Investigation And Reseach On Present Situation Of Implementing Integrated Practical Activity Curriculum In Junior Middle School In Guangzhou

As the latest curriculum reform started in June,2001when the Ministry ofEducation promulgated “the outline of basic education reform (trial)”，which indicatedthat the integrated practical activity curriculum came into being in China as a new andindependent course form. The new curriculum reform started from2001，and rolledout in the round in2005, but the curirculum suffered many questions and trials inpractice. Guangzhou，as the ifrst test city of the new curirculum reofrm, has promotedand implemented the curirculum for more than10years. Therefore, it was necessaryto conduct a research on the implementation status of the integrated practical activity,which involved problems as lflows: Whether most of the school leaders and teachersagreed with the curriculum value? Whether teachers were well qualified for thiscurriculum? Whether schools made full use of internal and external resources to carryout activities? What kind of achievements have gotten, and what kind of diiffcultieshave encountered in the middle school?The questionnaire survey method was the main research method in this thsis，weused self-designed "Investigation Questionnaire of the Status on ImplementingIntegrated Practical Activity in Junior Middle School Curriculum of Guangzhou City”，combined with interviews and classroom lectures, to conduct survey in44middleschools from eight aspects, these middle schools covered in9zones and2districtcounty of Guangzhou city. The eight aspects include: understanding of the middleschool leaders and teachers to curriculum; value identity degree of the middle schoolleaders and teachers to curriculum; the conditions of setting up and planning thecourse in the middle school; security of school teaching conditions and utilizations ofcurriculum resources; class teaching about integrated practice activity; interests andperformances of middle school students in participating in the integrated practicalactivity; how many times do middle school students participate in the specified ifeldactivities cach year; the effects achieved and difficulties encountered duringimplementing the integrated practical activity. The results show that, the curriculum has made achievements and existedproblems in four aspects respectively in the course of promoting and implementingthis curriculum in Guangzhou. Four aspccts of achievements include:(l)thecurirculum value has been recognized;(2)tcaching methods of teachers and learningmethods of students were going to better;(3)MuIti-type ways of evaluating have beenreflected initially;(4)curriculum implementation has accumulated some experience,and was promoting to further. However, Some problems have come up duirngpromoting and implementing of the curirculum, which included four aspects:(1)traditional activity classes were used to instead of integrated practical activity course;(2)setting-up of this curriculum was ill-formed and not all-inclusive;(3)phenomenonof "class hours shir"nking was obvious;(4)the quantity and capacity of teaching staffswere not fully guaranteed. In addition, the school leadership encountered two majordiiffculties:(l)thc development of this curirculum was restricted by the exam-oirentededucation seirously;(2)the evaluation mechanism was hard to mobilize theenthusiasm of teachers and students to this course.Aiming at the problems and diiffculties，this paper put forward to the followingmeasures: ifrstly, schools should change education concepts, and be full confident inquality education. Secondly, schools and related education departments should perfectthe course safeguard mechanisms to guarantee the normal implementation of thiscurriculum. Thirdly, the school and related education departments should takemeasures to improve professional quality of teachers gradually, to guarantee theeffects of curriculum implementation.This research had a comprehensive grasp of the status of integrated practicalactivity curirculum in the junior middle school of Guangzhou, besides, it analyzed theproblems and diiffculties，then put forward reasonable measures to draw moreattention of education experts, education departments, leaders and teachers of juniormiddle schools, and promote the long-term development of this course, meantime,these research results provide reference for the other provinces when theyimplementing this curirculum.