The Professionalism of an ECEC Teacher's "Concurrent Action " : From the Arrival Time to the Beginning of a Supervised Activity (original) (raw)

Emotional Labor as an Early Childhood Teacher Strategy : From the Analysis of a Class of Three-Year-Old Kindergarten Students

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.

What does the outside exhibition of the early childhood education and care conference bring inside kindergarten teachers?

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"