Changing Definitions of Childhood: Crosscultural Comparisons.

Autor/in	Boocock, Sarane Spence
Institution	Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem (Israel). National Council of Jewish Women Research Inst. for Innovation in Education.
Titel	Changing Definitions of Childhood: Crosscultural Comparisons.
Quelle	(1987), (46 Seiten)Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Child Rearing; Comparative Analysis; Cross Cultural Studies; Cultural Background; Cultural Differences; Cultural Influences; Day Care; Early Childhood Education; Parent Attitudes; Parent Role; Preschool Education; Social Structure; Student Behavior; Japan; United States + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Kindererziehung; Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Kultureller Unterschied; Cultural influence; Kultureinfluss; Tagespflege; Early childhood; Education; Frühkindliche Bildung; Frühpädagogik; Elternverhalten; Parental role; Elternrolle; Pre-school education; Vorschulerziehung; Sozialstruktur; Student behaviour; Schülerverhalten; USA
Abstract	This discussion compares Japan and the United States in terms of: (1) perceptions of children and childhood; (2) parents and parenting; (3) the preschool system; and (4) the social structure of child care settings. It is asserted that the most profound difference between Japanese and American perceptions of children may be that in Japan the child's nature is viewed as not only different from but also superior to that of the adult. Research indicates that Japanese teachers' treatment of children assumes that children are basically good, and that children's misbehavior is due to inadequate environments or insufficient effort and can be corrected by careful training. Differences in parenting in the two countries are described in terms of parental availability, modes of parenting, use of physical punishment, dependency training, and control versus permissiveness. Japan has one of the world's highest rates of preschool enrollment. Variations within the Japanese preschool system have important implications for the care and socialization of enrolled children. Concluding remarks concern aspects of the American child care system which place great numbers of children at risk, and ways in which the Japanese do things differently and, it is claimed, better. Approximately 130 references are cited. (RH)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC