Our present study presents research focused on the question: Are there differences between Germany and in Japan in regard to teachers’attitudes and their impact on didactical orientations?

The study is informed by the theoretical perspective that failures endanger motivation and self-confidence, especially when they are related to a belief in a deficit of one´s own competences (i.e.: Dresel & Ziegler 2006). Empirical research on cultural differences between western and eastern countries focus on the different role of school in society (i.e. Sakurai, 2007). One finding is that Japanese teachers tend to encourage pupils to study even if they do not have enough motivation for learning and are less focused on the concept of giftedness (i.e. Ichikawa 1990; Baumert et al., 1997). One aspect of teachers´didactical orientations is their exposure to failure. In German school system there are selection processes during and between each academic year. In Japan however, the school itself has no function of selection as this is linked to entrance examinations. One could expect that Japanese teachers more tend to treat mistakes as opportunities to learn than German teachers do.

Implicit theories about changeability of intelligence/competences

People have assumptions about the level of their own competences, and they have different theories about the changeability of their own competences (Dweck 1999). These “implicit theories” are important, because they usually correlate to school achievement (Dresel & Ziegler 2006). Concerning implicit theories there is a distinction between two major theories represented by individuals: “(…) there are two major implicit theories of intelligence: the "incremental" theory and the "entity" theory. The first holds that intelligence is a capacity that can be modified and improved with effort and perseverance (i.e., the incremental view); it leads to a focus on developing this capacity by placing priority on personal effort. In the second theory, by contrast, individuals are convinced that intelligence is an immutable trait (i.e., the entity theory); they focus more on performance and abilities, which creates more competitive learning situations.” (Leroy et al. 2007: 531). Dresel & Ziegler (2006) found that competences and individual skills can be improved especially when students as well as teachers are confident about the changeability of these variables and when teachers make this explicit as a central theme.

Teachers´self-efficacy

In distinction from the definition of “self-concept” Moschner & Dickhäuser (2006) describe self-efficacy as a person´s belief in the ability to successfully achieve the necessary manner in order to reach a certain performance. Former research has shown that epistemological beliefs of teachers as well as their self-efficacy has an influence on their planning of teaching and on their use of work forms in lessons (i.e. Helmke 2009).

Teachers’ didactical orientations

Teachers’ didactical orientations depend on different aspects of planning of lessons and actions in class even across domains. Regarding the actual discourse of quality in class (i.e. Helmke, 2009), we can specify different didactical orientations in support of autonomy, individual advancement, cooperation, competition, comparison, orientations in marks, and regarding exposure to failure (Dresel, 2008).

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