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Summary
"Preschool in Three Cultures, part 1" is a video program accompanying a book detailing a cross-cultural study of preschools in Japan, China, and the United States. The project, spearheaded by Joseph Tobin, David Wu, and Dana Davidson, uses video as a central research tool, recording typical days at preschools in each country. The footage is shown to educators, parents, and children to gather reactions and insights into cultural variations in preschool education. This research highlights the differing values and educational practices within these cultures, such as discipline methods and student-teacher ratios, and the balance between structured and unstructured activities. The study underlines the challenges of using a single preschool to represent a whole nation and points out the potential ethnocentric judgments that arise when analyzing other cultures' educational methods.
Highlights
The project filmed typical preschool days in three countries for comparative study 🎥.
Reactions were gathered from a diverse audience to analyze educational methods 🌍.
Japanese preschool focuses on group activities and minimal discipline 🏫.
Class sizes in Japan are larger, fostering group identity over individual teacher focus 👥.
Cultural interpretations of behavior and intelligence vary significantly across borders 🌐.
Key Takeaways
Collaboration across cultures enhances understanding of educational practices 🌏.
Videos offer a unique glimpse into daily preschool life 📹.
Cultural exchanges provide valuable insights into differing values 💡.
Disciplinary methods vary significantly across cultures 🚫.
Class size perceptions differ between Japanese and American preschools 👨👩👧👦.
Overview
In this fascinating exploration of early childhood education, "Preschool in Three Cultures, part 1" provides a unique lens into the daily activities of preschools in Japan, China, and the United States. The researchers, led by Joseph Tobin, have used video as their secret weapon, capturing the essence of preschool life in these diverse settings. By showing the footage to local educators and families, they gather invaluable insights into how different cultures perceive and execute preschool education.
One of the study's standout features is its ability to highlight not just the visible daily routines, but the underlying cultural norms that guide them. From how discipline is managed (or not managed) to the size and interaction within classes, everything is a reflection of deeper societal values. Insightfully, the observational method allows the researchers to peel back layers of education systems and provide a commentary on the implicit biases that shape perceptions of learning and intelligence.
Moreover, the study courageously tackles potential ethnocentrisms by bringing various audiences into the discussion. This is more than just a glimpse into different classrooms; it's a conversation starter about what we value in education. The juxtaposition of different teaching styles and cultural expectations serves as a platform for intercultural dialogue, expanding our understanding of global education methodologies and inspiring reflection on our practices.
Preschool in Three Cultures, part 1 Transcription
00:00 - 00:30 [Music]
00:30 - 01:00 [Music] this video program was produced to accompany our book preschool in three cultures this videotape and book are the fruits of a collaborative research effort by David Wu a Taiwanese cultural anthropologist Dana Davidson an American
01:00 - 01:30 early childhood specialist and myself Joseph Tobin a human development specialist with anthropological fieldwork experience in Japan video is at the center of the method used for this study all of the footage you'll see in this program originally was shot for research purposes we taped a typical day in a typical preschool in each of the three countries we then returned to these schools and showed the footage to children teachers administrators and
01:30 - 02:00 parents as the teachers watched themselves in our tapes they gave us their reactions and explanations in this videotape we'll pass these explanations on to you a word of caution clearly one preschool cannot represent the preschools of a nation one teacher cannot represent two nations teachers Masako Fukui explanation of why she chose not to discipline a misbehaving child should be viewed not as the Japanese approach to
02:00 - 02:30 classroom management but rather as a Japanese approach to get a sense of ideological social class and regional variations in preschools within each culture we showed our tapes to audiences in several cities in each country for example we showed our tape of a day at Komatsu Donny a Kyoto preschool to preschool educators and parents in six other Japanese cities and recorded their reactions to stimulate intercultural
