Principles of Childcare 1: The Meaning of Childcare and the Guidelines for Nursery Care

Which of the following best describes how Article 39(1) of the Child Welfare Act (児童福祉法) defines a nursery centre (保育所)? Choose one.

1. A facility that cares for infants and young children whenever parents wish, regardless of whether they need childcare
2. A facility where infants and young children who need childcare live in and are raised in place of their home
3. A facility that cares for infants and young children who need childcare, who come each day from their parents
4. A facility that children who need childcare attend, including integrated centres for early childhood education and care
5. A facility that provides school education to young children before primary school

Which best describes the work of a nursery teacher (保育士) under Article 18-4 of the Child Welfare Act (児童福祉法)? Choose one.

1. Caring for children, and giving guidance on childcare to their parents
2. Caring for children only; guidance to parents is not included
3. Caring for children, and diagnosing and treating their illnesses
4. Giving childcare guidance to parents only; caring for children is not included
5. Caring for children, and supervising the running of local childcare support facilities

Which TWO of the following correctly describe the duties of nursery teachers under the Child Welfare Act (児童福祉法)? Choose two.

1. The duty of confidentiality applies only while you are working as a nursery teacher
2. A nursery teacher must not disclose, without good reason, secrets learned through work, and this continues after they stop being a nursery teacher
3. People without a nursery teacher qualification must not do any work caring for children at a nursery centre
4. The ban on conduct that damages trust covers only conduct during working hours
5. People who are not nursery teachers must not use the title "nursery teacher" or a confusingly similar title

Which best describes the role of a nursery centre towards local residents under Article 48-4 of the Child Welfare Act (児童福祉法)? Choose one.

1. Providing information on its childcare and giving advice are both only duties to make efforts
2. Providing information on its childcare and giving advice are both mandatory duties
3. Giving advice is mandatory, while providing information is only a duty to make efforts
4. Providing information on its childcare is mandatory, and it must make efforts to give advice as long as this does not hinder its childcare
5. Responding to local residents is the role of the municipality and is not given to nursery centres

Which best describes the status of the Guidelines for Nursery Care at Day Care Centers (保育所保育指針)? Choose one.

1. A handbook each nursery centre may refer to freely, with no character as a standard to follow
2. A public notice based on the Standards for the Equipment and Operation of Child Welfare Facilities (児童福祉施設の設備及び運営に関する基準), with the character of a binding standard
3. An Act passed by the Diet, and breaking it leads directly to criminal punishment
4. Ordinances that each prefecture makes on its own, with contents that differ greatly by region
5. A document that sets kindergarten education and does not apply to nursery centres

Which statement about the history of the Guidelines for Nursery Care at Day Care Centers (保育所保育指針) is correct? Choose one.

1. The guidelines were first created in the 2000s; before that there was no national document on the content of care
2. The guidelines were issued as a public notice in 1965 and have never been revised
3. The current guidelines were issued in 2008, and there was no revision in 2017
4. The current guidelines were issued in 2017 and applied from 1 April of the same year
5. The guidelines were first drawn up in 1965, became a public notice in the 2008 revision, and the current version was issued in 2017

Which pairing of a chapter number and its title in the Guidelines for Nursery Care at Day Care Centers (保育所保育指針, 2017) is correct? Choose one.

1. Chapter 2 — Support for Child-rearing
2. Chapter 5 — Planning and Evaluation of Care
3. Chapter 3 — Health and Safety
4. Chapter 1 — Improving Staff Quality
5. Chapter 4 — Content of Care

The guidelines describe the defining feature of nursery centres as follows. Which phrase best fills the blank? Choose one. "Staff with expertise in childcare, in close cooperation with families and based on each child's situation and developmental process, ( ) through the environment of the nursery centre."

1. provide care (yogo) and education as one integrated whole
2. provide care first, and education from age three
3. teach subject by subject according to a plan
4. provide home education in place of parents
5. focus only on keeping children alive and well

Which TWO of the following are included in the "goals of care" for children in the guidelines? Choose two.

1. To develop the basic habits and attitudes needed for daily life and build the foundation of physical and mental health
2. To have children learn reading, writing and arithmetic ahead of primary school subjects
3. To put keeping group rules first and leave each child's needs for later
4. To nurture love and trust towards others and respect for human rights, and foster the beginnings of morality
5. To build the ability to master things faster than other children through competition

Which of the following matches the "methods of care" in the guidelines? Choose one.

1. Give children of the same age the same content at the same time, regardless of differences in development
2. Centre care on children completing tasks set in advance by staff, exactly as instructed
3. Do not find out about children's life at home, as that is the parents' business
4. Put fitting the nursery's daily schedule ahead of the child's own rhythm of life
5. Arrange an environment children can engage with on their own initiative and eagerly, and provide holistic care through daily life and play

Which statement about the "environment of care" in the guidelines is correct? Choose one.

1. The environment of care means only physical things such as buildings and play equipment
2. It includes people such as staff and children, physical things such as facilities and equipment, and natural and social events, and is to be arranged according to a plan
3. Children make their environment freely, so staff are not involved in arranging it
4. For safety, the environment should be kept as unchanged as possible all year
5. The human environment means only staff and does not include relationships between children

Which TWO statements about the "social responsibility of nursery centres" in the guidelines are correct? Choose two.

1. The content of care is specialist, so there is no need to explain it to parents or the community
2. Complaints from parents go to the municipality, so the nursery centre does not need to deal with them
3. Give full consideration to children's human rights and respect each child as a person in providing care
4. Interaction with the local community gets in the way of care, so it should be kept to a minimum
5. Handle the personal information of enrolled children and others properly, and make efforts to resolve complaints from parents and others

Which best describes "care" (養護, yogo) as defined in the guidelines? Choose one.

