The Relationship between a Child Care Worker and a Researcher in Their Narratives :

From a Clinical Viewpoint of Child Care

Abstract

This study is a cooperative study conducted by a child care worker and a researcher. The researcher observed her care activities and after each session of child care, they discussed her care. This study analyzed their narratives to examine how the child care worker made decisions about her child care. The result shows that there are two stages in the narratives. In the first stage; both the child care worker and the researcher were in a psychologically equal position, or a sort of "parallel relationship," as the child care worker narrated what she thought in her daily care. This stage is based on their wish to understand each other. This relationship led to what might be termed "the conversational relationship." In the conversational relationship, they formed cooperative contexts for child care. These features suggest that such a relationship between a child care worker and a researcher is as important in a clinical narrative setting as in a conference for child care.