Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the educational significance of the communication the pre-school children maintain with elder citizens. The study was conducted at the nursing care centers for the elderly that also provide day care survice for pre-school children. Chosen were the centers that maintained constant contacts between the elderlies and the pre-school children, and the situations involving communication between the two parties were observed, while the staff at the centers were interviewd. The data gathered were qualitatively analyzed. The results describe four aspects of the pre-school children's experiences : verification of one's own value, acceptance by elders, recognition of one's own self through communication with adults, and cultural education. The elderlies played a role similar to that of their grandparents, suggesting that the children felt at ease with them. In addition, children seemed to have mini-experience of the real world by communicating with the elderlies. Furthermore, the results of our interview suggest that the environment in which the children's activities are taking place in the presence of elderlies with disability may very well provide them with a basic understanding of normalization on a daily basis. In other words, exposure to such an environment may help the pre-school children to be easily accepting people with disability while preparing them to be adaptable to society.
