Preschool education that children become able to protect their own health and life, to develop themselves and that nurture the foundation for children's physical, mental and social health

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K02462
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 09030:Childhood and nursery/pre-school education-related
• Research Institution: Kanagawa University
• Principal Investigator: Watanabe Kanae 神奈川大学, 人間科学部, 教授 (50262358)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 子ども / 保育環境 / 健康 / 幼児教育

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The small size of preschools affected the low athletic ability of preschool children. There was a tendency to polarize children’s athletic aptitude, which created a disparity in their athletic capability. In addition, regarding the health and safety issues that children face, there are more important issues than COVID-19, such as injury prevention, evacuation at the time of disaster, and traffic safety. We confirmed that children foster the zest for living to protect their own health and life through play. In addition, we inferred that early childhood education affects the development of non-cognitive skills, academic ability in elementary and secondary schools, and social disparities after adulthood.

Free Research Field

子ども学（子ども環境学）

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日本の幼児教育施設の狭さが幼児の運動能力の低下に繋がっていることから、元気に遊べる保育環境の整備と改善の必要性を提言した。また日本の幼児教育は情緒的で、優しく気遣いのできる子どもに育つが、自分の意見を述べたり議論する力の育ちは十分ではなく、個としての自立支援に課題があるという問題提起を行った。また東日本震災の被災地の子どもたちと保護者はいまだ健康に不安を持っており、継続的な支援が必要なことが、子どもが描いた絵の質的分析とボランティアへのアンケート調査から明らかになり、また子どもたちへの支援がボランティア（大人）たちの気づきと学びの機会になっていることが明らかになった。