The Meaning of a Play-based Approach Curriculum for Transition to School : An Analysis of the Practice of “Gakko gokko” at a Childcare Center

The purpose of this study is to theoretically and practically examine the possibility of play in terms of preparation for school. Transition to school is a key theme in ECE. While play remains important in ECE, it has never been studied in terms of transition to school. It has been argued that play as approach curriculum is in opposition to learning which is the dominant activity in school. We have applied Vygotsky’s theories to practice with an examination of “gakko gokko” (“playing school”) at a childcare center. The early childhood teacher pretended to be a school teacher, and the children pretended to be school students. They played at studying school subjects such as, science and mathematics, and doing homework. During “gakko gokko”, children performed the role of school student, and the teacher’s role became more instructive than usual. Children’s emotional experiences reflected the activity and the setting.Analysis found that the children learned to use cultural tools and take expected action in specific settings through “gakko gokko”. Their behavior reflected a type of school habitus. “Gakko gokko” does not mean that children master language and number learning. “Gakko gokko” allows children to experience going to school through play, and possibly increasing motivation for transition to school.本研究はJSPS 科研費（24653231，50512555）の助成を受けたものである。また本研究の一部は，The 11th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education と2012年度日本発達心理学会国際ワークショップにおいて発表されたものである

The Actual Conditions of creation and utilization of the Records of Children with Disabilities during the School Transition Period: A Survey of Early Childhood Facilities and Elementary Schools

The purpose of this study is to clarify the actual conditions of personal records such as “support files” and “transition support sheets” created by early childhood facilities (kindergartens and nursery schools) to provide transition support to children with disabilities. The study seeks to examine how these records are created by early childhood facilities and used by elementary schools. A nationwide questionnaire survey targeting public and private kindergartens, nursery schools, and elementary schools was carried out. The survey results show that about half of the early childhood facilities created these records and that the records were being effectively utilized by the elementary schools that received them. However, there were also differences based on the type of institution: for instance, the rate of record creation was high at public kindergartens and low at private kindergartens and nursery schools. In terms of record content, there is a possibility of a gap between the information recorded by early childhood facilities and that sought by elementary schools. Based on these actual conditions, this study identifies issues to be considered in the effective creation and utilization of records.本研究は平成28年度文科省委託「幼児期の教育内容等深化・充実調査研究」（調査研究課題：幼保小接続における学習機会の保障としての合理的配慮に関する研究，研究受託機関：名古屋市立大学）の助成を受けて行われた研究成果の一部である。なお，本稿の一部は日本教育心理学会第59回総会において発表した

A Survey on Cooperation between Early Childhood Facilities and Elementary Schools regarding Children with Disabilities

This survey aimed to reveal the current conditions of cooperation between early childhood facilities and elementary schools regarding children with disabilities. A nationwide questionnaire was administered to 172 nursery schools (public), 242 nursery schools (private), 200 kindergartens (public), 481 kindergartens (private), and 592 elementary schools. Overall, for cooperation with elementary school for children with disabilities, the percentage of practice with kindergarten (public) was highest among early childhood facilities. In particular, for “Exchange activities between early childhood facilities and elementary schools” and “Introduction of approach curriculum,” the percentage of practice with kindergarten (public) was higher when compared with that in other early childhood facilities. The newly found information in this survey was that nursery schools (public) were most likely to take advantage of the “Individual education program.” The major problem was that nursery school and kindergarten teachers were willing to cooperate on early childhood education and care with elementary school teachers, but elementary school teachers answered that it was difficult to cooperate with many of the early childhood facilities. The ideal method for cooperation between early childhood facilities and elementary schools needs to be considered within each community.本研究は平成26年度文部科学省委託「幼児教育の改善・充実調査研究」（研究代表者：山崎 晃）及び平成25～27年度科学研究費・基盤研究（C）（研究課題番号：25381325，研究代表者：山崎 晃）の助成を受けて行われた研究成果の一部である

