Accentuating the Negative: Views of Preschool Staff about Mothers in Japan

Japanese mothers are frequently portrayed in the American research literature as providing socialization experiences that complement—rather than replicate—the goals and strategies of the preschool. The present study expands upon this small empirical base, and challenges the assumption that there is widespread agreement within Japan concerning the appropriate roles of teacher and parent in educating and socializing young children. Staff members from 27 Japanese preschools were interviewed concerning their perspectives on the role of mother, their attitudes about the effectiveness of mothers' child-rearing strategies and their views about the home-school relationship. Qualitative analyses revealed that most directors and teachers believed that mothers should prioritize spending time with their children over other activities and should provide firm guidance regarding social behavior. They did not view cognitive stimulation as an important part of the maternal role. Few staff members felt that mothers were discharging these responsibilities in an adequate manner. Mothers were widely viewed as either overly permissive, overly protective, or detached and uninvolved. Additionally, many staff members thought mothers placed too much emphasis on structured academic learning. Staff attributed these limitations to a number of factors, including the small size of modem families, conflicting advice by professionals, isolation caused by apartment dwelling, and the incursion of such Western values as materialism, feminism and individualism. Staff views about parent involvement varied depending on the general philosophy of the preschool. These findings illustrate that concepts underlying the notion of "quality" depend on local cultural models in a particular society, as well as structural features of early childhood organizations.     

Maternal involvement in preschool children's education in Japan: Relation to parenting beliefs and socioeconomic status

Studies conducted in the US consistently demonstrate that parenting self-efficacy and construction of the parent role are critical elements associated with parents’ involvement in their children's elementary school education. Less is known about the dynamics of parent involvement during the preschool period, or in nations outside the US. This study examined the relation of maternal beliefs and family SES to three dimensions of parent involvement in Japan: preschool selection strategies, engagement in reading at home, and involvement in activities at the preschool. Interview and questionnaire data were obtained from 108 Japanese mothers, all of whom had a child in the last year of preschool. Consistent with theory and findings in the US, parenting self-efficacy and family role construction were associated with Japanese mothers’ strategies for selecting preschools and frequency of engaging in home reading. Findings regarding family SES demonstrated a culturally specific pattern; mothers of higher SES background were more likely to access formal sources of information and to engage in daily home reading but less likely to participate at the school site.     

Conflict Resolution in Japanese Social Interactions

The aim of this study was to examine Japanese preschool children's social conflicts and methods of conflict resolution in order to shed light on existing cultural characterizations of Japanese preschool education and social development. Japanese preschool-age children were observed during school-time free-play and they and their mothers were interviewed about teacher methods of conflict resolution in the preschool setting. The results showed that Japanese children's conflicts stemmed from a wide range of issues, including concerns about justice, rights, and fairness. Moreover, teachers encouraged children to work out conflicts on their own, stressing self-reliance and autonomy. Japanese children and mothers chose resolution choices which pertained to the intrinsic consequences of the acts. Japanese children and mothers, however, preferred teacher-directed nonintervention over punishment as a form of teacher response. This was in contrast to previous research which has shown that American children and mothers prefer punishment over nonintervention. The results indicated that issues of independence (e.g., autonomy) and interdependence (e.g., group orientations) were both present in Japanese children's social interactions and in children's and mothers' judgments about teacher methods of conflict resolution.     

Conflict Resolution in Japanese Social Interactions

The aim of this study was to examine Japanese preschool children's social conflicts and methods of conflict resolution in order to shed light on existing cultural characterizations of Japanese preschool education and social development. Japanese preschool-age children were observed during school-time free-play and they and their mothers were interviewed about teacher methods of conflict resolution in the preschool setting. The results showed that Japanese children's conflicts stemmed from a wide range of issues, including concerns about justice, rights, and fairness. Moreover, teachers encouraged children to work out conflicts on their own, stressing self-reliance and autonomy. Japanese children and mothers chose resolution choices which pertained to the intrinsic consequences of the acts. Japanese children and mothers, however, preferred teacher-directed nonintervention over punishment as a form of teacher response. This was in contrast to previous research which has shown that American children and mothers prefer punishment over nonintervention. The results indicated that issues of independence (e.g., autonomy) and interdependence (e.g., group orientations) were both present in Japanese children's social interactions and in children's and mothers' judgments about teacher methods of conflict resolution.     

