プラグマティズムから捉え直す保育実践研究 -現象学的記述と生態心理学的記述の保育実践における相補性を例として-

Abstract

Understanding children's experience is an essential task for preschool teachers. It is also an important mission for research on early childhood education. This paper reconsiders research on the practice of early childhood education, to describe the experience of children and teachers, as part of the process of education. Experience cannot be described completely from a single perspective. Theories of description, such as phenomenology and ecological psychology, sometimes provide opposite views with regard to the theme of early childhood educational practices. Research on the practice, from a pragmatic view, cannot define the truth of experience. Truth and goodness are found by teachers as a practical consequence of utilizing the research. The contents of the research should be reconsidered in the process of utilization through dialogue among the text, practitioners, and other researchers. Research on the practice can contribute to the development of practices of teachers by working within their experience and produce continuous dialogue on the meanings and values of children's experience. Research on the practice of early childhood education is an endless inquiry to understand children's experience, and requires a respectful attitude toward a diversity of experience.