In recent years, Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) facilities have extended operating hours. After class activities end, some children leave while others remain at the facility. Thus, teachers encounter a flow of time distinct from daytime care, and it involves a dynamic process. This study examines how teachers perceive this flow during the children’s leaving time. Interviews were conducted with five teachers holding different positions at the same nursery school, and the data were analyzed using the Trajectory Equifinality Approach (TEA). The analysis revealed that the dismissal flow progressed through three phases. “Transitioning to ‘Going Home’ Mode,” “The Peak of Picking Up Children,” and “Towards the End of the Day,” ultimately reaching the Equifinality Point (EFP) of “Ensuring all children are leaving by the extended care program’s closing time.” In “The Peak of Picking Up Children,” amid overlapping demands such as teachers clocking out and concentrated pick-up times, teachers implicitly divided roles. They assisted departing children, interacted with parents, cared for remaining children, and managed other tasks while progressing toward the EFP.

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This study examines the developmental trajectory of relational self within care ethics using the Trajectory Equifinality Approach (TEA). The analysis traces how mothers of children with disabilities form mutually trusting ties within a care network and, through the development of relational self, come to exercise political agency and participate in activities that contribute to “socializing the world,” and undergo value changes across this process. The results indicated that the following three symbols promote connection to the care network: (1) recognition of the child as an individual rather than primarily as a child with disability, (2) relief regarding the child’s independence, and (3) mutual trust within the community. This shift was driven by a transformation in the meaning of “ordinary,” which excluded the child, into “special,” which oriented the child toward connection. Across the entire trajectory, “audacity” to resist culturally constructed roles emerged as a critical enabling factor.

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In this study, we used the Trajectory Equifinality Approach to visualize the career decision-making processes of four students with mild intellectual disabilities and examined appropriate approaches for career development support. Trajectory Equifinality Modeling (TEM) illustrated the process by which students selected career paths while deepening their self-understanding and fostering social engagement and a sense of role through workplace training. Furthermore, the Social Guidance and Social Direction depicted by TEM were classified using the KJ method. Four perspectives were identified as factors influencing the decision-making and behaviors leading to postgraduation career decisions. Based on these perspectives, the following were found to be important in career development support: “career development support that begins with students’ ‘likes’ and ‘enjoyment’ ”; “deepening learning through the interaction between classroom learning and workplace training”; “promoting social participation by building interpersonal relationships and a sense of role in the workplace”; and “expanding career options by presenting diverse role models.”

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