This series of symposia started four years ago. At the first conference (1980) three essential elements were found for the development of early infants: blern of relations among infants as cited' above. The third session (1982) took up the problem of leading and discussed the roles and relations of adults as leaders of infants. The fourth session (1983) discussed “Infant development and structure of infant-care”.
The fifth session (1984) discussed the structure of dynamic process of infant-care by analyzing Infant-Teacher relationships in a day-care center.
Tashiro, one of the speakers, tried to examine the relation between nfants (0, 1, and 2 years of age) and teachers, through the analysis of the reports of personal experiences having been read at national infant-care conferences held during the past fifteen years. She paid attention to such plays as ‘bopeep’‘chasing one another’, and‘hide and seek’. The results: bopeep' was considered a play based on the interaction between one infant and one teacher,(2)‘hide and seek’ asked for two teachers to play the two parts: i.e. hiding and seeking ; and (3) teachers's immediate response was considered asimportant to interest infants while at play. She pointed out two things rather difficult for her to analyze the above reports ; little or no mention was made of how each infant was located in the play, and of why each carer behaved o.
Ogino, another speaker, analyzed the dynamic process of infant-caring through observation, that is, by close observation of a VTR in which infants and carers were seen laying in sadpits of three-daycare centers sampled at random.
Ogino first video-recorded, then wrote a diagram of infant-caring process, then recorded episodes (those appro priate to reveal the qualities of infantcaring), and then interviewed the infant-carers about their intentions.
The results were as follows: troubles were caused in the infant-teacher relationship when (1) one could not respond properly to another ; (2) flexibility was lacking ; and (3) when its aim was tconsciously entertained. On the other hand no problems in the infant-teacher relationship were observed when (1) infant-carers cooperated with each other ; (2) various responses were noticed ; (3) each role was differentiated among infant-carers (onecarer telling infant to do so and another encoura
approach, it was pointed out that practical analysis and developmental study. must be made synthetic with each other in order to induce out a great qua-(1) material environment.(2) human relations among infants. and (3) way of leading. The second session (1981) discussed the method of approach to the pro-encouraging him or' her); (4) sonic images were presented by infant-carers ; (5)‘ interaction of one’carer with one infant was followed by another ; (6) the playscene was so structurally presented s to be understood by infants ; and (7) it was devised in such a way that a good relation of a pair o. infant and teacher would influence those of others.
Yamada, a discussant, referred to Tashiro from a psychological viewpoint, saying that those plays were essential activities to one-year-old infant at the stage of language acquisition and self building, since‘not being’implies not only‘negation’but‘description of some thing absent’
Yamada also commented on Ogino, and added that Ogino's way of observation by the use of VTR (hitherto used to make clear the relation of nfant and mother) was a new way of application, but that some abstraction would be necessary to comprehend the cause and its effect.
Tadatsu, another discussant, said that she was deeply impressed, from the psychological point of view, with the real way life was treated adding that the study of hospitalism in America was turning its attention on what was important in order to secure the development of an infant as a human being.