The Study of Understanding a Child through "Episodic Recording Method" : Focusing on the relation of contents of childcare "Language"

The objective of this study is to clarify influence of colleagues in childcare upon the process of understanding a child. Now day, "Episodic Recording Method" is not only childcare recordings but refleective practice in Childcare. The results are as follows. First, there exist both verbal and nonverbal types of information. Second, there are four types of information to modify the teacher's understanding. Third, the information has both quantitative and qualitative effects. The colleagues have a great influence on structuring the teacher's understanding of a child by sharing information about events related to the child, their views and values to him/her, and so on

Review of the researches about Vygotsky's defectology

The purpose of the present article was to classify the researches of Vygotsky's defectology, and to review these works. Vygotsky's defectology has hardly ever been argued on education for handicapped children or special needs education. On another front, since 1980's, it has been few case to discuss about his defectological texts on the Vygotsky boom in Europe and the United States. There are some of following assignments ; which is hardly the researches to focus on a connection between Vygotsky's defectology and his Cultural-Historical ideas. It remains to be seen position of defectology on Vygotsky's theory overall. Furthermore, it is issues to explore the influence of the defectological research upon Vygotsky's ideas

The Idea of "Compensation" in the Vygotsky's Developmental Theory : Focusing upon an influence from A. Adler

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the idea of "compensation" and Vygotsky's late theory through positive re-positioning of this concept. Vygotsky's concept of "compencation" is influenced by A. Adler. In former researches the concept of "compensation" did passive positioning, because there is little term of "compensation" in Vygotsky's text since the 1930's. However, Vygotsky did't use this term in his later life, it is his critical reception about Adler's "compencation". This paper attempts to reexamine the idea of "compensation" in Vygotsky's defectological studies. The two followings became clear: 1, The idea of "compensation" introduce vygotsky's historical perspective not only past but also future. 2, Vygotsky refuses to subjective sense of inferiority in Adler's idea, and he seeks to find a source of "compensation" in a group. This vertical and horizontal perspective is considered to be leading his late idea of the Zone of Proximal Development

The Reviews "The History of the Development of Higher Mental Functions" from Defectological Perspective

The purpose of this study is to examine Vygotsky's work, "The History of the Development of Higher Mental Functions" (1931) from defectological perspective. L. S. Vygotsky (1896-1934) was an early twentieth-century Russian psychologist who have researched about the development and education of normal and abnormal children. It has been recognized that this work was one of the most important literature of Cultural-Historical theory. On the other hand, little attention has been given to defectological aspects to "The History of the Development of Higher Mental Functions". In this work, Vygotsky argued not only the development of normal children but also the development of deaf and blind intellectual disability children. He employed the comparative psychological approaches for his developmental theories. He has examined distinction and each features of the normal child development and the disabled development. It is his assertion that a fundamental methodological view according to which the essence and nature of the phenomena studied by psychology can be revealed in their purest form in the extreme, pathological forms. The key to psychology is in defectology. "The History of the Development of Higher Mental Functions" is the work about the general development of children, the Cultural-Historical theories that not only for normal children but for disabled children

Prerequisites for Teacher Educators in Southeast Asia: A Comparative Study of Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam

In this paper, we identify the prerequisites for teacher educators in Southeast Asia through a comparative analysis of the content of open recruitment documents for teacher educators in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. We employ the four-step comparative analysis method (Bereday, 1964), which is appropriate for interpreting educational phenomena (Manzon, 2014). We conducted a comparative analysis of teacher educators’ open recruitment documents between 2018 and 2021 in their respective countries. Upon tabulating the information, we found that teacher educators are required to have a master’s degree or higher, English language skills, teamwork, and professional ethics. However, experience as a schoolteacher is not required in Thailand or Vietnam but is necessary for Cambodia. Consequently, Thailand and Vietnam face challenges in guiding teaching practice, and Cambodia requires action research training.本研究は JSPS 科研費 JP20K20831の助成を受けたものです