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研究ノート
研究ノート

Revealing aspects of reality shock employed less than
one year; experienced by nursery teachers by interviews
Matsuura Miharu1), Kamiji Reiko1), Minagawa Jun2)
Abstract:

In Japan, there is a problem of lack of nursery teachers. One of theconceivable reasons is early turnover caused by reality shock.

Reality shock is causedby large gaps between their expectations before employment and their experiences on
actual job, and it causes various stress reactions.

Reality shock felt by Japanese

professional person had been researched mainly about nurses.
about the nursery teacher exists.

However, a few research

We intended to reveal various aspects of reality shock

experienced by nursery teachers. We interviewed 8 members of the nursery teachers
who were employed less than a year. We carried out the following procedures: Creating
verbatim records from participant’s remarks, separation of contents from verbatim
records, and classification of separated contents from the aspects of reality shock.

Key Words: lack of nursery teachers, reality shock, interview
1

Situation in Japan : Hidden issues related to nursery school teachers and their earlyjob-leaving problem.
Japan is having a problem of the children on the waiting list for nursery schools,
because the efforts in providing childcare facilities, which are necessary for women who
have a child/children to work, have not been able to meet its demands so that mothers
cannot find nursery facilities for their children against a backdrop of lack of nurserystaffs.

According to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s report in 2013, 380,000

nursery school teachers are working which is only 35% of the licensed people showingthat there are 680,000 “potential nursery teachers” who are not actually working
although they have licenses.
The Ministry of health, labor and welfare defines the “early job-leaving” as a jobleaving less than 3 years after graduation from junior-high school, high school oruniversity.

Many of potential nursery staffs were people who once worked as nursery1) Faculty of Human Sciences Department of Psychology & Human Life, Sanyo

Gakuen University2) Department of Childhood Care and Education, Faculty of Child Studies, Urawa
University
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Matsuura ・ Kamiji ・ Minagawa ： Revealing aspects of山陽論叢
reality shock employed
less than
one year; experienced by nursery teachers by interviews
第 23 巻(2016)

staffs but left the job early.

According to the research done by Kato & Suzuki (2011) on

nursery facilities in Shizuoka Prefecture, total of 50 nursery teachers left their job within
3 years, in 31 out of 66 facilities which responded, and of which 16 people quit their job
less than a year.

It is needed to take measures to prevent nursery staffs from early-leaving.
2

Researches in Japan regarding nursery staffs' early job-leaving.
Currently there are only a few researches which consider organized measures fornursing staffs' early leavings. The academic information search database, the CiNii(NII academic information navigator), only hits 19 cases with the words “childcare” AND“early job-leaving” at January 6, 2017.
Endo, Takeishi, Suzuki& Kato (2012) focused on the side of facility to be employed andthe side of nursery teachers capture the problem of early job-leaving differently
difficult to understand the reason of iteach other.

andEndo et al. proposed to learn young

nursery teachers' feachers of thinking and attitude.

They studied graduates fromnursery teacher training facilities who have been working within 5 years and learned
situation on retirement and job change as well as characteristics on how they think about
the job, work environment and so on.

The research shows that there are many common

factors between the reasons of actual job-leavings and “feeling to leave” which thecontinuous workers have experienced.

Specifically speaking, the factors which affectedto the actual job-leavers' decision are; “doubt on policy in the workplace”, “mental andphysical disorder”, “human relationships within workplace”, “no hope can be seen for the
future”, “not enough holidays”, “many overtime works”, and “lost confidence on the work”.
On the other hand, the factors of “feeling to leave” from the continuous workers are;“difficult to take holidays”, “many amount of work and tiring”, “physically hard”, “tooheavy responsibilities”, “cannot feel a sense of fulfillment nor joy”, “human relationships
within workplace”, “doubt or problem on the facility's policy”.
3

The idea called “Reality Shock”
Clinical nurses who are also professional workers same as nursery school teachers

have same problems of early job-leaving.

The CiNii hit 79 cases with the words“nursing” AND “early job-leaving”. Among them, there are researches studying the“reality shock” which describes conditions for new clinical nurses.
The definition of the reality shock generally used in the nursing field is “a term used
to describe the phenomenon and the specific shock-like reactions of new workers when
they find themselves in a work situation for which they have spent several years
preparing and for which they thought they were going to be prepared, and then suddenly
find that they are not.” by Kramer (1974).

