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Neither experimental nor design research in education is as well developed in Japan as in the United States (Inagaki, 1995; Nihon Kyouiku Houhougakkai, 2009). Yet Japanese educational practice employs a type of educational research called "lesson study" that is credited for instructional improvements, including the shift from "teaching as telling" to "teaching for understanding" in science (Lewis & Tsuchida, 1997) and the development of structured problem-solving lessons in mathematics (Takahashi, Watanabe, Yoshida, & Wang-Iverson, 2005). This chapter examines lesson study as an example of the emerging paradigm of "human science," offering an image of how research and practice can relate in ways that inform practical action and the field of educational research. WHAT IS LESSON STUDY?Lesson study is a translation of the Japanese term 授業研究 (jugyou kenkyuu). Jugyou means instruction, lesson, or lessons, and kenkyuu means research or study. Although lesson study is the widely used English translation, the term might also be translated as instructional research, lesson research, or study of instruction. These alternate translations remind us that the Japanese term does not focus on polishing lessons (which the English

The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences of American, Japanese, and Taiwanese kindergarten teachers’ perspectives about clean-up time. The participants consisted of two female American kindergarten teachers in the southeastern US, two female Japanese kindergarten teachers on the main island, and two female Taiwanese kindergarten teachers from central Taiwan, all of whom teach four-year-olds. Qualitative analysis of the data yielded four themes regarding teachers’ views of clean-up time: teaching cleaning-up methods, the developmental stages, the extension of play, and reflection of one’s own practical knowledge and skills. These teachers perceived clean-up time was more than just a transitional time. The implications for early childhood education are presented.