This study aimed to clarify research activities that formulated a plan to establish a course unit, “A New Kindergarten Home,” conducted by the Tokushima University affiliated Kindergarten in 1954 with reference to the related documents of the time. The following three steps were identified through the study. First, a survey was conducted focusing on the life experience of children. Second, based on the survey results, desirable abilities for five-year-old children were identified and refined curriculum content . Third, a “Table of Abilities of Five-Year-Old Children” was created by organizing these desirable abilities according to the children’s life experience and growth level in order to establish organized and systematic curriculum content in this kindergarten .This unit was planned to encourage children to acquire desirable abilities in an organized and systematic manner under the environment provided by a new kindergarten building along with play newly prepared based on children’s daily life.

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This study clarified how early childhood education was positioned and directed by focusing on political reform from “education” to “learning” that was discussed by the Ad Hoc Council on Education. The related primary documents from the council were analyzed. The council emphasized the importance of developing the initiative of learners, as well as the need to cultivate children’s learning motivation and self-education ability from early childhood. Accordingly, the content of kindergarten education was revised; specifically, early childhood education was considered to be an essential part of the lifelong learning system and should promote the initiative of children that is necessary to live in a learning society.

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We sought to clarify how guilty consciousness of children develops by evaluating their emotional distress, mental stress, and gaze avoidance. Observation study of interactions between an attending childcare practitioner and children (9–18 months old) at a daycare center was conducted to reveal a relationship between children’s guilty consciousness and their behavior of checking the childcare practitioner. Indication of guilty consciousness was observed; however, the children did not apologize or correct their behavior, probably due to the lack of knowledge and experience. Children’s behavior of checking the childcare practitioner was considered to be accompanied by their guilty consciousness, indicating that the checking behavior may play a role in confirming the childcare practitioner’s emotional state and intention. These findings suggest that children aware a guilty consciousness based on trust relationship with a childcare practitioner and learn to realize themselves as persons to be assessed by others.

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To be involved in children’s physical activity is a traditional reason why early childhood care and education (ECCE) stakeholders have positive views on male ECCE practitioners. However, a question remains whether male ECCE practitioners make young children more active compared with female ECCE practitioners. Thus, this study aimed to clarify how children’s physical activity is affected by the gender of children and ECCE practitioners. We conducted an observational study in which boys and girls played tag with their male or female ECCE practitioners. Steps were counted using pedometers. Step counts of boys were lower when playing with female practitioners than with male practitioners. This suggests a possibility that boys’ physical activity is reduced when boys have less opportunity to interact daily with male ECCE practitioners. It is therefore desirable to develop guidelines to include more men in ECCE, which will improve boys’ physical health through promotion of their physical activity.

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This study aimed to clarify in what situations novice childcare teachers feel difficulty in understanding children. Three novice teachers were interviewed about situations in which they felt difficulty in understanding children. The narrative data were qualitatively examined by thematic analysis and the Trajectory Equifinality Model in the Three Layers Model of Genesis. The result identified the following three situations in which the difficulty arose: 1) superficial judgment, 2) inaccurate understanding, and 3) conflict between individual children and a group. It was also found that not only negative perception, but also even positive perception of children can cause the difficulty, and that various factors such as factors within dyadic, children/group-related factors, factors specific to novice teachers, and individual factors related to each teacher’s thought may affect how teachers understand children teacher’s efforts toward improving mutual understanding with children influenced his/her emotion, suggesting that the difficulty is not simply a confusion in understanding.

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This study aimed to elucidate how teachers perceive emotion regulation in kindergarten children, and how children develop relationship with a teacher. Interview with a lead teacher of a five-year-old kindergarten classes was conducted using the in-depth talking method . She regarded emotion regulation as a change in the mindset of children. Specifically, considered that emotion regulation not only facilitates their problem-solving skills but also helps children confront problems result from them; she believedz that five-year-old children naturally acquire this ability.

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From the perspective of affordance, this study clarified how behaviors of three-year-old children were influenced by classroom structure during morning preparation in kindergartens. Visual data were collected from three kindergartens for four months using video cameras. In this study, 1) the duration of children’s preparation was measured, and 2) the episodes of children’s preparation were examined. The results revealed that the classroom environment supportive in morning preparation improved/facilitated its efficiency. It was also found that the classroom environment supportive of physical play provided children with opportunities to do something more than the morning preparation. Items for preparation brought from home also encouraged them to do something more than preparation. The time spent on preparation did not decrease between April and July, suggesting that the supportive classroom structure encouraged children to do more than preparation.

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This study examined experts’ advice on feeding and eating for infants and toddlers in parenting magazines applying content analysis. A total of 43 articles from two parenting magazines published from 2015 to 2019 related to feeding and eating for infants and toddlers were analyzed by focusing on the following four main themes: “child-centered,” “sensitive to mother’s needs,” “controlling” (limiting and being consistent), and “responsive” (warm, sensitive, and use of physical contact). The results showed that experts’ advice highly emphasized “child centered” (n=40, 93%), which values children’s individual differences and autonomy related to eating. The experts’ advice also stressed the importance of “sensitive to mother’s needs” (n=30, 70%), telling mothers not to worry too much and to seek support. Moreover, “controlling” and “responsive parenting styles” were identified in the experts’ advice (n=28, 65% and n=23, 54%, respectively). Finally, the results highlighted Japanese traditional parenting views, characterized as placing great value on the innate goodness of children and the proximal parenting style between mother and child.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify how a kindergarten teacher reconstructed her identity through the formation of child-rearing support practice. Logic used by a kindergarten teacher in the practice was focused on by utilizing the concept of institutional logics in the New Institutional Theory. The author interviewed a kindergarten teacher who had been working on child-rearing support from an early stage. Analysis of the interview data showed that the contradiction between the market logic and community logic triggered the reformation of child-rearing support practice. In addition, it was clarified that the subject was reconstructing her identity by strengthening her autonomy.

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We conducted a self-report survey about turnover of young childcare practitioners and analyzed 179 responses from principals of private kindergartens, registered children’s centers, and nursery schools operated by social welfare corporations. To prevent early turnover, principals considered the following three factors important: “promoting good staff relationship,” “improving work environment,” and “clarifying job description”. In particular, the more “promoting good staff relationship”, the less turnover. Furthermore, they reported that “impression of young childcare workers,” “supporting young childcare workers,” “requests to training schools,” “worries and difficulties about childcare,” and “requests to young childcare practitioners” should be noted when discussing early turnover. These findings suggested that childcare students should improve communication skills and be confident about providing childcare through training.

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