Mathematics Education for Young Children in Japan: An Ethnographic Study (Observation Notes at Preschools in Japan, 2018)

These observation notes were created as part of a research project that examines mathematics education for young children aged 3 to 8 years old in contemporary Japan.

The observation notes presented here were made by the researcher, Peter Cave, following observations conducted between April and August 2018. Observation notes were typed up from memory on the same day as the observation, making use of handwritten memos taken by the researcher during observation. This version of the notes has been edited with a view to making them as clear as possible for readers, and interpretative comments recorded by the researcher have been removed. The observations were conducted at preschools – either kindergartens (yōchien), day-care centres (hoikuen), or early childhood education and care centres (nintei kodomo-en) which offer both kindergarten and day-care programmes – in two cities in different prefectures in central Japan. The cities have been given the pseudonyms of Wakahashi and Sakura. All names of preschools are also pseudonymous. Explanatory comments by the researcher are provided in square brackets or in footnotes, while some important Japanese words and phrases are transliterated in italics.