Who Should Be Minding Our Children? A Cross-Cultural Study of American and Japanese Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Childcare for Children under Age Three

The purpose of this study was to examine American and Japanese pre-service teachers' understanding of the notion of whether or not children under age three should be cared for by their mothers at home. The participants were 87 female Japanese and 64 female American college students majoring in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in comparative and international education 2009-12, Vol.4 (4), p.393-405
Main Authors: Izumi-Taylor, Satomi, Ito, Yoko, Saito, Masako, Kaneda, Toshiko
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attachment Behavior
Child Care
Child Development
Child Rearing
Childhood Needs
Cross Cultural Studies
Early Childhood Education
Factor Analysis
Females
Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal Relationship
Japan
Mothers
Parent Child Relationship
Preservice Teachers
Student Teacher Attitudes
United States
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to examine American and Japanese pre-service teachers' understanding of the notion of whether or not children under age three should be cared for by their mothers at home. The participants were 87 female Japanese and 64 female American college students majoring in Early Childhood Education. The participants responded to the instrument assessing their concepts of who should care for children under age three. Factor analysis yielded six factors for the Japanese sample (communication; a mother as a primary attachment figure; blood relations; multiple attachment figures; the quality of attachment; and needs of the child), while five factors emerged from the American sample (a mother as a primary attachment figure; the quality of attachment; multiple attachment figures; constant care; and secondary attachment). The implications for early childhood teacher education are presented.
ISSN:1745-4999
1745-4999
DOI:10.2304/rcie.2009.4.4.393