Low Income African American Mothers' Parenting Stress and Instructional Strategies to Promote Peer Relationships in Preschool Children

This study investigated mothers' stress as a predictor of her instructional strategies for promoting peer relationships in preschool children. Forty-two low income African American mothers responded to structured interviews on the teaching strategies they frequently used to facilitate peer interactions of their two to three- and-a-half-year-old children. Mothers' stress was measured by The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Using regression analysis, three stress predictors of mothers' strategies to promote peer relationships were examined: parental distress, difficult child, and parent-child dysfunctional interactions. The three predictors of stress had a differential impact on mothers' instructional strategies. As stress increased: (a) when teaching their own children, mothers more frequently used strategies that reduced antisocial behaviors and less frequently used the strategies that promoted pro-social behaviors towards peers; (b) when teaching their children's peers, mothers less frequently used strategies that would directly benefit these children. Educational implications of these findings for stressed parents, professionals who work with stressed parents, as well as those professionals who teach parent educators are examined.     

Gender and social class differences in Japanese mothers’ beliefs about children's education and socialisation

Despite increasing rates of university attendance among women, a significant gender gap remains in socialisation and educational processes in Japan. To understand why and how gender-distinctive socialisation processes persist, this study aimed to examine both middle-class and working-class mothers’ beliefs about gender, education, and children's development. Qualitative analyses were conducted on in-depth interviews with 16 Japanese mothers with preschool children who participated in the research study for three years. The meaning of education differed depending on the children's gender and social class context. While there was a social class difference in mothers’ expectations of their daughters’ educational attainment, the majority of women in this study saw their daughters as caregivers of family members in the future. This study also demonstrates the dilemmas and mixed messages in women's narratives in relation to gender norms and the processes of raising their children.     

Low Income African American Mothers' Parenting Stress and Instructional Strategies to Promote Peer Relationships in Preschool Children

This study investigated mothers' stress as a predictor of her instructional strategies for promoting peer relationships in preschool children. Forty-two low income African American mothers responded to structured interviews on the teaching strategies they frequently used to facilitate peer interactions of their two to three- and-a-half-year-old children. Mothers' stress was measured by The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Using regression analysis, three stress predictors of mothers' strategies to promote peer relationships were examined: parental distress, difficult child, and parent-child dysfunctional interactions. The three predictors of stress had a differential impact on mothers' instructional strategies. As stress increased: (a) when teaching their own children, mothers more frequently used strategies that reduced antisocial behaviors and less frequently used the strategies that promoted pro-social behaviors towards peers; (b) when teaching their children's peers, mothers less frequently used strategies that would directly benefit these children. Educational implications of these findings for stressed parents, professionals who work with stressed parents, as well as those professionals who teach parent educators are examined.     

Homework: a cross-cultural examination

Cultural differences in the amount of time spent on homework and in beliefs and attitudes about homework were investigated through interviews with more than 3,500 elementary school children, their mothers, and their teachers. The children lived in 5 cities: Beijing, Chicago, Minneapolis, Sendai (Japan), and Taipei. Chinese children were assigned more homework and spent more time on homework than Japanese children, who in turn were assigned more and spent more time on homework than American children. Chinese children also received more help from family members with their homework than American and Japanese children. Chinese children were found to have more positive attitudes about homework than American children; Japanese children's attitudes were between those of the Chinese and American children. Relations between amount of time spent on homework by children, amount of time parents spent assisting their children with homework, and children's achievement were also explored. The views of both parents and teachers about the value of homework are discussed.     

