Numerous research has shown that quality of interactions between early childhood teachers and children contribute significantly to children's holistic development. Most literature on this topic comes from developed/Western countries and little is known about the kind of interactions occurring within the Soka kindergarten model. This article, based…

Despite increasing rates of university attendance among women, a significant gender gap remains in socialisation and educational processes in Japan. To understand why and how gender-distinctive socialisation processes persist, this study aimed to examine both middle-class and working-class mothers' beliefs about gender, education, and children's…

Teachers' perspectives of play differ widely because of social and cultural influences that can be seen in their values and beliefs about play in different countries. In a global community, sharing educators' knowledge of play and their perspectives of how to educate children through the use of play would be appropriate and complementary in…

The impact of social class backgrounds on young children's educational experiences has attracted increasing attention in early childhood research. However, few longitudinal studies related to social class and parental involvement in young children's education are available, especially in East Asian contexts. In this longitudinal qualitative study,…

Two Japanese universities are undertaking a research program in child language by studying children's verbal and nonverbal development, sponsoring lectures on child language and holding an annual symposium on related subjects. (CK)

Reviews two recent books that place the discussion of Japanese education within the social and psychological context of Japanese culture. One book depicts Japanese society's commitment to children; the other explores conceptual and empirical issues related to U.S.-Japanese comparative studies in child development. (RH)

The seven articles in this annual report concern aspects of attachment, social interaction among parents and children, temperament, affective behavior, and/or research methodology. Aspects of attachment and temperament are addressed in Kazuo Miyake's study of the "Relation of Temperamental Disposition to Classification of Attachment,"…

This annual report presents several articles related to the work of the Clinical Center for Child Development at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The articles are: (1) "Intrinsic Musicality: Rhythm and Prosody in Infant-Directed Voices" (Niki Powers); (2) "Movable Cognitive Studies with a Portable, Telemetric Near-Infrared…

This theme issue contains six articles on the development of infants and toddlers: (1) "Cross-Cultural Studies of Child Development: Implications for Clinicians" (J. Kevin Nugent); (2) "Therapeutic Work with African-American Families: Using Knowledge of the Culture" (Cheryl Polk); (3) "Psychotherapy in Specific Cultural…