Same phenomenon can be seen also in

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situations surrounding nursery teachers. The research by Tanigawa (2013) raises theReality Shock for nursery teachers and shows clearly the process in which the Reality
Shock brings about nursery staffs' growth through the interviews.
& Hamada (2016) developed a scale for childcare training.

Matsuda, Shitara,

They called idea like reality

shock including positive affects of experience, “unexpected reality”.

Overall, few

researches study the reality shock of nursery teachers in Japan.
Okamoto & Iwanaga (2015) regarded reality shock in new nursing graduates as stress
reaction raised by cognitive discordance come from gaps between their expectations andtheir real experiences. It is worth to extract contents of gaps between expectations andreal experiences perceived by new nursery teachers.
4

Purpose of the research
We are developing a unit of measurement for the Reality Shock for new nurseryteachers in Japan.

In order to create factors for the measurement, we conductedinterviews with nursing teachers who spent 1, 2, 3 or 4 years after graduation fromtraining school. The purpose of this research was to extract contents of cognitive gaps
account for reality shock about which nursery teachers feel. Here we introduce contents
learnt from a teacher who spent 1 year after graduation.
5

MethodWe conducted semi-structured interview to 8 nursery school teachers who have been

employed at a nursery facilities right after graduation from college.
As the Reality Shock occurs several months after the graduation (Kramer, 1974), we
arranged the timing of interview from May to July which is, for them, 1 to 3 months since
they started working. The interview had been conducted at the laboratory in theuniversity with 1 or 2 interviewees at one time. One interview took about 1 hour.
The Table 1 describes interview guide. Since it was not fully structured, but semistructured interview, some cases had detailed questions for specific topic or additionalquestions which were not in the guide in accordance with the direction of conversation
and requests or opinions from interviewees.

Once the interview agreed, we hadrecorded the conversation between an interviewer and an interviewee through IC
recorder.
After we put recorded contents through verbatim transcript, we divided them permeanings and wrote contents on each card. Card creation and contents classification
were done by 3 adults who had no idea about working situation in nursery school
industry which was the background of the research.
the KJ method (Kawakita, 1967) was referred.

For card creation and classification,

These procedure intended to preventclassification affected by existing precept and criteria.
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Matsuura ・ Kamiji ・ Minagawa ： Revealing aspects of山陽論叢
reality shock employed
less than
one year; experienced by nursery teachers by interviews
第 23 巻(2016)

6

Result and Consideration
The result is shown in the table 2 and 3. The gaps were divided into 2 categories ofvalence, positive and negative, as Ogata (2012) pointed out.

As the purpose of thisstudy was to extract contents of cognitive gap which raise stress reaction accounting forearly job-leaving, let us discuss the negative gaps mainly. We thought from a result as
follows.
New nursery teachers who started working in the year right after their school days
are forced to face too many responsibilities and documents to work on as well ascomplicated relationships.
Human relationship has 4 dimensions consisted of children, parents, colleagues
entered at the same age, and elder colleagues.

They suffer from pressures on eachrelationship such as; “they cannot be taken as a nursery school teacher” from theirrelationship with children, “they cannot be trusted as a professional nursery school
teacher” from their relationship with parents, and “they are rebuked, working
environment forces them follow” from their relationship with elder colleagues.
Moreover, as colleagues entered at the same age often play a supporting role with theirrelationship, their feeling of early-leaving will be even stronger when their fellows left
the job.
They have to learn so many procedures for their work as well as writing so manyamounts of documents. Elder colleagues would teach them how to write those documents,
however, it could let them feel that “they get hurt from what they were said by theirseniors” when “the senior is too strict in teaching how to write documents”.
They are trying to pay attention on their health condition, but it could get hurt bystress.

Morimoto, Hayashi, & Higashimura (2013) studied people who worked at akindergartens or nursery schools for the first time in their career after graduation froma training school but left the job early, or has spent more than 3 years working there but
quit in the end. As a result of 30 minutes-semi-structured individual interview andanalysis of early job-leaving, the study concluded that the biggest factor was the gap inof required practical skills between what they imaged at the graduation and those inactual situation when they work.