Icelandic parents' views on the national policy on early childhood education

Considerable change has taken place in Icelandic early childhood education during the past few decades. Preschool, from being geared primarily towards children with evident social needs, has become all but universal. The aim of this study was to shed light on Icelandic parents' views on their children's preschool education and to examine how their views harmonize with the nation's preschool policy. The participants in this study, 43 parents of five‐ and six‐year‐old children in three preschools in Reykjavík, participated in focus‐group interviews concerning the preschool curriculum. The results indicate that the parents' main expectation of the preschools was that they should support the children's social development; the way in which the preschool day was organized, and the content of the curriculum seemed to be less important to them. Parents wanted their children to have the opportunity not only to enjoy themselves as individuals, but to learn self‐reliance and respect for other people. Care‐giving and attentiveness of the staff were more important than the teaching of knowledge and skills. These views are compatible with the social pedagogical tradition, the Icelandic Preschool Act, and the National Curriculum Guidelines for Preschools.     

What is “appropriate practice” at home and in child care?: Low-income mothers' views on preparing their children for school

In this qualitative, longitudinal study, multiple interviews were conducted over 3 years with 14 low-income single mothers (4 White, 6 Black, and 4 Latino). The women talked about socialization goals for their preschoolaged children as well as their views concerning the role of mother and the role of child care providers in attaining those goals. A central objective for all mothers was preparing their children to succeed in school. Most of the women expected their child's provider to engage in didactic lessons aimed at teaching basic literacy and numeracy skills. However, they all viewed other teacher-structured activities as important (e.g., art, music, cooking, field trips, and book reading). Most did not see play as being related to learning, although they acknowledged the emotional and physical benefits of play. These women's views of learning were not entirely congruent with the constructivist position of many early childhood educators, nor were they narrowly defined solely in terms of academic skills. They were receptive to information from child care professionals and other “experts” when these perspectives furthered their own goals for their children. Their views about preschool learning were linked to other cultural models of childrearing including respecting authority, contributing to one's family or community, and differentially allocating responsibility for teaching to parents or to teachers.     

Breastfeeding Attitudes of WIC Staff: A Descriptive Study

A sample of staff members from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC program) were interviewed about breastfeeding and their perceptions of WIC recipients' views on breastfeeding. WIC staff members universally supported breastfeeding and expressed desires for more linkages between WIC agencies and perinatal education specialists in childbirth education classes, as well as with mothers during their postpartum hospital stay. The WIC staff members in this study reported on a variety of beliefs about breastfeeding held by their WIC clients, including cultural beliefs, the importance of family support, and experiences of pain during breastfeeding.     

An evaluation of the preschool PATHS curriculum on the development of preschool children

This study evaluated the efficacy of preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), an early years curriculum designed to improve children’s social and emotional competence, and reduce problem behaviour. Fifty-seven children aged three to four years took part in the study over one academic year. The control group (Group 1) received no preschool PATHS curriculum, Group 2 received an adapted version, and Group 3 received the full preschool PATHS curriculum. Relevant vocabulary and perspective-taking skills were assessed before and after the intervention alongside behavioural questionnaires completed by preschool staff and parents. Staff views were investigated. Group 3 significantly improved on some measures, but Groups 1 and 2 showed no significant improvements. Children who received the full version of the preschool PATHS curriculum exhibited less problem behaviour, showed better emotional knowledge, better attentional skills, and better prosocial behaviour. The contribution of the local Educational Psychology Service to the initiative is discussed.     

Parents' Reports on the Child Adaptive Behavior Inventory Predict 4-Year-Olds' Playground Behavior

