Issues and elements of case study research are explored and illustrated with the example of a case study of a kindergarten in a suburb of Tokyo (Japan). Case study research is a type of qualitative research that concentrates on a single unit or entity, with boundaries established by the researcher. The case is an example drawn from a larger class, and its study involves in-depth and longitudinal examinations. Case study research is used when the questions are how and why, rather than what and how many. Case studies are used when particularistic, descriptive, heuristic, and inductive phenomena are considered. Issues in planning a case study and selecting a case are reviewed. A case study conducted by the authors at Kawasaki Kindergarten in Tokyo, Japan, is discussed as an illustration of the method, with dialogue between the authors demonstrating their different views of the school they studied. (SLD)