A Teacher’s Introduction and Establishment of Class Norms Use of Slogans in an Elementary School Class

• Published in: Kyōiku Shinrigaku Kenkyū Vol. 57; no. 4; pp. 407 - 418
• Main Authors: KISHINO, MAI, MUTO, TAKASHI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: The Japanese Association of Educational Psychology 2009
• Subjects: elementary school class norms; Japanese elementary school; mediated tool; slogans; third-grade students
• ISSN: 0021-5015; 2186-3075
• DOI: 10.5926/jjep.57.407

The present research examined a teacher’s guidance when introducing and establishing class norms, focusing on the teacher’s use of slogans. A third-grade class was videotaped for 1 year. Interactions involving the slogans “take good care of your life”, “take good care of your feelings”, and “don’t interfere with others’ studying” were analyzed. Using those slogans, the teacher successfully structured lessons and settled disagreements between the students. With this method, the teacher replaced his authority with a neutral relationship mediated by the slogans. The teacher gradually showed the children how to use the slogans, which were viewed as signposts indicating the class’s goals. Initially, the children applied the slogans by mimicking the teacher after he had used them to admonish other pupils ; later, the children used the slogans on their own. The present findings suggest that a teacher could use such slogans as a tool for promoting children’s scholastic abilities and holistic personalities, and that a teacher can enable children to appropriate slogans for themselves.