Although prior research indicates that parental reports of their young children's early social adaptation outside the home do not reconcile well with observations of social behavior in context, some of this inconsistency may be attributable to the “problem-oriented” biases inherent in many commonly used parent rating scales. Might greater concordance between parental reports and observational measures of social adaptation be found if parents described their children's peer behavior on an instrument balancing questions about behavior problems with questions about social strengths and competencies? Fifty-one children, representing two full preschool cohorts, were assessed over four months of a regular preschool year by trained observers using a scan-sampling procedure. Every behavior observed (M = 355 per child) was categorized as either Prosocial, Negative, or Withdrawn, with two sublevels per category. Midway through the school year, mothers and fathers independently completed the most recent version of the Child Adaptive Behavior Inventory (CABI), an instrument which assesses both competencies (social and academic) and difficulties with adaptation. Multiple, domain-specific correlations were found tying both maternal and paternal ratings of children's adaptation to observed social behavior on the preschool playground, with mothers's ratings only slightly better predictors of playground behavior than fathers'. Agreement between parents on the various CABI subscales (Social Competence, Externalizing-Aggressive, Externalizing-Hyperactive, Internalizing-Socially Isolative, and Internalizing-Psychological symptoms) was also good, ranging from .33 to .83. These results indicate that parents may be better attuned to preschool social behavior than has previously been assumed. Further research with the CABI is needed to establish the instrument's utility in predicting longitudinally the sequelae of early social adaptation.     

Experimental Alterations in Playroom Layout and their Effect on Staff and Child Behaviour

The influence of short‐term alterations in the visual and acoustic characteristics of a preschool playroom on the behaviour of children and staff was observed. Daily changes were made on a random schedule between four conditions; screens only, carpets only, screen and carpets and bare room without either screens or carpets. The aim was to see whether the alterations affected the time children and staff spent in a range of behaviours whose educational value could be assessed from previous studies. A scan method of observation was used. Both screens and carpeting were expected to increase educationally valuable behaviour by staff and children. Staff produced significantly more educational and social talk to children in the carpeted conditions. Staff and children spent more time in adult‐child social and educational groups in the carpets and screens condition. Screens discouraged some ‘medium involvement’ educational activities and encouraged ‘miscellaneous’ non‐educational activities. Though these differences were statistically significant, their absolute sizes were small. This appears to be due to the child‐centred orientation of preschool staff, who aimed to provide a stable environment with free choice of activities under all conditions.     

Early childhood teachers' understanding of inclusive education and associated practices: reflections from Greece

This paper focuses on Greek regular and special preschool teachers' understanding of inclusion; their views about the engagement of children with disabilities in typical day routines/activities; and their preferred strategies for facilitating children's engagement in classroom activities. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 77 teachers (45 regular and 32 special educators) drawn from 47 preschool mainstream settings in Greece. The analysis revealed that teachers hold conflicting and restrictive beliefs about inclusive education. Further, the teachers' accounts indicated that most of the children with disabilities were experiencing significant difficulties in their engagement during free-play as well as structured/semi-structured activities. Lastly, teachers identified a range of strategies that they deployed for promoting children's involvement in classroom activities. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to shift away from a narrow individualistic-deficit assumption of disability towards a socio-constructivist conceptualisation of ‘diversity’ and the establishment of genuinely inclusive school cultures.     

Contexts of achievement: a study of American, Chinese, and Japanese children

The major purpose of this study was to attempt to understand some of the reasons for the high academic achievement of Chinese and Japanese children compared to American children. The study was conducted with first and fifth graders attending elementary schools in the Minneapolis metropolitan area, Taipei (Taiwan), and Sendai (Japan). 1,440 children (240 first graders and 240 fifth graders in each city) were selected as target subjects in the study. The children were selected from 20 classrooms at each grade in each city and constituted a representative sample of children from these classrooms. In a follow-up study, first graders were studied again when they were in the fifth grade. The children were tested with achievement tests in reading and mathematics constructed specifically for this study, the children and their mothers were interviewed, the children's teachers filled out a questionnaire, and interviews were held with the principals of the schools attended by the children. In the follow-up study, achievement tests were administered, and the children and their mothers were interviewed. Background information about the children's everyday lives revealed much greater attention to academic activities among Chinese and Japanese than among American children. Members of the three cultures differed significantly in terms of parents' interest in their child's academic achievement, involvement of the family in the child's education, standards and expectations of parents concerning their child's academic achievement, and parents' and children's beliefs about the relative influence of effort and ability on academic achievement. Whereas children's academic achievement did not appear to be a central concern of American mothers, Chinese and Japanese mothers viewed this as their child's most important pursuit. Once the child entered elementary school, Chinese and Japanese families mobilized themselves to assist the child and to provide an environment conducive to achievement. American mothers appeared to be less interested in their child's academic achievement than in the child's general cognitive development; they attempted to provide experiences that fostered cognitive growth rather than academic excellence. Chinese and Japanese mothers held higher standards for their children's achievement than American mothers and gave more realistic evaluations of their child's academic, cognitive, and personality characteristics. American mothers overestimated their child's abilities and expressed greater satisfaction with their child's accomplishments than the Chinese and Japanese mothers. In describing bases of children's academic achievement, Chinese and Japanese mothers stressed the importance of hard work to a greater degree than American mothers, and American mothers gave greater emphasis to innate ability than did Chinese and Japanese mothers.     

