| High-quality preschool education drives the deepening of kindergarten curriculum,and the principal,as the first person responsible for kindergarten,has an important leadership role in kindergarten curriculum reform.The kindergarten curriculum is children-centered,based on meeting children’s interests and needs through play-based activities,which places high demands on kindergarten teachers and challenges on the curriculum leadership of the director.Currently,no research has been conducted on the curriculum leadership of kindergarten principals,but there is no research on the guidance strategies of principals’ curriculum leadership in curriculum practice from a "children-centered" perspective.In this study,Principal X was selected as a case study subject,and her curriculum leadership process was deepened through observation,interviews,and physical analysis,and the collected data were analyzed with the help of Nvivo11 plus to explore how Director X implemented the concept of "children-center" in her curriculum leadership.The study found that Director X used five strategies to guide teachers to implement the "children-centered" philosophy in curriculum implementation.She addressed the problem of teachers’ difficulty in capturing children’s interests and needs by organizing thematic teaching and research groups,reflecting the director’s organizational power in curriculum structure;she also addressed the problem of teachers’ lack of ability to support children’s learning through training,reflecting the director’s technical leadership in curriculum.Through training,she solves the problem of teachers’ lack of ability to support children’s learning,reflecting the director’s leadership in curriculum expertise;through building class-based curriculum,she solves the problem of teachers’ low confidence,reflecting the director’s leadership in curriculum faculty;through strengthening the concept of children-centered curriculum,she solves the problem of teachers’ didactic activities,reflecting the director’s leadership in curriculum organization and culture;through developing public relations,she solves the problem of the lack of kindergarten curriculum resources,reflecting the principal’s leadership in curriculum public relations.This shows that Director X has a clearer understanding of curriculum leadership and that her conception and role of curriculum leadership has changed over time.Principal X’s professional and the support of the kindergarten and the higher educational administration guaranteed the effective exercise of her curriculum leadership.At the same time,Principal X was also constrained by weak personal theoretical skills,hardware,teachers and financial investment in kindergarten A,which affected the development of curriculum leadership.Combining the factors that influence the development of the curriculum leadership of director X,the researcher proposes the following recommendations from the five dimensions of the director’s curriculum leadership: study professional books related to curriculum leadership to enhance the director’s professional and technical leadership in curriculum;continuously optimize the child-based curriculum concept to enhance the director’s organizational and cultural leadership in curriculum;pay attention to the sustainable development of teachers’ professionalism to enhance the director’s leadership in curriculum faculty;create the director’s leadership in curriculum to enhance the director’s leadership in curriculum structure;strengthen the integration of curriculum resources to enhance the director’s leadership in curriculum public relations.To create conditions for the director’s curriculum leadership and enhance the director’s leadership in curriculum structure and organization;to strengthen the integration of curriculum resources and enhance the director’s leadership in curriculum public relations. |