02:30 - 03:00 dialogue we showed the footage from each country to audiences in the other two countries for example we showed our Saint Timothy tape to preschool staff and parents in cities across China Japan as well as the United States we used these outsiders judgments of each other's preschools to highlight cultural differences for example a Chinese teachers criticism our four Japanese counterparts failure and her eyes to discipline a misbehaving child has
03:00 - 03:30 something important to reveal about Chinese values in this video program we include a few examples of outsiders judgments you'll find a much fuller discussion of cultural differences in our book another word of caution all the footage in this program was shot for research purposes and consequently is not of broadcast quality we worked without additional lights shooting with a lightweight video camera taking care to be as unobtrusive as possible
03:30 - 04:00 in the following segment you'll see a day in a class for four-year-olds at Komatsu donnie hoyle in a preschool in kyoto japan you'll see shots of children arriving a free play before the school day begins morning calisthenics
04:00 - 04:30 attendants and greetings in the classroom a workbook session and counting lunch a period of unstructured play an origami session and departure
04:30 - 05:00 Komatsu Donny's door is open at 7 a.m. and soon after children begin to arrive most coming on foot with parents or grandparents here a four year old girl and her mother arrive at school they are greeted by the two teachers standing in the threshold of the gengen or entrance hall as children cross from the concrete
05:00 - 05:30 of the outside to the wooden floor of the GenCon they remove their shoes here footwear customs facilitate children's transitions to school each morning just inside the gankin there are cubby holes labeled with the children's names children entering place their shoes in their cubby giving them a feeling of moving from outside to a place that is
05:30 - 06:00 home parents usually say goodbye on the threshold of the gankin because when they enter the school they do so as guests who leave their shoes in the doorway and put on guest slippers Komatsu donny is a high clan or daycare center serving children from infancy up to six years old here two four year old girls carry infants out to play on the playground many of the older children
06:00 - 06:30 the older girls in particular have infants or toddlers they play with during unstructured periods of the day Higashino sensei Komatsu Donny's assistant principal told us that they strongly encouraged this sort of interaction between older and younger children with japan's low birthrate many children do not have siblings mixed age play gives younger children stimulation and older children a chance to develop omoi t empathy
06:30 - 07:00 from arrival until about 9:00 a.m. children play freely in their classrooms are on the playground here a three year old girl plays catch with their teacher [Music] yoshizawa sensei who is Komatsu donnie temples head priest as well as Komatsu
07:00 - 07:30 donnie preschools principal plays Junkin paper-rock-scissors with some of the older boys many japanese preschools are associated with temples just as many American preschools are associated with churches there is relatively little Buddhist influence in the curriculum which is set largely by Kosei show the National Ministry of Health and Welfare Komatsu Danny's program is partially supported by funds from the city of Kyoto and the national government
07:30 - 08:00 tuition which is based on family income ranges from about thirty to about a hundred and twenty dollars a month it's almost 9:00 a.m. time to clean up here a group of children with the teachers help and encouragement clean up the sand toys and balls [Music]
08:00 - 08:30 [Music] at 9:00 a.m. at Komatsu Donny the children form a large circle for tie so morning calisthenics tie so can be seen every morning in schools companies and neighborhoods all over Japan principal yoshizawa explained the title functions
08:30 - 09:00 not only to get everyone's blood moving but more importantly to give children and staff a feeling at the beginning of each day of oneness [Music] during morning exercise and other group
09:00 - 09:30 times at Komatsu Donny everyone is included these toddlers have been placed in the middle of the circle where they participate to the best of their ability [Music] calisthenics completed Fukui sensei the 24 year old teacher of the peach class leads her students inside while the
09:30 - 10:00 teacher of the next door class plays the organ Fukui sensei leads her 28 students and clapping and singing [Music] here the children bow to each other and to their teacher and say teacher good morning everyone good morning the daily
10:00 - 10:30 monitors then close a partition separating the two neighboring classrooms here Fukui sensei helps one of the daily monitors count how many children are present to a familiar tune there are 28 children in the class which is typical of Japanese preschools Americans who
