In his role as education manager at the Youth Bureau of the Ministry of Education after World War II, Sakamoto Hikotaro greatly contributed to the development and spread of early childhood education. However, before joining the Bureau he had no professional background in early childhood education and had never worked for kindergartens. When exploring his concept of ideal childcare, I became familiar with Oka Masa. This thesis compares the two men’s views of childcare and shows that Oka had a great influence on Sakamoto.

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The purpose of this paper was to use a representative bureaucracy theory to clarify how policies to reduce the child–nursery teacher ratio in municipal nursery schools and childcare centers were affected by whether nursery teachers worked in the municipal offices responsible for these organizations. Logistic regression analysis using data collected from municipalities located in Nagano, Niigata, and Kochi Prefectures showed that municipalities in which at least one nursery teacher worked in the relevant offices were likely to have a policy for reducing the child–nursery teacher ratio. For such policies to successfully improve ECCE process quality, it is important to develop and extend a training system focusing on coaching, whereby ECCE workers can learn a method that is appropriate for the reduced child–nursery teacher ratio and that leads to increased wages.

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This study investigated how 5- and 6-year-olds interacted during drawing activities when using an overhead projector (OHP), which projects images from a transparent sheet onto a large screen. The research involved 10 days’ observation of a preschool class. Data on drawing activities were collected and qualitatively analyzed using an annotation scheme (Theune et al., 2013). The analysis showed that since all children can share the experience of viewing drawings enlarged by the OHP, each child’s image recognition was similar to that of other children. In addition, flexibly changing children’s roles between “characters” and “players” during use of the OHP deepened their understanding of the imaginary situation. It is suggested that drawing activities using an OHP are not simply an expression of aesthetic enjoyment and individual thought, but also a collaborative activity that enhances children’s understanding of each other.

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This study analyzed homemaker parents’ (HPs) and nursery-school parents’ (NPs) narratives and investigated their handling and consciousness regarding acts of rebellion by their 1- to 2-year-old children based on video-cued multivocal ethnography.
Our results indicated that HPs waited for children, whereas NPs negotiated with their children about how to deal with the situation. Time had the most influence on HPs’ reactions, whereas time and coping capacity had the most influence on NPs’ reactions. In terms of their understanding of rebellious acts, HPs relied on self-reflection, whereas NPs relied on educational policy. Both HPs and NPs discussed negative feelings; only HPs mentioned positive feelings. Differences in the narratives of HPs and NPs were associated with the length of time they spent with their children and with lifestyle differences.

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The focus of this study was the role of caregivers with many experiences for children with disability in developing the motor skills of children with autism spectrum disorders. The methodology consisted of a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with four veteran caregivers. Following the results and discussion, the study identified ways in which caregivers (1) provided appropriate environments and support for motor development, (2) facilitated children’s daily life activities, (3) encouraged interest, positive attitude, motivation, play, and enjoyment, and (4) supported early childhood development to facilitate future leisure activities. Consideration of the relationship between motor activity and children’s sensory development, psychological development, daily life activities, and future lives will not only help children improve motor skills, but also increase the effectiveness of the support provided.

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Among 10,000 Japanese kindergartens, nearly 70% are operated privately. Since many private kindergartens are multigenerational, family-run businesses, management is the primary role of the director. Therefore, the head teacher is likely to be responsible for improving the quality of all practices at each institution. The purpose of this study was to examine how head teachers at Japanese private kindergartens interpret their roles as leaders. We interviewed eight head teachers from eight private kindergartens. The interview data were analyzed through M-GTA (Kinoshita, 2003). Leadership roles were divided into 25 concepts, nine categories and three core categories. The head teachers regarded the following as leaders’ roles: connecting directors and staff members (e.g., transferring information between them), and bringing staff members together by coordinating curricula, giving advice, and providing care and support. At the same time, they experienced the dilemma of feeling of being caught between the two roles.

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The effects of tokenism in the career formation process of male nursery teachers were investigated, and methods to support these teachers were examined using trajectory equifinality modeling, which simulates the process of development while considering the effects of society and culture. The results identified the following four characteristics of tokenism in male nursery teachers: (1) there is diversity in female childcare providers, which are in the majority; (2) advantages of tokenism are often seen in the career formation process; (3) tokenism is associated with the emotions of male nursery teachers; and (4) tokenism has different functions. The results also suggested two effects of tokenism: (1) ensuring the diversity of the people involved, and (2) facilitating understanding of the emotions of male nursery teachers.

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The purpose of this research was to characterize changes in the mindset of a lunch staff member who worked for childcare facilities, by assessing transitions in his work environment and practical experience. The subject of the study was a staff member who engaged in menu preparation and cooking at a certified early childhood education and care (ECEC) center. Before joining the ECEC center, he had wanted to work with children, which this research defines as being child-oriented. This study qualitatively analyzed eight years of his career to clarify how his mindset changed during this period. It was clear that his present viewpoint of practice was established through the opportunity to directly interact with children and work in an environment that encouraged professional challenges.

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This study examined factors that determine turnover intention among early childhood teachers and suggests measures to prevent it. We conducted a web-based questionnaire survey that targeted 574 early childhood teachers, both veteran and newly appointed. Multiple regression analysis revealed that factors determining turnover intention among early childhood teachers were associated to a large degree with variables such as age, institutional management body, salary, average working days per month, and work flexibility. As measures to reduce turnover intention, we suggest continuing to improve working conditions for nursery teachers and creating flexible work systems conducive to a good balance between work and family.

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The purpose of this research was to analyze leader and member behavior using SL theory to clarify the transformation process of the group function in group activities for childcare students. After interviewing leaders and performing analysis using SCAT, we divided group activities into two periods: leadership exploration and leadership establishment. During the leadership exploration period, both task behavior and relationship behavior were low. During the leadership establishment period, task behavior was high and relationship behavior varied depending on the leader’s recognition of member motivation. When a leader recognized that a member’s motivation was high, relationship behavior was high, and the converse was also true.

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The purposes of this article are to review recent research on early childhood education and care (ECEC) from international perspectives and to discern which issues should be addressed for future ECEC success in Japan. This article consists of three parts: it highlights the influences of globalization and the trends of international ECEC policy; it reviews the research on “quality beyond regulation” and the research on “beyond quality,” which are the dominant and alternative perspectives, respectively, regarding ECEC in the context of Japan; and it discusses three points from the results of the Starting Strong Survey 2018, including excellence, issues of Japanese ECEC, and the perspectives of children who are brought up in a society that lives in harmony with nature and includes diversity.

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