This study examined the effects of positive behavior support (PBS)-based childcare in a nursery class that includes children with neurodevelopmental disorders. We investigated whether class-wide PBS promoted desirable behaviors among children. In a 5-year-old class where children’s undesirable behaviors were often observed during snack preparation, we implemented PBS-based intervention to encourage children to behave in desirable ways. The time required for the preparation was shortened and positive interactions among children were enhanced, indicating that the PBS-based intervention promoted desirable behavior and prosocial behavior. These findings suggest the effectiveness of this approach, particularly in improving snack preparation behavior that requires special consideration.

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The aim of this study was to clarify difficulties faced by nursery teachers and nurses upon performing their individual tasks and collaborating in nursery schools where children with medical care were involved. Interviews with homeroom nursery teachers, nursing professionals, and managers in nursery schools that accept children with medical care revealed the following two findings: 1) In order for childcare and nursing professionals to share tasks flexibly and collaborate effectively, a mutual understanding is essential, which is promoted by respecting each other’s expertise and responsibility. 2) It is important for them to share information and consult with each other through effective communication, timely reporting, and close coordination; especially, it is encouraged to share childcare policies, goals, and prospect, as well as individual children’s growth status at meetings.

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This study aimed to clarify how a young childcare teacher realized the developmental disability of a child of foreign origin and reached the correct diagnosis. Using the autonomous visualization in the Parallel Trajectory Equifinality Modeling, I conducted a bi-monthly interview of a young childcare teacher with two years of experience in early childhood education and care regarding her relationship with a two-year-old child of foreign origin. The narrative data were qualitatively examined using thematic analysis and the Trajectory Equifinality Modeling in the Three Layers Model of Genesis. Consequently, The results suggested that the childcare teacher’s conflicts in building a relationship with the child of foreign origin with developmental disabilities: 1) diagnosis of developmental disability was likely to be hampered by verbal communication barrier, and 2) teacher’s effort of trying to understand the child and building an appropriate environment enabled the teacher to focus attention on non-verbal issues, thus promoting inclusive orientation of the child.

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This study sought to shed light on the emotional journey of inclusive childcare practitioners across different experience levels, highlighting the potential for growth and improvement. Focus group interviews were conducted with seven new, seven mid-career, and six experienced kindergarten teachers. Steps for Coding And Theorization(SCAT) analysis performed on verbatim transcripts revealed diverse views and difficulties faced by teachers depending on different experience levels. Some difficulties were not simply a result of gaining experience and improving their practice, but also a result of gaining new perspectives. These findings suggest that accurately understanding the difficulty and overcoming it with the entire kindergarten will lead to quality improvements in kindergartens.

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In recent years, the number of children with special needs in childcare centers has been increasing, and there is a growing need for collaboration between childcare workers and outside experts. However, various issues have been pointed out regarding multidisciplinary collaboration in childcare. This paper reviews and analyzes previous studies on the basis of the activity system model to clarify the historical transition process and current issues of multidisciplinary collaboration in childcare. The results revealed historically recurring processes and tensions that are likely to manifest in childcare. These findings are considered to be a resource for the development of multidisciplinary collaboration.

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This study clarified the significance of a multidisciplinary team that practiced comprehensive support at a community child-rearing support center for 10 years. Semi-structured interviews were administered to five former staff members of the center to analyze their multidisciplinary narratives for collaborative learning. The knotworking theory of Yrjö Engeström (2008) was applied to analyze the verbatim data. The result revealed that the sense of security provided by multiple professions improved the users’ comfort level, indicating the need for (1) the creation of an atmosphere of consultation and acceptance, (2) sensitivity to the needs and collaborative decision-making, (3) shared initiative, (4) preventive support by a new professional group formed over a long time, and (5) multidisciplinary team according to the actual situation in the region. In the new trend of strengthening comprehensive support to child rearing, the significance of multidisciplinary teams, which did not exist previously, was demonstrated.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the difficulties and issues faced by students with developmental disabilities and by institutions that accept them for practical training. We conducted two studies. In the first study, a questionnaire survey was administered to students at childcare training institutions. The result revealed that students with developmental disabilities suffered low mental health, experienced anxiety, and had difficulty in seeking support. In the second study, an interview survey was conducted with students with developmental disabilities and their supervisors of practical training. The result suggested that the difficulties that the students experienced were caused by their developmental disabilities. However, the students were unaware of their own characteristics and did not seek support, leading to misunderstandings between students and supervisors. These results suggest that childcare training institutions should identify students who need support without waiting for requests from them, initiate support to promote students’ self-understanding, and share information and collaborate with supervisors at training institutions before practical training.

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This study aimed to clarify teachers’ perceptions of early childhood education and care (ECEC) during the time of children leaving kindergarten/nursery for the day through a systematic literature review. The result showed that ECEC research mainly focused on the following five topics: extended-hours of kindergarten, extended-day nursery, both of extended hours of kindergarten and extended day nursery, activities before returning home, and how children return home. Ueno’s qualitative analysis was then applied to articles exploring teachers’ perceptions of ECEC during the time of children leaving kindergarten/nursery for the day. The analysis results clarified an issue that teachers were concerned about how ECEC should be provided during children’s leaving time, which should be addressed in future studies.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the role of the Hokkaido Research Council of Education for Children with Speech and Language Disorders (“Council”) and its affiliated committee (“Committee”) in establishing the Resource Room for Young Children with Speech and Language Disorders (“Resource Room”). Case studies reported by the Council and Committee were reviewed. It was found that fact finding surveys, together with dissemination of survey results, conducted by the Council and Committee was an important factor that promoted the establishment of policies related to early childhood support and the Resource Room This finding suggests that an expert group consisting of the Council and Ccommittee was a driving force in developing the Resource Room in Hokkaido.

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