Intrinsic and Altruistic Motivation Among Worker Co-Operative Participants: Text Mining Analysis Based on the Reporting Activities at the Zoo

The Japanese government is encouraging local governments to transition junior high school extracurricular activities to community-led initiatives to address excessive teacher workloads and teacher shortages. Previous research has suggested that worker co-operatives may play a role in facilitating this transition. This study focuses on the “Children’s Editing Club.” In their reporting activity students interview workers and write reports. The purpose of the investigation is to confirm in which aspects of this program students’ intrinsic and altruistic motivations are elicited. Surveys were conducted of students who participated in reporting activities at two different zoos, and text-mining analysis was performed to extract frequently occurring words from both sets of responses. The results indicated that interview activities with interviewees elicited intrinsic motivation in students. Furthermore, the findings suggested that increased opportunities for communication among students could promote altruistic motivation. The results suggest that local organizations can act as hubs connecting students with society.