Published twenty years ago, the original Preschool in Three Cultures was a landmark in the study of education: a profoundly enlightening exploration of the different ways preschoolers are taught in China, Japan, and the United States. Here, lead author Joseph Tobin—along with new collaborators Yeh Hsueh and Mayumi Karasawa—revisits his original research to discover how two decades of globalization and sweeping social transformation have affected the way these three cultures educate and care for their youngest pupils. Putting their subjects’ responses into historical perspective, Tobin, Hsueh, and Karasawa analyze the pressures put on schools to evolve and to stay the same, discuss how the teachers adapt to these demands, and examine the patterns and processes of continuity and change in each country.

Featuring nearly one hundred stills from the videotapes, Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited artfully and insightfully illustrates the surprising, illuminating, and at times entertaining experiences of four-year-olds—and their teachers—on both sides of the Pacific.

Joseph Tobin is the Nadine Mathis Basha Professor of early childhood education at Arizona State University and the author or editor of several books. Yeh Hsueh is associate professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research at the University of Memphis. Mayumi Karasawa is professor of cultural psychology at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University.

Preface



Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 China

Chapter 3 Japan

Chapter 4 United States

Chapter 5 Looking Across Time and Cultures


References

Index