The Professionalism of an ECEC Teacher's "Concurrent Action " : From the Arrival Time to the Beginning of a Supervised Activity (original) (raw)
2011
The purpose of this study is to discuss professionalism in early childhood education and care, as seen in classroom practice related to three-year-old students, with the examination focusing on the following points : (1) we clarify emotional labor as the early childhood teaching strategy ; and (2) we compare the elementary school teacher and the early childhood teacher in terms of the emotional labor strategy. For the methodology, we used a video camera to collect episodes of the emotional labor strategy being used in early childhood teaching, and then examined each one. The results of the study are as follows : (1) the main classroom teacher smiled and intentionally expressed emotions during "circle time," controlling the young children through proper emotional expression ; (2) the sub-classroom teacher developed a relationship with each child by not expressing her intentions directly ; and (3) while each other's opinions made a difference, the school nurse and the su...
How Do the Kindergarten Teachers Behave for In-School Staff Development Utilizing the KJ Method?
2016
The purpose of this study was to examine the behavior of kindergarten teachers during an in-school staff development training program utilizing KJ method. The study focused on the nature of the verbal interaction between individual teachers. The study also examined how kindergarten teachers respond to criticism and comments from their colleague. We elicited feedback from the kindergarten teachers via an interview designed to examine their behavior. The SCAT method of qualitative analysis was used to decode the implicit meanings in the feedback data on a step-by-step basis. The study found that, firstly, kindergarten teachers were not retentive when presenting, asking questions, and giving opinions. This behavior pattern contradicted the social stigma against the offering of one’s opinion and contributed to a sense of security that was conducive to the eliciting of further opinions. Secondly, the kindergarten teachers exhibited behavior that was very accepting of the opinions of othe...
Improving the questioning skills of a Strength and Conditioning coach through Action Research
Taiikugaku kenkyu (Japan Journal of Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences), 2017
Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coaches are responsible for improving athletes' performance, which is achieved through various types of training. For athletes who are learning to improve their performance, it is important for the coach to guide their development by asking meaningful questions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the process by which questioning skills can be improved using Action Research (AR) methodology. In this study, 4 cycles of AR were conducted to improve the author's questioning skills, which were both lower-(complex) and higher-order (simple) questions, with avoidance of leading questions. The author of this paper was working as a S&C coach with a collegiate men's volleyball team. Fifteen players voluntarily participated in this study. As part of the AR methodology, the author selected an academic supervisor and a critical friend to observe and provide feedback based on coaching practices. An action plan was formulated through discussions based on the videotaped practices. A systematic observation approach was selected to elucidate behavioral diŠerences in coaches over a 6-week period. A modiˆed version of the Arizona State University Observation Instrument was also used. Interviews were conducted to reveal athletes' feelings about the coach's use of questioning. Strength and vertical jump performance were assessed before and after the AR intervention. As a result of the AR, the author's questioning skills were improved. There were 3 processes through which questioning skills were improved: 1) increased familiarity with higher-order questioning, which made the athletes think rather than being told, 2) increased time for planning explicit higher and lower-order questions, and 3) challenging the thinking of athletes through the use of questioning to create a better interaction between coach and athletes. This study challenged the author's use and understanding of S&C coach questioning skills for theˆrst time. From this research, the AR procedure was considered to be a very useful tool for improving the coaching skills of S&C coaches. Further research to seek ways of improving the pedagogical skills of S&C coaches will be necessary.
2012
広島大学附属幼稚園では,『子どもの経験から振り返る保育プロセス』(秋田他,2010)を用いた保育カンファレンスを,外部に対して公開し,一緒にカンファレンスを行う試みを行った。本研究は,内部の保育者にとっての,公開カンファレンスのメリット・デメリットを明らかにするとともに,公開カンファレンスを実践しての気づきや示唆を得ることを目的として行われた。 内部の保育者からは,今までない新たな視点を与えられるというメリットが多く示された。保育者以外が事例を収集し,ファシリテーターが進行をし,自園が有する特有の文化や価値観に縛られていない外部参加者が発言するという,普段とは異なる要素の加わった公開カンファレンスが営まれることで,自園のカンファレンスにはない「新たな気づき」を得られる可能性が示され,特にベテランの保育者にとって有効である可能性が示唆された。同時に,特定の子どもに対する援助を探る際には園内のみで行う方が有効ではないかとの意見も示され,メリット,デメリット双方が浮かび上がった。また,公開カンファレンスを成立させる要因として,ビデオ映像や,「安心度」・「夢中度」という評価基準の存在の意義が示された
The Support of University Researchers for Improve the Expertise of Early Childhood Educators
2012
This research focused on cooperation activities with the university researchers supports for early childhood educators to do the practice research. The purpose of this research is to consider the support which researchers offers to the difficulty and the subject which are held when early childhood educators tackles the practice research which can search for a scientific basis. The following viewpoints were used for analysis: (1) Change of the image before and after early childhood educators done the practice research, (2) The point of having changed through the practice research (3) Tastes of the work done on a research process. The results of this research are following. After experiencing the practice research with cooperation support of university researchers, early childhood educators who felt “difficulty” for not knowing for the concrete of research became clear to have changed so that practice research might be regarded as "interesting"
2015
The aim of this study was to examine how the role of graduate students differs when university professors participate in collaborative research. The study method involved the researcher interviewing three kindergarten teachers who had participated in various forms of practice research. The teachers were aware of four roles of graduate students. The following was shown as four roles. (1) Graduate students sympathize with teachers, and give them a boost by acting in an approving manner towards the teachers’ practice. (2) Graduate students supplement and explain the words of the university professors, leading them to act as intermediaries. (3) Graduate students give their opinions to teachers in a positive way. (4) Graduate students also take on a guidance role by supporting teachers. When university professors participated in the research, the graduate students took on an intermediary role between the university professors and the kindergarten teachers. However, the students tended to...
