Factors that Enhance the General-Purpose Spatial Ability of Middle School Students in East Asia

A large-scale survey was conducted in Japan, Taiwan, and the coastal area of mainland China to analyze subject-dependent spatial ability, likes and dislikes of each subject content, impressions toward experiments, observation, design, and fabrication, and factors that enhance the general-purpose spatial ability of junior high school students. This survey revealed the following four points. 1. Japan has a high level of subject-dependent spatial ability. Japan’s textbooks focus on improving spatial ability. 2. General-purpose spatial ability is high in Beijing and Japan. Japan and Taiwan have increased their general spatial ability through astronomy learning. Beijing’s growth/progress is in areas other than astronomy. 3. Similar to/Like the case of Japan, Beijing's students with high general-purpose spatial ability also have high subject-dependent spatial ability, but their subject-dependent spatial ability is lower than Japan’s. 4. Japan tends to have less daily experience in manufacturing, repairing, and participating in technical events. This is partly due to the lack of parental experience. Another issue to be addressed in the future is that few students in Japan believe that their abilities have been enhanced through learning manufacturing.