Formation of Children’s New Patterns of Behavior in School:

Analysis of Conversations in which Situations Deviate from the Teacher’s Intentions

Abstract

There are unique behaviors in schools that cannot be observed anywhere else. Children adapt to the environment of their school by learning such specific behavioral patterns. We call this process “scholastic socialization”.

This study aims to elucidate the process through which behavioral patterns that are new to both children and teachers are discovered. To achieve this, we focused on classroom situations in which things did not occur according to teachers’ intentions. One such example occurred among first graders learning hiragana. We analyzed the conversations that took place between children and the teacher and their behavior in a situation where children attempted to identify “mistakes” a teacher made when teaching hiragana.

Based on this analysis, we observed a pattern in the children’s behavior. This pattern consisted of one child standing next to another who was speaking. The children then exchanged places with each other. Additionally, we observed children mimicking how the teacher spoke. In response to such patterns, teachers tended to act out of “helplessness.” In other words, “coacting” between the children and the teacher was established.

We referenced the theory of Vygotsky to examine the relations between the generation of patterns and the establishment of the “coacting” that we observed. According to Vygotsky, children engage in “games of make believe” that includes rule of self-determination. In this case, children adopted the logic of the teacher’s behavior by imitating it. This suggests that it is important for teachers to be able to improvise as they respond to children who perform in such a way, in order for the children to be able to acquire new patterns of behavior.