Research: A Document Analysis of Parliamentary Debates using Applied Thematic Analysis. Qualitative Social Work, 18(6), 965-980.
  20. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan. (2017a). Shogakko gakushu shido yoryo [Course of Study for Elementary School].
  21. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan. (2017b). Chuogakko gakushu shido yoryo [Course of Study for Junior High School].
  22. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan. (2017c). Shogakko gakushu shido yoryo tokubetsu katsudo hen [Course of Study for Elementary School: Special Activities].
  23. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan. (2017d). Shogakko gakushu shido yoryo taiiku hen [Course of Study for Elementary School: Physical Education], Monbukagakusho.
  24. Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Japan. (2017e). Chugakko gakushu shido yoryo hoken taiiku hen [Course of Study for Junior High School: Physical Education].
  25. Nakagawa, Y. (2017). Chugakkou gyouji ni torikumu katei de syoujiru seito no henyou to chugakkou kyoushi ni yoru enjo –seito kan no kakawari, kurasu no yousu, tasonkanjou ni chakumoku site- [How Students Change Themselves and How the Teacher Supports Them during the Practice Process towards Sports Festival and Music Festival in a Junior High School; Focusing on students’ Interaction, Class Atmosphere, and their Other-Esteem], Japanese Journal of Clinical Educational Psychology, 34(1), 27-40.
  26. Nakayama, Maeda, S., Nakasuga, R., Takumi. (2022). The relationship between experience evaluation, basic psychological needs, and grit in sports festivals. Journal of School Education Hyogo University of Teacher Education, School Education Research, 35, 213-221.
  27. Nishimura, K., Igarashi, T. (2024) Influence of school event experience in secondary education on daily life skills of college students: Focusing on college students’ retrospective meaning. Bulletin of educational research of Setsunan University, 20, 1-16.
  28. Oikawa, T. (2018). Examining the Influences of Undokai Experiences have on the Development of Children's Theory of Mind in the Context of Japanese Early Childhood Settings. Human Developmental Research, 32, 13-26.
  29. Oikawa, T., Kawata, M. (2015). Formation and Sharing of Norms during the Early Stage of a Kindergarten’s Athletic Meet Practice. Clinical Research on Child Development, 7, 37-47.
  30. Piaget, J. (1932). The moral judgement of the child. Harcourt, Brace.
  31. Sasaki, B., Suko, R. (2016) The Factorial Concept of Inferiority Complexes and their Relationship to Students' Personal Characteristics Regarding Physical Education. Japan Journal of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences, 61, 663-680.
  32. Selman, R.L. (1980). The Growth of Interpersonal Understanding: Developmental and Clinical Analyses, Academic Press, New York.
  33. Shimojo, T., Hirose, H. (2005). A Study on the Development of the Normative Consciousness of Children (2): Changes in the Normative Consciousness before and after Athletic Meet. Bulletin of Faculty of Education Center for Educational Research and Development, 22, 117-138.
  34. Tahara, J., Serizawa, Y. (2005). Junior High School Physical Education from the Perspective of Gender: Health and Physical Education Instructor Sex and School Athletic Meet (Sports Day) Events. Journal of sport and gender studies, 3, 18-25.
  35. Taruki, Y., Araragi, C. (2016). A Study on the Sense of Fulfillment in Junior High School Event Activities -Focusing on the Sports Festival and the Cultural Festival. JASEA Journal, 24, 31-39.
  36. Toyama T. Nakasuga T. Sugiyama Y. (2022). Assessment of the causal relationship between physical competence and avoidance attitudes in physical education. Japan Journal of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences, 67, 897-914.
  37. Yamahira Y. (2014). Coambodia ni okeru undokai no yuuyousei – Syougakkou wo taisyou tosite- [The utility of sports festivals in the Kingdom of Cambodia: A case study of public elementary schools]. The International Budo University Journal, 30, 83-92.
  38. Yamahira Y. (2017). Nihon shiki Undokai no kaigai yushutsu, Taiikuka Kyoiku, 65(6), 52-55.
  39. Yokoyama R. Furuta M. (2012). An examination of the effects of athletic meets on junior high school students' self-efficacy and school adjustment: Focusing on differences in self-affirmation. Academic Journals (non-AUE-publications), Tokai journal of school health 36(1), 71-80.