We conducted a school-wide training for Japanese preschool teachers based on the behavioral and functional approach to children with problem behaviors. Twenty-five Japanese teachers at a kindergarten and nursery school participated in the program, attending six training sessions and four case-study meetings. The training sessions consisted of (a)…

Self-care ability and social skills are potential areas of difficulty for preschool children. However, values about young children's self-care ability are different worldwide. This longitudinal study examined the influence of early self-care ability on social skills at the end of the preschool years. Participants were 509 children recruited from…

This study reports an analysis of how children in a Japanese kindergarten are scaffolded when facing the challenge of collaboratively retelling a "kitsune" story they have been told. What is referred to as a "kitsune" story is an example of a trickster tale with foxes as anthropomorphised animals. The participants were ten…

This is an ethnographic study of how two Japanese kindergartens are implementing the "yohoichigenka" policy aimed at reforming the Japanese early childhood education system. The cases of these two kindergartens demonstrate what happens when a top-down mandate reaches the level of individual programs. The programs creatively find ways of…

This paper examines preschool education in Egypt, Oman, and Japan in the light of the comparative education approach developed by George Bereday utilizing description, interpretation, juxtaposition, and comparison. The literature of early childhood education is surveyed, beginning with the three most influential pioneers: Friedrich Wilhelm…

Early childhood education in Japan is reviewed, and education in kindergarten classrooms and day nurseries is described. Activities during a typical day at kindergarten and at day nursery are profiled. An overview of the history of preschool education begins with the time when kindergartens were places for the children of the rich and day…

The purpose of this study was to examine the concept of "hansei" (introspection) among teachers, parents, and other relatives of Japanese kindergarteners. The data came from essays written by Japanese adults. The data analysis revealed that the concept of "hansei" encompassed self-evaluation, improvement, and morality. The…

Several topics related to the provision of preschool education in Japan are discussed. First detailed are the history and present situation of the preschool education system; both kindergartens as well as nursery schools are described. The second section focuses on the teaching content of kindergartens and nursery schools, specifying goals related…

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 document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of an article on preschool education. The author's first point is that early childhood education should be run separately from elementary education. It is true that the education of five year olds forms part of elementary education and is so practiced in the USA and the UK,…

The book consists of the major background documents which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) used in 1970 to examine the Japanese educational policy at all school levels. The reports, which form the major part of the book, were prepared by the Planning and Research Department of the Ministry of Education of Japan.…

Argues that the Japanese model of early years education enables children to make comparatively fast progress once they begin elementary schooling. Asserts that the understanding of group behavior and needs of other children contributes to children's sharing of responsibility and positive learning attitudes. Maintains that preschool routines…