THE INFLUENCE OF VYGOTSKY IN MOVIMENTO DA ESCOLA MODERN A EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN PORTUGAL

Abstract

The present study investigated specific teacher factors that potentially influence teacher‐child relationships with preschool‐age children. One demographic questionnaire and three rating scales were used to survey 152 head teachers of 3–6‐year‐old children in community‐based childcare and preschool centers in one mid‐western state. There were 46 teachers who reported on their relationship with a child with a disability or concerning developmental delay. Positive correlations were found between teacher‐child relationships and the teachers’ educational backgrounds, self‐reported teaching efficacy and parent‐teacher relationships. The parent‐teacher relationship appeared to be the strongest teacher‐related factor predicting the quality of teacher‐child relationships. Compared to other teachers, the teachers of children with delays or disabilities reported comparable parent‐teacher relationships and more positive teacher‐child relationships, especially when more than one child with concerns was reportedly enrolled in the classroom. Teachers with children who had developmental delays reported lower teaching efficacy scores. The role of parent‐teacher relationships is highlighted as a possible moderator when teachers feel less than capable or positive about individual children in their program.     

An Integrative Review of Parenting Stress in Mothers of Children with Autism in Japan

Abstract

Parents of children with autism experience elevated stress that may be influenced by specific characteristics of the child and parent, including cultural norms and beliefs about parenting. However, there is little research on families of children with autism from cultural perspectives. The purpose of this integrative review is to identify factors influencing parenting stress in mothers of children with autism in Japan. A final sample of 15 primary research articles (2000–2015) on parenting stress in mothers of Japanese children with autism was selected using several databases. The findings suggested that these mothers experience much greater parenting stress than mothers of typically developing children and children with other disabilities. Japanese mothers also demonstrate stress related to attachment difficulties, low parenting efficacy and lack of support, reflecting Japanese parenting styles and gender ideology. Parent-directed and culturally calibrated interventions are needed to support parents of children with autism, especially cultural minority parents.     

Preschool’s new suit: care in terms of learning and knowledge

This article focuses on aspects of the notion of care in relation to the work of quality documentation in the Swedish preschool. Questions deal with how teachers enact pedagogy in relation to the documentation work; how they handle the demands of visibility; and which aspects of the teacher profession are exposed and which are silenced. Data consist of observations from staff meetings at a preschool and interviews with preschool teachers and their managers while discussing the work of documenting quality in the preschool. Our analytical tools are based on theories of teacher professionalism, combined with education policy. Our results show that the preschool staff rarely talk about care and that difficulty in describing and documenting the meaning of care leads them to use various professional strategies whereby they escape the challenges and transform care into children’s learning and knowledge.     

The mental health and psychological well-being of refugee children and young people: an exploration of risk,resilience and protective factors

This research investigates the perceptions of refugee children, refugee parents and school staff regarding the positive adaptation of refugee children in a new social context and the effects on mental health and psychological well-being. This included an exploration of resilience and the role of risk and protective factors. Few studies have focused on views from a resilience perspective, and these have tended to use quantitative rather than qualitative measures. This mixed methods piece of “real world” research adopted a “what’s working well” perspective and explored the important voices of these children, parents and school staff. Staff, parent and child responses were triangulated to provide a rich picture of the potential protective factors operating within the school and family environment. Implications for practice are discussed.