East Carolina University : Research and Creative Achievement Week 2011
Care, Education and Developmentally Appropriate Practices as understood by Day Nursery and Kindergarten Japanese Teachers, Chisato Sugita, Archana Hegde, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858 There has been a huge push towards integrating the care and education system of Japan, which is still being governed by two different ministries and has different teacher training requirements. Recent changes require that children from both the settings be exposed to the same curricula and activities which predominantly use a play-based philosophy for educating children. Play-based philosophy which is originally a western concept, also known as Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) is played differently in Japan, which has elements of culture embedded within them. Thus, the purpose of this study was two folds; 1) To examine how day nursery and kindergarten teachers view play-based education (DAP) in Japan 2) To look for similarities and differences between teachers understanding of care, education and DAP. A mixed method study using surveys and interviews were employed to gather data. The survey designed, directly asked teachers concepts related to DAP (e.g. their understanding of use of group vs individual activities or use of formal assessments in the classroom), while the interviews used open ended questions which indirectly tapped into teachers beliefs regarding care, education and DAP. A total of 10 teachers, 6 from day nursery and 4 from kindergartens were interviewed. Survey data analyzed using descriptive statistics showed overwhelming similarities between teachers understanding of play based education, while open ended interviews revealed a few similarities and differences across the concept of care, education and DAP. For example, being a good role model for children, importance of outdoor environments, developing childrenâ€&#x;s socio-emotional skills and teaching children to be a part of the greater community was given due importance by teachers across both the settings. All the themes were identified using constant comparative analysis developed by Glasser and Strauss. To conclude, this study gives insight into the Japanese early childhood care and education system from teacherâ€&#x;s perspective which has been missing in the literature. Further, it also highlights how a few issues identified by Japanese teachers, such as fear of push down curriculum or need for more resources is not limited to just Japan but is a global issue for the field.
P100
An Analysis of global trends in homicide (2003-2008): Do we live in a violent world? Brittany Ausley, Rachel Frazier, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858 Homicide is a global phenomenon, yet there are only few studies that have examined worldwide regional variations in homicide rates. Moreover, most criminal justice homicide research is based on micro-level data analysis which focuses on individual characteristics (for example, age, race, gender, motive, offending, and victimization). Few studies have examined the influence of macrolevel factors on homicide rate (for example, the role of state authority, country wealth, and governance). This study seeks to build on the extant research on homicide by analyzing the factors that influence current worldwide homicide trends (2003-2008). The objectives of this study are two165
P101