| This comparative study examines preschool teachers reactions to the current national Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum reform in China. Mixed research methods consisting of multi-sited, video-cued ethnography and a questionnaire survey were used to collect data at three Chinese public preschools that are located in significantly different socio-cultural contexts: from the most modernized Chinese metropolis, Shanghai, to Kunming, the capitol of Yunnan Province, to a rural village in the less-developed region of Southwestern Chongqing.;The findings of this study show that there are variations in how classroom teachers react to the top-down reform mandate. This is resulted from not only teachers' individual personal traits (such as age, experience, educational background, personality, and administrative roles at work), but more significantly the educational resources available at each site (such as administrative, parental and financial support, and training opportunities), how the policies are implemented, and the cultural norms of the local communities. Meanwhile, despite their dramatically different working conditions and pedagogies, the teachers from all three locales share certain common attitudes to and knowledge about the pros and cons of the reform. Furthermore, the degree to which the classroom teachers feel the pressure of change from a top-down reform and react to it accordingly, has a great deal to do with their social/political visibility in the eyes of their administration as well as to other professionals in this field. |
