To examine children's patterns of social interaction in group care, the activities and verbal behavior of 50 preschool children attending 5 Japanese day care centers in metropolitan Tokyo were observed and recorded during a total of 20 minutes of free play for each child. Participants were equally dispersed across five age categories each…

This study was conducted to investigate the long-term validity of the Japanese version of the Denver Developmental Screening Test (JDDST). Participating in the initial assessment were 1230 children in Tokyo and 600 children in Iwate who were between 1 month and 6 years of age when assessed between 1975 and 1979. Participants in the 1983 and 1985…

A preschool teacher in Japan tells how she uses "the artifacts of advancement," such as the songs children have become familiar with through watching television, to educate "the feeling heart" of young children and lead them to involvement with and appreciation of nature. After a description of the Sasanoha kindergarten in…

Japanese children are socialized to internalize parental, group, and institutional norms. Japanese adults believe "good" children to be sunao (cooperative). Sunao is difficult to translate into English, but can be thought of as being gentle and spirited. This paper presents a study that examined and described feelings and thoughts of…

This paper analyzes the state of the world's educational broadcasting community following the rapid changes in the 1980s. The future prospects of educational television and radio broadcasting are discussed based on a summary of the Worldwide Survey of 48 foreign countries which was conducted in 1989, and a review of the presentations given by…

Issues and elements of case study research are explored and illustrated with the example of a case study of a kindergarten in a suburb of Tokyo (Japan). Case study research is a type of qualitative research that concentrates on a single unit or entity, with boundaries established by the researcher. The case is an example drawn from a larger class,…

This paper describes the development and implementation of an intensive summer course in English as a Second Language (ESL) designed for children aged 4-5. Planning included development of a curriculum and instructional materials based on theory and practice in the teaching of young children, English language learning and instruction, and…

This discussion compares Japan and the United States in terms of: (1) perceptions of children and childhood; (2) parents and parenting; (3) the preschool system; and (4) the social structure of child care settings. It is asserted that the most profound difference between Japanese and American perceptions of children may be that in Japan the…

Introducing preschool-age children to people of diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds and cultural practices is becoming one of the central features of early educational programming. This study used a pre-test post-test design with a control to assess such an educational intervention aimed at positively influencing American preschoolers' attitudes…

By the age of 4, children typically have separate schema for relating events in the physical world and for relating events to associated mental states. Generally, these schema cannot be coordinated until around 6 years of age, when the ability to use them together yields a structure for assigning intentionality. This intentional structure develops…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a natural environment language training procedure that combined the mand-model procedure and the time delay procedure for the acquisition of noun signs and for the spontaneous use of the signs acquired. One autistic boy, aged 5 years, 4 months with no verbal imitation skills and few movement imitation…