Our research also shows that many of the newnursery school teachers feel gap compared to their school days.
7

Supplementary noteThis work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Challenging

Exploratory Research Number 15K13152.
This article is a revised edition of the conference presentation in ICP 2016.

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8

Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Ms. Yoshie Sadato and Ms. Chie Motoya for the help of organizing

large amount of data.
9

Literature

Endo, C., Takeishi, S., Suzuki, K., & Kato, M.

(2012).

A study on the early retirementof new childcare teachers 2:Focusing on reasons for leaving jobs.

Tokoha University Junior College, 43, 155 -166.

Bulletin ofJapan Broadcasting Corporation (2013). Today's Close-up Serious lack of nursery school
teachers – Wall against zero children on the waiting list for nursery schools – NHK
Online. ＜http://www.nhk.or.jp/gendai/kiroku/detail02_3384_all.html＞ (January
12th 2016).
Kato, M., & Suzuki, K.

(2011). A study on the early retirement of new childcare

teachers : from the investigation of kindergarten day nurseries' and child welfare
institutions' personal accounts.
79 -94.
Kawakita, J.

Bulletin of Tokoha University Junior College, 42,(1967). New Idea Generation,

Chuokoron-sha.

Kramer, M. (1974). Reality Shock: Why Nurses Leave Nursing? The C.V. Mosby Co.,
St. Louis, MO.

Matsuda, Y., Shitara, S. & Hamada, S. (2016). Development of the unexpected reality
scale for childcare training. The Japanese Journal of Psychology, 87, 384-394.

Morimoto, M., Hayashi, Y., & Higashimura, T.
Care Workers' Early Retirement.

(2013). A Survey on Newcomer Child-

Nara Bunka Women's College Bulletin, 44, 101- 109.

Ogata, M. (2012). A conceptual arrangement of reality shock. Konan business review,
53, 85-126.
Okamoto, K. & Iwanaga, M. (2015). Development of reality shock scale for new nursing
graduates. Japanese journal of international nursing care research, 14, 1-10.

Tanigawa, N. (2013). Professional Development of Novice Teachers through Their Crisis
in Nursery Schools and Kindergartens : Focusing on Their Reflective Learning
Process(Part I Free Topic Articles).

education, 51, 105 - 116.

Research on early childhood care and5- 139 -

Matsuura ・ Kamiji ・ Minagawa ： Revealing aspects of山陽論叢
reality shock employed
less than
one year; experienced by nursery teachers by interviews
第 23 巻(2016)

Table 1

Interview Guide

Interview contents
Is there any gap, or difference between the images you had before you started working, andactual situation after you started working? If yes, what kind of gap is it? Please tell us as
many as you can think of.
2.
As for the gap, what did you feel? What did you think? And how did you feel?
1.

3.
4.
5.
6.

As for the gap, did you make any action?
As for the gap, is there any changes in your physical condition? For example, have you feltthat you couldn't sleep or you didn't feel like eating? Please tell us if there is anything changed
in your health condition.
As for the gap, is there any impact on your life? If yes, please let us know the detail.
Please tell us if there is anything else you have regarding the gap.

Table 2

Positive gap

The growth of myself is realized.
It's fun toconcern a child.

A child is cute.
It's fun to concern a child.
I'm glad about child's
growth.

Positive gap
I came to work, and my figure could be seen
now objectively.
It is helpful to have learned for school days.
I have a feeling of growing actually.
I'm happy that a child tames.
A child is cute.
It's fun to concern a child.
I'm glad about child's growth.
The relationship among the staffs are good.

There is support from a senior
nurture man
I'm resisting each other with a same
year
There is environment that I tend towork.

You can get advice from a senior nurture
person.
A senior nurture person is gentle.
I assist it with the same period.
We have the atmosphere which doesn't haveto work overtime.
A manual of a workplace is complete so that it
may be easy to work.

I'm satisfied with the working
condition of the school.

A paid organization is complete accurately.

Work is fun.

Work is fun.

I'm satisfied with payment.
The family helps me.

There is a person who supports.

I came to communicate with my friends inother schools.
It's a support to talk with my friends.
I became careful of physical condition
management.

I came to self-manage.

I came to use my private time more
importantly.
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Table 3

Negative gap

Negative gap
Documents burden you

The form of documents are instructed
strictly
too many documents
difficulty of writing documents

Shortage of labor staffs.
Equipment is insufficient.
Time of the work is long.
There is a lot of overtime workwithout pay.

