Study of allomothering in a solitary island: Focusing on Moriane

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25285186
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Educational psychology
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Negayama Koichi 早稲田大学, 人間科学学術院, 教授 (00112003)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): IKEMURA Kiyomi 帝京大学, 文学部, 教授 (80201911) ; KAWATA Manabu 北海道大学, 教育学研究科, 准教授 (80403765) ; KOJIMA Yasuo 中京大学, 心理学部, 教授 (40322169) ; TOYAMA Noriko 早稲田大学, 人間科学学術院, 教授 (80328038) ; MIYAUCHI Hiroshi 群馬県立女子大学, 文学部, 教授 (30337084) ; YAMAGUCHI Hajime 桜美林大学, 心理・教育学系, 教授 (20288054)
• Research Collaborator: SHIRAISHI Yuko 早稲田大学, 人間科学学研究科, 院生
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 多良間島 / 守姉 / アロマザリング / ソーシャルネットワーク / 母子 / 地域 / 保育

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Childcare and the children’s behavioral development in the community were investigated in Taramajima island, Okinawa Prefecture. Special attention was given to a traditional custom of childcare by a girl of around 10 years old called Moriane.
The results showed that the island is a place of rich allomothering practices including Moriane, and such allomothering practices support and even enrich social networks of the community of the island based on the trust for the caring children, which is quite different from our urban childcare styles. This kind of childcare circumstance was what our urban childcare had in the past and lost now, and gives us an opportunity to reconsider our current practices. However, Moriane has been modified and shrinking these days even in Taramajima, and hence it is necessary to make a follow-up study to consider the change.

Free Research Field

発達心理学