10:30 - 11:00 watch these scenes were critical of the student-teacher ratio on the other hand when we showed Japanese teachers our tape of st. Timothy's an American preschool with a student-teacher ratio of 12 to 1 they were critical saying small classes may be good for teachers but not for children how can children learn to be a member of a group in a class that small assistant principal Higashino explained when the student-teacher ratio gets to be too small children focus their attention on
11:00 - 11:30 their teacher to the detriment of the child child interaction they need at this age here the class in chorus repeats after the teacher today today is May 25th is May 25th it's Monday the weather is clear 26 children are here today
11:30 - 12:00 at Komatsu Donny there is only one 20 minute academic activity each day here Fukui sensei explains the day's lesson which is on counting how many rabbits are riding in the car in the picture four that's right color in one box reach
12:00 - 12:30 using a blue crepe ah contrary to American expectations there is relatively little explicit academic instruction in most Japanese preschools most Japanese children can read by age six but there is little explicit teaching of reading in preschools as Higashi no explained to us most children are taught to read by their mothers the little girl on the left is having
12:30 - 13:00 trouble understanding the concept so her teacher will come over and give some quick individual help [Music] throughout this workbook session Hiroki the boy in blue overalls facing the camera has been yelling out answers to
13:00 - 13:30 the teachers questions as well as singing television theme songs and telling jokes continuing his antics Hiroki is about to hold a crepe ah up to the front of his pants and say look I have a black penis we are now 20 minutes
13:30 - 14:00 into the workbook session and many of the children are growing restless Hiroki singing and joke telling is drawing more and more attention away from the exercise but Fukui sensei does nothing to stop him and instead just pushes ahead throughout the day we were struck by Hiroki swiftness and answering questions his ability to remember complex song lyrics and his quick wit we wondered if our okie were gifted which
14:00 - 14:30 might lead to boredom and a tendency toward rambunctious behavior when we asked the staff of Komatsu Donny if her okie was gifted they at first did not understand what we meant after we explained the concept Fukui responded no I would say Hiroki is about average and intelligence Higashi know added if he is so smart how come he doesn't understand how to behave better in general Japanese preschool teachers and administrators are staunchly egalitarian and reluctant
14:30 - 15:00 to speak of inborn differences in childrens ability at the end of the lesson Fukui sensei draws a smile face on each child's completed workbook Hiroki and some of the other children are in the hallway looking into the five-year-olds classroom other children in the peach class are playing in the playground using the toilet or visiting the infants
15:00 - 15:30 and toddlers in the nursery [Music] it is now 11:30 lunchtime the monitors from the peach class and their neighboring class lead the other
15:30 - 16:00 children in singing the lunch song the lyrics go as I sit here with my lunchbox in front of me I think of my mother I bet lunch is delicious I wonder what it is it sure smells good this song is followed by a prayer in very formal language honorable father honorable mother we humbly thank you we give thanks for the food we are about to receive throughout the day at Komatsu donny periods of free play where children
16:00 - 16:30 speak informal rough even vulgar japanese are interspersed with shorter periods of teacher-led recitation of polite formal language giving the children a chance to learn to move easily back and forth across formal and informal social contexts at Komatsu dani
16:30 - 17:00 children bring a small bento for box lunch from home this supplements the hot dish and tea the school provides during lunch
17:00 - 17:30 Fukui sensei each day sits with a different group of children while the children eat they talk loudly and freely lunchtime at common sadani lasts for about one hour when children finish eating they are allowed to play freely throughout the school here after finishing eating her lunch Fukui since it takes a few minutes to fill in the children's attendance books
17:30 - 18:00 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] here the little boy in the yellow shirt Satoshi is unhappy because Hiroki has hit him Satoshi will touch Haruki with his paper ninja throwing star Hiroki
18:00 - 18:30 will step on Satoshi's wrist as Satoshi starts once more to cry Midori appears and leads Satoshi away Midori will ask Satoshi what happened and then repeat the story to Fumiko and Yasko who are
18:30 - 19:00 standing close by Fumiko then says to Satoshi that always happens when you play with her okey if you don't want to get hurt find someone else to play with a few moments later the teacher is sweeping up inside Midori will run over to tell her that Hiro kiyose throwing