Abstract
This study investigated characteristics of questions from teachers in 4–5-year-old children’s cooperative plays and activities in kindergarten. Based on educational guidance plans and teachers’ stories gathered in an interview, we analyzed differences with regard to questions from teachers of different grades for various cooperative plays and activities. Our three main findings were as follows. (1) Teachers’ questions related mainly to children’s intentions and mental pictures for all situations and grades. (2) In cooperative plays, we found differences in questions relating to intentions and mental pictures of children and teachers between the grades, reflecting the different roles of teachers in different grades. (3) In cooperative activities, we identified differences in questions relating to teachers’ intentions and possibilities of children’s behavior between the grades, reflecting that children’s experience in early childhood education varies by grade.
