Job Discussion Forums

[Mr_Monkey]

Hi.

I'm doing my master's thesis, and would like to collect some data from practising English teachers in Japan for it.

The data I'm collecting is in the form of a survey. It should require less than 30 minutes of your time to complete.

The survey collects no personal data (not even IP addresses) and is on a topic I feel is of concern to many teachers in Japan. It is open to all who would like to contribute, although the focus is on ALTs and eikaiwa teachers.

Unfortunately, I can't give you anything for completing the survey (except for a warm, fuzzy feeling for helping me out) although I will be quite happy to buy you a beer for your troubles when I get back to Japan later this year.

This is the outline of the research I'm conducting:

[Glenski]

Answering some of your questions is not easy. You have asked whether people have been in Japan up to 5 years or longer, yet one of your questions says:
"How clear were your organisation's professional expectations made to you on or before arrival?"

I have changed jobs since I arrived, and I expect others who have been here even 2 years to have had the same experience. What do you want them to answer? For the very first job they got, or their current position which may have been their 2nd, 3rd, or later job?

You don't even have university jobs listed in the teaching categories, or junior college. I guess people will have to answer "other", but it seems odd not to have them in a main group, especially since you have "freelance" and "juku" listed as options.

[Mr_Monkey]

The survey is not really aimed at university and Jr. college teachers, although there is space within it for them (the "other - please specify" options). I believe that was made clear in the original post.

I was a "freelance" teacher myself, and knew a couple of people who were employed in juku. As is stated in the OP, there are free text boxes throughout the survey for people to contribute personal experiences and elaborate on otherwise closed answers. Ultimately, the assumption is (and this is made clear in my literature review) that there are far more people working in the kinds of positions I am interested in than those working in universities and Jr. colleges. This is reflected in the survey.

However, your criticism regarding the wording of some of my questions is appreciated. I will change them and credit you in my write-up.

[Mr_Monkey]

Thank you for your responses!

If you haven't completed the survey yet, please do take the time - it really helps me, and is on a subject (teachers) that I feel is often neglected in academic research.

[Mr_Monkey]

Thank you to all that have responded since my last post.

Please keep taking the survey!