Kindergarten Mixed Age Classes Educational Research

Foreign researchers have made a lot of research in the mixed-age education in kindergarten, which have achieved certain good results. In our country, however, there is little related systematic research on this area as well as its practice.The basic problems of education of mixed-age class in kindergarten are discussed in the part of theoretical discussion. Researcher explains the necessity of this kind of education from several views, i.e., the necessity of communicating with different-aged children, advantages in interacting with different-aged children, problems of singleton and the distance of coming into kindergarten. From viewpoints of the law, theory and practice, it also interprets the feasibility of mixed-age class education, disadvantage of single-age class education in kindergarten and characteristics of the mixed-age class.In the part of practical investigation, researcher studied mixed-age classes selected from three kindergartens in Zhenjiang, Hangzhou and Suzhou by convenience and objective sampling methods. It investigated the educational condition by means of interviewing, observing and analyzing articles, analyzed similarities and differences in the three mixed-age classes education as well as the reason and made summary about the practical teaching experience from teachers.The mixed-age class education has enlightened kindergarten education on many aspects, not only in the mixed-age education but also in the objective, resource, organization and practice of single-age education.Finally, researcher looks into the future of mixed-age education and its research and reflects on some existing problems in this research.