2014
本研究の目的は,次の通りである。(1)広島大学附属幼稚園が実施するSICSの理念に基づく保育カンファレンスは,他の保育園の保育者に対して何をもたらすのかについて検討する。(2)広島大学附属幼稚園と外部の保育者が共に学ぶためのネットワーク構築の在り方について検討する。 本研究では,調査協力者として,A保育園における4名の保育者を対象に,グループ・インタビューを実施した。研究方法として,大谷(2011)による質的データ分析法を用いた。 研究の結果,次の点が見出された。(1)他の保育園の保育者は日頃,子どもの気持ちを理解することに困難を感じていた。(2)そうした保育者にとって,保育カンファレンスは,子どもの気持ちを理解する方法論を提示するとともに,保育観の再発見をもたらした。(3)保育カンファレンスは,外部の保育者と広島大学附属幼稚園の保育者が共に学び合うためのネットワーク構築に寄与していた。The purposes of this study are as follows: (1) to examine what early childhood education and care conferences based on the idea of SICS by the Hiroshima University Attached Kindergarten bring to the teachers of other daycare centers, and (2) to examine network construction between two groups of childcare professionals to learn together. The participants in this study are four teachers from a day care center; we conducted a group interview and performed qualitative data analysis (Otani 2011) on the participants' narratives. The results of this study are as follows: (1) the teachers regula...
2019
The purpose of this study is to compare the characteristics of SCAT (Steps for Coding and Theorization) and Ueno’s qualitative analysis as a form of qualitative data analysis applied to interview data from a kindergarten director. The subject and methods of the study are as follows. (1) We interviewed the director of Kindergarten A. (2) The research question asked why he started to run the child-based kindergarten. (3) We analyzed the interview data using SCAT. (4) We also analyzed the interview data using Ueno’s qualitative analysis. (5) We compared their characteristics. The analyses made the following points clear. First, the SCAT is characterized by the decontextualisation of the segmented text, step by step. By contrast, Ueno’s qualitative analysis is marked by its recontextualization through the mapping and charting of metadata. Second, when we use SCAT, we need to understand the theory of qualitative inquiry and must read the text over and over, analyzing it over time. Howeve...
2020
The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of trends in the field of early childhood education and care and examine the kind of research done outside of Japan on the concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), an idea proposed by Lee S. Shulman. The study examines the applicability of PCK to the study of early childhood teachers based on a search of the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. The keywords “early childhood education and care,” “PCK,” and “Shulman” were used in the database search, and ten articles that were returned were reviewed carefully. We determined that most of the studies were centered on content knowledge about mathematics, science, and technology, while only few studies focused on children’s knowledge regarding development of social skills. Some studies also focused on implicit knowledge based on Polanyi’s theory. This suggests that the PCK concept can be applied to the study of early childhood teachers in Japan as well
2013
Understanding children is one of early childhood teachers’ professionalism, and there are various viewpoints for teachers’ understanding of children. In recent years, the viewpoint ‘Ima-Koko (here and now)’ have been watched with interest in Early Childhood Education and Care. ‘Ima-Koko’ is a viewpoint for understanding children’s experience from children’s view (not teacher’s view). In this study, we describe what the viewpoint ‘Ima-Koko (here and now)’ means to early childhood teachers through focusing on discussion in Early Childhood Education and Care conference in a kindergarten. In the conference, participants discussed an episode of a 5-years-old girl playing with a guard at the kindergarten. We recorded the discussion and translated word for word. Next, we analyzed the data with reference to the Steps for Coding and Theorization (SCAT) method. The result of this study is summarized in the following two points:1) It is difficult for some teachers to understand children’s ‘Ima...
Competencies for Academics in Knowledge Transfer (KT) Activity
2007
Introduction Since the advent of the White Paper on The Future of Higher Education (January, 2003), the Lambert Review of Business-University collaboration (December 2003) and the Higher Education Funding Council's HEIF (Higher Education Innovation Funding) ...
2017
The purpose of this study was to explore a child’s play process from start to finish as it led to making choices for further play. The target child was a four-year-old boy in kindergarten. We video recorded and took field notes about him during a session in which he was first playing with a top while chatting with other children and his teacher in the main play room. He then switched to jump-roping, which he seemed to enjoy doing by himself. We analyzed the data qualitatively using the Trajectory Equifinality Model(TEM). This model follows the time series in analysis. The results indicated that the recorded process could be broken down into three parts :1) the boy played with only tops during the “exploring stage” ; 2) the boy played with tops while also showing interest in jump-roping in the “mixed play stage” ; 3）the boy decided to end his play with the tops and switch to jump-roping, in the stage we call the “self-directed stage”. We also analyzed the boy’s influence on his own p...