1. Medical procedures that nurses carry out for sick children
2. Support for development so that children grow up healthily and their activities unfold more richly
3. Guidance by staff to train children in daily habits
4. Support and involvement by staff to keep children alive and well and emotionally stable
5. The nursery centre doing in place of parents the child-rearing they would do at home

Which of the following is one of the aims for "emotional stability" (情緒の安定) in the care section of the guidelines? Choose one.

1. Each child can spend their time healthily and safely
2. Each child's physiological needs are fully met
3. Each child can live comfortably
4. Each child's health is actively promoted
5. Each child can express their feelings with a sense of security

Which statement about Chapter 2, "Content of Care", in the guidelines is correct? Choose one.

1. "Education" is defined as drilling the knowledge that forms the basis of primary school subjects
2. "Education" is defined as support for development so that children grow up healthily and their activities unfold more richly
3. The five areas are presented in the same way for every age from 0 to 5
4. The five areas are health, human relationships, environment, language and music
5. The five areas are the same as school subjects, and each is taught in its own time slot

While changing a one-year-old's nappy, a nursery teacher looks into the child's eyes and says, "That feels nice and fresh, doesn't it?" In light of the guidelines, which best explains this scene? Choose one.

1. Changing nappies is a care task, so educational involvement like talking should be kept for another time
2. Language development is an issue only from age three, so talking to a one-year-old is not part of the content of care
3. Care that meets a physiological need and education that fosters language and relationships are unfolding together as one
4. The only purpose is hygiene, so it is best done as quickly and silently as possible
5. It replaces something parents should do at home, so it is not part of the content of care

Which statement about "planning care" in the guidelines is correct? Choose one.

1. The overall plan shows the whole picture of nursery care comprehensively, and teaching plans and others are made based on it
2. Teaching plans are made first, and an overall plan need not be made
3. The national government makes one overall plan for the whole country, and each centre uses it as is
4. Health plans and food education plans are made separately, with no link to the overall plan
5. The overall plan is made only for the 0-year-old class

Which statement about teaching plans in the guidelines is correct? Choose one.

1. For children under three, only a class-wide plan is made, not individual plans
2. Short-term teaching plans are for looking ahead at children's life and development over a long period
3. For children three and over, an individual plan based on each child's history is required
4. Only a yearly plan is made; there are no monthly, weekly or daily plans
5. For children under three, an individual plan is made for each child based on their history, development and actual activities

Which TWO statements about "evaluating the content of care" in the guidelines are correct? Choose two.

1. In staff self-evaluation, attention is paid not only to what children did and the results, but also to their emotional growth, motivation and the process of their efforts
2. Publishing the results of the centre's self-evaluation is a mandatory duty
3. Only the head of the centre evaluates care; staff do not evaluate themselves
4. The centre must make efforts to publish the results of its self-evaluation
5. Evaluation is based only on how many things children have learned to do

Which set correctly names the three "qualities and abilities to foster" in the guidelines? Choose one.

1. A healthy mind and body; independence; cooperation
2. Keeping alive and well; emotional stability; promoting health
3. The foundations of knowledge and skills; the foundations of thinking, judgement and expression; the drive to learn and human qualities
4. Growing up healthily and freely; connecting with familiar people; engaging with familiar things and developing sensitivity
5. Reading; writing; arithmetic

Which statement about the "images of children we hope to see by the end of early childhood" in the guidelines is correct? Choose one.

1. They are targets that every child must reach before entering primary school
2. They describe children concretely at the start of primary school and are things staff take into account when guiding children
3. They are handled only in the five-year-old class and have nothing to do with care at younger ages
4. They are for scoring each child item by item and sending the grades to the primary school
5. They are presented as goals parents should achieve at home

Which set correctly names the "three viewpoints" used in the guidelines to set out the aims and content of infant care? Choose one.

1. Health; human relationships; environment
2. Keeping alive and well; emotional stability; promoting health
3. Independence; cooperation; the beginnings of thinking
4. Growing up healthily and freely; connecting with familiar people; engaging with familiar things and developing sensitivity
5. Seeing; hearing; speaking

Which TWO statements about points to consider in infant care in the guidelines are correct? Choose two.

1. Infants have strong resistance to illness, so no special health measures are needed
2. Meet each infant's needs properly, paying attention to differences in their history, and try to have a particular nursery teacher respond to them
3. Have as many staff as possible take turns daily so that the infant does not become attached to a particular adult
4. When the nursery teacher in charge changes, pay attention to the child's history and developmental process so far and respond together as a staff team
5. Infant care is done by nursery teachers alone; cooperation with the contracted doctor or nurses is not required

Which statement matches what the guidelines say about caring for children with disabilities? Choose one.

1. Children with disabilities should in principle attend specialist services, so they are not included in the nursery's teaching plans
2. Children with disabilities must be cared for in a separate class with a separate daily routine
3. Include them in teaching plans so they grow together with other children, and make an individual support plan with the family and related agencies
4. No special consideration is to be given until a diagnosis is confirmed
5. Support plans are made by the nursery centre alone and not shared with families or related agencies

Which best describes "nursery visit support" (保育所等訪問支援) under the Child Welfare Act (児童福祉法)? Choose one.

1. Specialists visit nursery centres and similar facilities and give specialist support to help children with disabilities adapt to group life with other children
2. Children with disabilities attend a child development support centre or similar, and get support such as learning basic daily movements
3. Prefectural officials visit nursery centres to audit whether facilities and operation meet the standards
4. Nursery teachers visit the homes of children with disabilities and do housework in place of parents
5. Primary school teachers visit nursery centres and give subject lessons to preschool children