JAPANESE UNIVERSITY EAP STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC CHALLENGES AND STRUGGLES: INVESTIGATING MANIFESTATIONS AND SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES OF LEARNER MINDSET MEANING SYSTEMS

Abstract

Arguably the main goal of education is to prepare students for both academic and future success. Historically, schools have prioritized cognitive skill development, utilizing standardized testing and GPA as predictors of achievement, which has significantly influenced global curricula and instructional strategies. However, this focus has unintended negative effects on students' well-being and engagement, as the belief that test results and grades reflect lifelong intelligence and future potential can result in demotivation and disengagement. Decades of research into learner mindsets has demonstrated that holding growth mindset-oriented learning beliefs can counteract this, positively influencing students’ academic behaviors, motivation, persistence, and overall academic achievement. However, the existing mindset research has predominantly employed the cognitive perspective, primarily utilizing quantitative research methods as well as "WEIRD" (Western Educated Industrial Rich Democratic) populations. Yet this overlooks the importance of sociocultural influences and neglects the nuanced impact of learning contexts and culture, necessitating research into non-WEIRD populations to investigate how cultural variations can uniquely shape students' mindsets and learning experiences. Toward this end, this dissertation explored the mindsets of Japanese EAP university students, focusing on their beliefs and responses to academic challenges and setbacks. In particular, it investigated the key influential socializers and lived experiences that shaped their mindsets and sought to understand their perceptions of the Japanese education system, to gain insights on how to better cultivate a growth mindset within it. This qualitative investigation involved 115 EFL Japanese students enrolled in a Study Strategies and Growth Mindset EAP Seminar taught between 2021-2023, using weekly reflective writings and semi-structured interviews for data collection. The research adopted an interpretive embedded single-case study design, employing template analysis for data interpretation. Results revealed Japan-specific cultural influences played a unique role in shaping students’ mindsets. Family, friends/peers, teachers/school, and media/society were cited as both positively and negatively shaping their mindset beliefs. In particular, participants overwhelmingly expressed the Japanese education system as fostering a fixed mindset environment, citing an overemphasis on results over the process of learning, constant competition, social comparisons, and conformity pressures. Their suggestions focused on strategies for students and underscored practices educators should incorporate to address these challenges.