The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of early childhood education based on relationships of mutual trust, focusing on the changes in these relationships. The results were obtained by interviewing kindergarten teachers and childcare practitioners. Firstly, more than half of the childcare practitioners referred to the changes in children as including 【stability of emotions】，【attitudes of self-expression】，【building friendships】 and 【social external expression】. In particular， additional reference was made to the relationship between stability of emotions and attitudes of self-expression. Secondly， more than half of childcare practitioners referenced changes in 【self-fulfillment】 and 【improvement practices】, which were reported to occur simultaneously in the child and parent， but did not appear independently. These findings suggest that building a relationship of mutual trust with children that considers both the aforementioned changes in the children and parents and that fosters childcare practitioners and practice will reinforce the perception of the importance of highly specialized childcare practitioners.

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Effects of motivation for learning on practical training achievements of students receiving prior guidance for practical training in nursery schools were examined. In Analysis 1, the “Scale of Motivation for Learning in Students Receiving Prior Guidance for Practical Training” which consists of the following sub-scales was developed: mastery/child orientation, intrinsic motivation, indifference, approval/comparison orientation, and sense of duty. Mastery/child orientation and intrinsic motivation had positive correlations with the degree of wish to become a nursery school teacher, the sense of aptitude for nursery teaching, and preschool teacher efficacy, and negative correlations with psychological stress responses before receiving practical training. It was also indicated that indifference, approval/comparison orientation, and the sense of duty had positive correlations with psychological stress responses before practical training. Analysis 2, confirmed that mastery/child orientation and intrinsic motivation improved the achievements of practical training by increasing the degree of wishing to become a nursery school teacher, recognition of skills development as preschool teachers, and evaluation of practical training, mediated by the engagement in practical training. The above findings indicated the need for developing the adaptive learning motivation of students enrolled in nursery school teacher training schools.

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Acceptance by pre-school teachers has been regarded as one of the foundations of early childhood education and care. However, it is hard to say that its essence has been confirmed and shared. The purpose of this study is to clarify the perception of acceptance by pre-school teachers. As a method, we conducted a questionnaire survey focusing on free writing for kindergartens, nursery schools, and certified centers for early childhood education and care. We performed a quantitative analysis on free descriptions using text mining software. As a result, the following three points became clear. 1) From the extracted words, children are the center of acceptance by pre-school teachers, and the relationship between acceptance, trust, and self-esteem is clearly shown. 2) The characteristics of the perception of acceptance were found in each of the three groups of beginners, middle-ranking teachers, and skilled teachers with a focus on the number of years of pre-school teachers’ experience, suggesting differences due to accumulated experience and differences in positions. 3) On the other hand, a common way of thinking was found between beginners and skilled teachers even though they were generational, and suggestions for common understanding and training were obtained. Based on these results, we discussed future specific research issues related to acceptance by pre-school teachers.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify the change of thinking and behavior of teachers who learn Choice Theory psychology and practice it in the educational setting, and to consider that study of Choice Theory is effective for building relationships with others and maintaining motivation for work. We practiced the theory of choice in X prefecture at the educational setting, conducted semi-structured interviews with three teachers who worked in elementary school or junior high school, or had work experience, and analyzed using SCAT (Steps for Coding and Theorization). As a result, (1) with regard to the relationship with children and students, every teacher changes his or her own thinking and behaviors and engages in satisfying the children’s and students’ “love-belonging needs” to build good human relationships with children and students. They seemed to be trying to fulfill their own “love-belonging needs”. (2) Regarding the relationship with colleagues, each teacher understands them through daily communication rather than keeping a psychological distance from colleagues who are different from their own thoughts and colleagues isolated from the surroundings, and reflects on their thoughts. I was doing it. This caused changes only in the thinking and behavior of colleagues. As a result, the teachers who learned the Choice Theory showed a willingness to work enthusiastically.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of childcare training on improvement of practical childcare skills and its promoting factors. The participants were 130 university students of a nursery teacher training course. Before and after childcare training, the participants were asked to respond to the “Practical Childcare Skills Standards (Relationships with Children),” and the rating scale on the degree of self-confidence in building relationships with children and caregivers. As a result, it was found that “communication skills necessary for childcare practice,” “ability to plan childcare,” and “ability to expand childcare developmentally.” improved after childcare training. In addition, it was confirmed that participants’ self-confidence in relationships with children and caregivers before and after childcare training had a positive influence on their practical childcare skills after childcare training.

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The specialty of childcare work was reexamined based on the theory of aptitude, and an integrated model was developed to comprehensively and systematically identify this specialty. Firstly, vocational aptitude in industrial and organizational psychology was explained, and the usefulness, as well as problems of utilizing the “model of three aspects of aptitude” (Osawa, 1989) for understanding the specialty of childcare work, was examined. Secondly, a “concentric circle model of the aptitude of childcare workers” (concentric circle model) was suggested by applying the hierarchical structure to the three aspects of the above model. Moreover, the model and procedure of developing the model were explained. Thirdly, the outlines of previous studies were described, and the concept of the specialty was concretely examined based on the three layers of aptitude in the concentric circle model: ability (outer layer), attitude (middle layer), and personality (core layer). The diverse concept of the specialty converged in one direction based on the concentric circle model, which was expected to form the basis of studies on this specialty. It was suggested that the validity of the hierarchical model be examined, and studies on the aptitude of the attitude of childcare workers should be promoted.

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[in Japanese]

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