When scolded from a superior, I shrink.

nurture persons leaves steadily
insufficient of hands
Facilities necessary for work are notenoughWorking hours are long.
There is much unpaid overtime.

You often pay attention from a I am often warned from a senior nurture
senior nurture person.
person.

There is a lot of takeout work.

There is a lot of takeout work.

When a senior and a stay I cannot comeback and am hard to come backI have heavy responsibilities.

Though I'm a new face, you entrust thework of which I have heavy
responsibilities.

The pecking order of thesenior junior is severe.

There is no support from asenior nurture person.
I have trouble with parents'
correspondence.

A policy in a garden has a doubt.

There is dissatisfaction in theworking condition of the garden.

There is the atmosphere that you shouldobey in saying of the senior nurture
personA senior nurture person is not reliable.

heavy burden of work

The human relations between the staff are difficult.

The human relations between the staff
The human relations between are difficult.
the staffs are difficult.
I am too busy, and human relations are
nervous.
You can't get cooperation among thestaffs.
You can't get cooperation
between the staff.
Allotment of roles among the staffs isn't
clear, so it's difficult.
Even if scolded from a senior nurture
person, it isn't convincing.
I am hurt for the way of speaking a
There is a fearful seniorsenior nurture person.
nurture person.
There is a fearful senior nurture person.

Too busy.
I am busy.

Support from a superior isn't got.

The hand is taken by unplanned
The hand is taken by unplanned work.
work.
There is a lot of training.

Communication with parents is difficult.

There is a lot of work to have to There is a lot of work to remember.
remember.
There is much more work you must learn
than those of the training of school days.
There is a lot of work.
There is business besides thenurture.
Work is tired.
You are request to judge by
yourself, and to move.

There is much work.
There is business besides the nurture.
Work is tired.
I think the school days were comfortable.
You are request to judge by yourself andto move.
The want of ability is felt.

The lack of the ability is felt.

There is the trouble among the parents.
Each nursery schools has original
tradition.
There is a question about the policy ofthe school.
It must prevent you from lowering the
reputation of the school.
It isn't the workplace which can also doafter marriage and childbearing.
Even if I am in bad condition, I can't rest.
When talk in other schools is heard, it's
blessed and enviable
Of the work contents, there is little
payment comparatively.
Even if I'd like to resign from it, we havethe atmosphere from which can't
resigned.

I'm too busy, and necessary work can't bedone.
During working, it's always run after attime.

It's difficult to concern achild.

Stress reaction

I think it should have been employed in
I do not seen from a child look as aother ones.
nurture person.
There is feeling that I'd like to resign
There is the feeling that I want to quit
I can't notice the thought that child'sfrom a nurture person.
The lack of the ability is felt.
but continues it for guts.
behavior is in the back.
There is not confidence continuing a
A child can't see me as a nurture person.
childcare person.
I cannot do it when not practical with
I can't be judged as a grown-up nurturework to get a salary.
person from a guardian.
I was not able to meet the friends of my
Without being made successfully, work isschool days.
impatient.
I cannot talk about a trouble of the work Student apprentices come, so one has A student trainee comes, so I have to be aSocial support isn't got.
with a family and friends.
to be a good example.
good model.
The method of the garden learned at an
The support of the family is not provided.
education school have a different way.
It isn't useful that it was learned inChildren don't have an interest in theschool days.
Even if there is a stress, I
Even if there is a stress, I stand it.
hand game and the story telling learned
stand it.
in school days.
I ate and drank too much for
There is a child who needs a lot of
I ate and drank too much for stress.
stress.
There is a child who needs a looking after.
lot of looking after.
Newcomer's child cries in the beginningI got out of shape for stress. I got out of shape for stress.
of the fiscal year, so it's serious.
You infect with the disease
My body is tired.
My body is tired.
You infect with the disease from a child.
from a child.
Work doesn't get away from Work doesn't get away from the
To scold a child becomes
To scold a child becomes stressful.
the beginning.
beginning.
stressful.
It's hard, and I cry.
It's hard, and I cry.
I'm alarmed in child's safety. I'm alarmed in child's safety.
Private time became little.
Private time became little.

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