Abstract
This study examined the difference of nursery teachersʼ focus points by years of experience when
they judge childrenʼs interests. 10 novice nursery teachers and 10 experienced nursery teachers wrote
about childrenʼs interests after twice watching a video of three—year—old children playing in the sandbox.
According to Japanese childcare guidelines, nursery teachers must understand childrenʼs feelings and
motivation. However, the results of the analysis showed all nursery teachers focused on children cooperating and playing with other children or nursery teachers, and children repeating the same behavior.
Thus, the teachers focused on four elements to help them understand childrenʼs interests. Also, as for
novice teachers, after watching the video the first and second time, there was a significant difference in
the amount of notes they took in regard to childrenʼs cooperation. As for experienced teachers, there was
also a marked difference between the first and second time they watched the video in regard to motivation. Therefore, this study reveals that nursery teachers focused on motivation rather than cooperation in
accordance with years of experience.
