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A Case Study On Kindergarten Teachers' Curriculum Decision-Making

Posted on:2010-03-01Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:R H ChenFull Text:PDF
GTID:1117360275480308Subject:Curriculum and pedagogy
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The tendency of democratization in the 20th-century education has witnessed the establishment of the major role a teacher who plays in the education and curriculum reform. The descending power of curriculum, as well as the exploration of the local and the school-based curriculum of countries all over the world, demand the support and involvement of teachers. There's an urgent need of bringing into play the major role of teachers in curriculum reform so that teachers will, as a member of the unity, find an entry into the team of curriculum exploration and decision, by means of cooperation, dialogue and communication."Pre-school education, as a part of fundamental education, is the primary stage of school education and life-long education."At the beginning of the new century, with the practice and advancement of the new curriculum reform in fundamental education, the curriculum reform in pre-school education has been deepened, too. In June, 2001, the Ministry of Education enacted"The Outline of Education Guide in Kindergarten(try-out version)", which, on the one hand, sets an open idea for the"kindergarten-based curriculum"for kindergartens, and, on the other, fully assures the function and status of kindergarten teachers in nursery education. Therefore, kindergarten teachers shoulder tasks and missions of great importance when faced with the accelerating pace of reform in the 21st-century nursery education. They are expected to be fully engaged in the exploration and construction of the kindergarten curriculum, becoming the developer, decision-maker, researcher and builder of the curriculum. What's mentioned above is the reality and new challenges kindergarten teachers have to encounter at the present.This research is qualitative-research oriented, investigating into the basic situation of teachers'curriculum decision in an ordinary kindergarten by means of instrumental case study. The concept as well as the content of curriculum decision-making, together with the process and the approaches, is rendered explanative understanding and description; also, numerous factors which influence the decision-making and fundamental features in curriculum are analyzed so that the basic conclusion and suggestion should finally come into being. The basic structure of this dissertation is as follows:The introduction part analyzes and illuminates the background, purpose, meaning and basic questions of the research. In the first chapter, the basic questions and the relevant research in curriculum decision-making are straightened up and concluded. In the second chapter, the research approaches and specific research ideas are fixed. As for the third, the fourth and the fifth chapter, they focus on, from different levels, the description and analysis of the basic situation of kindergarten teachers'curriculum decision-making as a case study. In the following chapter six, seven and eight, the rudiment result of the research and the basic conclusion come into being. According to the research:1. The curriculum decision-making of kindergarten teachers in the collective level is different from the decision-making in teaching activities and daily activities, each bearing its own distinctively different features. Firstly, teachers'collective curriculum decision-making belongs to the technical stage of curriculum design and therefore always takes on the form of collective deliberation. In addition, teachers'collective curriculum decision-making usually leads to various results. Secondly, teachers'curriculum decision-making in teaching activities is, by nature, a process of designing and adjusting the teaching elements. At different teaching stages, teachers'curriculum decision-making is varied to some extent in types, and it is the result of personal selection by teachers. Thirdly, the curriculum decision-making in daily activities is the process that creates curriculums and it usually adopts the theme of kids'life incidents, survival and development. Moreover, the curriculum decision-making in daily activities embodies teachers'active ideas in curriculums.2. The curriculum decision-making of kindergarten teachers is under many impacts. Firstly, the characteristic of children's psychological development imposes influence upon the choice and decision of the factors of the curriculum. The actual performance of children during the period of their growth and development often intrigues teachers to generate curriculums automatically. Secondly, teachers'knowledge in his specialty serves as the theoretical basis of the curriculum decision-making, and teachers'teaching experience is the foundation of practice adopted for the curriculum decision-making. Furthermore, teachers'belief is an inner driving force of his curriculum decision-making. Thirdly, the extent of power bestowed to the teacher by the kindergarten has a direct impact upon a teacher's decision-making in the curriculum. Different cooperative cultures will lead to different results in terms of teachers'curriculum decision-making. Simultaneously, the material resource along with the environment imposes some limitation upon a teacher's curriculum decision-making. Besides, the efficiency of home-kindergarten cooperation and parents'expectation upon the children will also bring about some impacts upon teachers'curriculum decision-making.3. On the basis of the comprehensive analysis of the fundamental features as well as the factors of impacts of kindergarten teachers'curriculum decision-making, we've arrived at the basic conclusion and suggestion of the research. Firstly, a kindergarten teacher has relatively wider freedom in deciding the curriculum. Secondly, a teacher's curriculum decision-making is a process involving the periodical perfection of a kindergarten's curriculum. Thirdly, kindergarten teachers'curriculum decision making is usually based on chridren's development. Fourthly, the major way of a kindergarten teacher's curriculum decision-making is, by and large, intuitive. Fifthly, the individual quality of a kindergarten teacher has a decisive impact upon the curriculum decision-making. Lastly, teacher's curriculum decision-making is an effictive path leading to the teachers'professional development. On the basis of the above conclusions, it's suggested that the subjectivity of a teacher's curriculum decision-making should be fully brought into play by empowering him. In addition, various ways should be adopted to strengthen the teacher's ability in curriculum decision-making. On such a basis, the function and connection of teachers'curriculum decision-making at different levels should be exerted and coordinated. At the same time, various resources and environmental support should be rendered for kindergarten teachers'curriculum decision-making.
Keywords/Search Tags:Kindergarten, Teacher, Curriculum Decision-making, Case Study
PDF Full Text Request
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