Abstract
To explore preschool teachers' roles in child development, this study examined preschool teachers' behaviors when children stumbled. Data were obtained from naturalistic observation and interviews. Teachers' behaviors over the 2-year period (3-year-olds & 4-year-olds) were observed, as were interactions between twenty-six children and their teacher at a preschool. Results revealed that the teacher occasionally refrained from getting involved with 4-year-olds out of consideration for the development of the children's emotions. Additional analysis of the effects of teachers' behaviors showed that these behaviors could be classified under the following types: respecting the children's feelings, helping the children to develop their own strengths, and building interpersonal relationships between the children. I therefore conclude that teachers' refraining from getting involved enables the children to confront their own feelings, and offers them an opportunity to engage in emotional regulation.
