Zhang Xue, Door Early Childhood Education Thought And Its Contemporary Significance

Zhang Xuemen was one of the well-known Chinese preschooleducation experts. His practice and research have influenced deeply to thenorth and TaiWan. Zhang Xuemen with Chen Heqin was called “SorthChen and North Zhang” in the early twenties and thirties of20th century.The Kindergarten Curriculum Theory and Education Practice Theorywere two wings of his preschool education thoughts and his crystal of theresearch of preschool education.Zhang Xuemen emphasized the preschool education should becombined with children’s life and he thought it was important to acquirethe direct experiences from the children. It is the important principle totake the activities as the center to organize the Kindergarten Curriculum.The principle has its profound significant to the Kindergarten Curriculumreform which emphasized life education, concerned children’sexperiences and promoted children’s learning actively. At the same time,Zhang Xuemen pointed out it was necessary to have qualifiedkindergareners in order to develop the pre-school education. He put forward a set of theories and practice systems to train the qualifiedkindergareners. The theories and practice systems have importantinfluence in developing highly qualified and sophisticated kindergarenersto fit the modern kindergarten education. Therefore, it is of importantsignificance to study Zhang Xuemen’s preschool education thoughts,especially his Kindergarten Curriculum theories and teacher practicetheories.The paper is divided into four parts to discuss Zhang Xuemen’spreschool education thoughts.The introduction discusses the reasons, the purpose and the meaning ofthis research, as well as the related research information.The first part of the body, introduces the background of ZhangXuemen’s preschool education thoughts. The formation of his thoughtswas conformed the need of Chinese social reality at that time, influencedby the educators at home and abroad, and related to Zhang Xuemen’sabundant practice experiences.The second part of the body, introduces the main contents of ZhangXuemen’s preschool education thoughts, including his views on children, his research of Kindergarten Curriculum and of teacher practice theories.The paper discussed Zhang Xuemen’s preschool education thoughts fromhis two main aspects: the Kindergarten and the preschool normaleducation.The third part of the body, disserts the contemporary significance ofZhang Xuemen’s preschool education thoughts from three aspects. Thecontemporary significance of his views on children includes: to treatchildren with the whole idea and developing foresight; to follow thechildren’s development regulation, considering children’s universalityand individuality; to fix attention on the future development basing on thegrowth of the reality. The contemporary significance of KindergartenCurriculum theory includes: Kindergarten Curriculum must be based onour national conditions and kindergarten’s characteristics; the Curriculumshould meet the needs of both children’s individual development and thesocial development; it should accompany children’s life all the time; itshould develop the activities as the center; its preparing and establishingboth are very important. The contemporary significance of kindergartenteachers practice theory includes: to change ideas and set up correct practice views; to run throughout the students’ study in the school withthe practice process; to diversify in contents and forms involving everyaspect of the kindergarten; to pay attention to training students’professional ethics in the practice; to pay attention to the students’continuing education to achieve educational unification of the pre-serviceand post-service education.