In this article, referring to the concept "focus as the object of attention," the author tries to categorize teachers' "controlling conducts," that is, conducts to stop pupils' undesirable activities in the lessons, such as chatting and walking around. Through this categorization, the author argues that teachers can control pupils by accepting pupils' focuses; for example, by chatting with pupils for a while. This finding contributes to solving classroom disorders, which recently have become a serious problem in schools in Japan. As the result of discourse analysis of classroom conversations, the author found two criteria to categorize controlling conducts; (1) which focus is more impressive at the moment, the teacher's or the pupils'? (2) Which focus does the teacher give priority to, try to force pupils to give up their focuses, or accept pupils' focuses for a while? The author suggests that the teacher gives up his focus on subject matters when pupils' focuses are more impressive. Chatting with pupils is a typical example of the teacher giving up his focus. In this way, teachers often succeed in stopping pupils from chatting in a few moments. Sometimes, it is more effective than shouting "Quiet please" or "Look at the blackboard." Even student volunteers at their first meeting with pupils can use such strategies successfully. The author explains as follows; Teachers can attract pupils' attention easily by joining in chatting about pupils' own focuses. After that, it is not so hard to tell pupils something about the subject being studied. These controlling conducts have traditionally been made by teachers. Understanding their theoretical foundations, the author proposes that researchers and administrators should not blame such kinds of conduct by the teacher as chaos, but of as a part of teaching strategies.

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The author tries to propose the necessity of reexamination of children, who acquire high appraisal by adults, from a critical viewpoint. For the purpose, she describes theater and music workshop child participant's behaviors and adults' assessment. The child's behaviors are: 1) he always listens to instructors very carefully and expresses that he is doing so, 2) he proposes ideas to firmly realize instructions and spontaneously proposes good ideas on how to conduct training, 3) he accepts other children's opinions and never insists on his own ideas. The author pointed out three problems of the child based on the findings from the research on collapsed "good child" which shows 1) he never demonstrates physical expression of pleasure, 2) he behaves mainly in terms of the results rather than enjoying the process, 3) he tends to inhibit himself considering others. She shows the possibility that his "good child behavior" collapses in the future. Through the examination, she also asserts the necessity of multilateral examinations of children who acquire high admiration by adults, not only from positive aspects but even from negative and critical perspectives whether the child has potential problem of "good child" that may collapse their behaviors in future.

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Universities for teacher education have done the practice teaching so far. In the last few years, many universities have recognized importance further to gain a lot of experience of educational practice. Thus the opportunities of school volunteers tend to increase. On the other side, it has never been studies whether the difference of each activity of school volunteer influenced the teacher trainee student's learning. The purpose of this study is to clarify student's learning effect in the school volunteer of different form of activity. More specifically, it made comparative study of the case of the activity with the team teaching and the case only of the consultation of study to children after school. For that purpose, I analyzed the questionnaire survey and the record gathered from 111 students. As a result, when occasioning for there was team teaching and not existing, it was understood that there is a difference in the learning effect. Namely, the following results were obtained: 1) It was effective when there is team teaching in the point of expanding width concerning how to advance the teaching practice and the settlement method to the children's misconception. 2) It was effective when there is no team teaching in the sense of responsibility as school teacher, the teaching style of teacher trainee student owns way.

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I consider the conditions for avoiding the "immobilization" of the curriculum even while pursuing the "form" of a curriculum. Examining the "Akashi plan", a typical example of a Core Curriculum, as case study. I argue that there are four conditions: (1) That the overarching purpose of the curriculum be the cultivation of a holistic "ideal human" (2) That a curriculum sequence be set up which considers the projected "continuous development of the pupil" (3) Centering life activities in the curriculum, in addittion to conducting "practical use" of various elements, to realize such a "whole"/"continuous" curriculum. (4) That the curriculum be continuously revised in light of actual practice. I analysed how the above conditions were realized within and without units ("Tangen") by making a list of study bulletins and a table of units. In addition, about "Kyoiku Saian (a detailed education plan)" concerning two units, I clarified what was actually revised. Ultimately, difficulties arose in planning beforehand the core curriculum's holistic form because the ideal human was derived from individual pupils. "Form" in itself as "a master plan" of the Core Curriculum was dismantled to watch every individual child, to develop multiple units of a group according to their desires. However, this process also entailed an unfortunate tradeoff that led to the further division within subjects and courses.

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The purpose of this paper is to make clear methods of evaluation of writing ability as content literacy. I discuss them from the standpoint of developing writing ability. Before 1960, in educational evaluation, scientific-positivistic approach was the center of evaluation. But, it was criticized in 1960s. The paradigm of educational evaluation changed from scientific-positivistic approach to naturalistic one, and a variety of approaches of educational evaluation appeared. "Fourth Generation Evaluation", suggested by Guba, E. G. and Lincoln, Y. S., is an approach based on naturalistic approach. "Fourth Generation Evaluation" gives stakeholders the authority to evaluate. In "Fourth Generation Evaluation", stakeholders negotiate each other to reach a consensus. The "negotiation" is the key idea in this evaluation approach and offers important viewpoints to evaluate writing ability as content literacy. I discuss that the method of "Fourth Generation Evaluation" is effective in evaluating writing ability as content literacy.

