This study attempted to provide a new perspective on kaigo tou taiken (“caregiving experience”), a requirement for teaching licenses in Japan, and illustrated how the elderly with dementia and children can be cared for with similar methods. In general, for prospective teachers, obtaining kaigo tou taiken, which involves taking care of the elderly whom have some degree of dementia, is not so benefi cial. Because of that, this study aims to consider the meaning of kaigo tou taiken, using Goff man’s theory of the face-to-face interaction to examine prospective teacher’s caregiving practices for the elderly with dementia. This study concludes that two signifi cant elements of kaigo tou taiken, unspecialized and specialized treatments, are indicative of a pedagogical process between teachers and students. Furthermore, unspecialized treatment was found to be important for kaigo tou taiken in retirement homes. These two treatments suggest that there are caregiving methods common to children and the elderly with dementia.