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This paper considers the process from abolition of streaming to mixed ability classes which progressed from the 1960s to the 70s in England. For about 30 years from 1930 to 1960, the method of group organization called streaming which classifies children according to ability was the popular method of class organization in England. Streaming moved towards abolition by criticism to intelligence quotient theory in the second half of the 1950s. This movement called non-streaming advanced in the 1960s, followed by the mixed ability classes spreading as a class organization form replaced with streaming in the 1970s. It was considered to be a problem of the class organization method. But, in fact, it was a problem of teaching methods rather than the class organization method. The abolition of streaming is due to the introduction of mixed ability classes, at the same time the reconsideration of class instruction techniques. This paper examines the process from the ability classes to mixed ability classes paying attention to the reconsideration of class instruction techniques. In conclusion, I show that the introduction of mixed ability classes in secondary school was not only changing the method of class organization, but the development of new teaching method according to a child's individuality was reguired.

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The purpose of this paper is to clarify historical development and characteristics of project method in Germany. In particular, I consider to Michael Knoll's remarks on project method, based on his historical research. According to him, in Germany, John Dewey's educational thought is mentioned in the argument for project method. I explore the context of these disputable interpretations in Germany. Then I analyze the practice of project method standing on Dewey's educational thought and another practice. At last, from this research, I judge the validity of Knoll's remarks. In Germany, the translation edited by Peter Petersen in 1935 has been the ground to believe that Dewey's educational thought laid the theoretical foundation of project method. Such idea has developed in Renaissance of Dewey's theory about school and in progress on the practice of the project method. Actually, these concepts of project method in Germany which have little historical research have some characteristics of the project method of William H. Kilpatrick. However, Knoll's remarks have a few defects in following points. In Germany, differed from Kilpatrick's project method, teachers guide students in project, there is practice which is not based on Dewey's idea, and the practice of project method is wider than historical concept of that.

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This paper aims to clarify the concept of G. H. Mead's "Play". Mead (1863-1931) was one of the famous American Pragmatists and referred to Progressive Education from the late 20th century to the early 21st century. He was anxious about the separate situation of educational contents and methods between kindergarten and elementary school and claimed to solve that problem by reconsidering the whole school system from the perspective of play. Play includes an aesthetic phase and for Mead, this "aesthetic" meant "to catch the enjoyment that belongs to consummation" and "to compose it into something of the joy and satisfaction that suffuse its successful accomplishment". Children play at painting, dramatizing and storytelling of their own accord in kindergarten. They experience the whole cosmology of that play, and play includes the aesthetic, concrete, and familiar social phase to children. Mead pointed out that play also occupied an important position in children's self genesis. This aesthetic phase of play had not been pointed out previously, but it is of equivalent importance to the placement of self genesis. Moreover, his indication of play is useful for the modern Japanese kindergarten and elementary educational circumstances.

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The purpose of this paper is to clarify how a former president of APW in GDR, Neuner evaluates GDR-didactics by focusing on the concept of "Allgemeinbildung". His argument about Allgemeinbildung based on the "Bildungskanon" was reduced to the following three points by considering his articles after German unification. (1) Neuner's concept of Allgemeinbildung was developed with returning to the Humboldt's plan of Allgemeinbildung. (2) Neuner's concept was developed in relationship with Klafki's plan of "Schlusselproblem". (3) Neuner developed his concept in connection with the recent globality and internationalization. As the result, the following are clarified. Neuner indicated the importance of the "Bildungskanon" with referring the Humboldt's plan, and insisted on the "Fachunterricht" based on the concept. And then, he maintained the appropriate proportion of the educational fields, as he criticized the recent movement of plan of "Schlusselproblem" as "Entkanosierung". In addition, by considering his concept of "Allgemeinbildung in der Gegenwart", it is clear that he emphasized the modern meaning of the concept of Allgemeinbildung based on the "Bildungskanon", Lehrplan in GDR, and the united school system that supported GDR-education in connection with the present-day discussions about pedagogy.

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The purpose of this study is to clarify and to compare perceptions of early childhood education as representations of tacit practical knowledge of Japanese and German early childhood educators, using video-cued multi-vocal ethnography. For the method for analysis, the authors interpreted the data with identifying key words included most frequently in the discourse of early childhood educators, and categorizing the contents of sentences that include those key words. In doing so, one can speculate that which key words are commonly used between cultures of Japanese and German early childhood education, and what is argued by those terminologies. The central themes of each culture's own shared perception and practical knowledge regarding early childhood education are depicted through such analysis. As a result, three common themes are found: 'respect for children's autonomy and independence/opposition to teachers' instruction', 'standpoint of emphasizing children's social development', and 'concern for safety'. However, the internal structures of those perspectives are different from Japanese to German concepts, reflecting each country's history, culture, and system of early childhood education. Elucidating such differences gave meaningful suggestions for educational reform in both countries. Also, 'consideration for traditional gender role' emerged as a unique category from the German side. This point, though, does not resulted only from the difference in culture of early childhood education, but also from the cultures of each society as a whole.

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