The Current Status And Dilemmas Of Project Approach Implementation

As the value of project approach becomes more and more recognised,a project boom has emerged in the early childhood education sector in China,and the current status and effectiveness of project approach has gradually become a common concern.The aim of this study is to investigate the current situation and dilemmas of projectbased curriculum implementation in kindergartens in China from the perspective of teachers,to analyse the causes of teachers’ implementation dilemmas,and to offer potential solutions for teachers and kindergartens accordingly.A purposive sample of ten teachers with experience in implementing project approach was selected for this study.Data were collected mainly through the interview method,and a total of approximately 140,000 words of textual information were collected and coded for analysis.The study found that at the selecting a topic stage,teachers would consider whether the themes came from the children’s interests,whether they were easy to operate and sometimes needed to comply with the requirements set by the management.Teachers would clarify the potential value of the theme by creating a theme network map or activity goals.During the exploration and field work stage,teachers and children follow questions and provide support by discussing them with children and encouraging children’s representations,while some teachers report that they are unable to move the project curriculum forward.In the concluding and reflective phase,teachers evaluate the project approach in terms of the development gained by the children,or the framework provided by the preschool,or the final implementation outcomes.Overall,teachers were uncertain about the development of the children in the project approach.The following dilemmas were identified at different stages of the project.During the selecting a topic stage,teachers had difficulty in identifying the children’s real interests.In the concluding and reflective phase,teachers lacked the awareness and ability to evaluate.Teachers also faced dilemmas throughout the implementation of the curriculum,such as the low level of professionalism and lack of professional support and training to provide appropriate support to children;the pressure of external evaluation on teachers,which generates negative emotions;the lack of awareness among teachers about family-school cooperation;and the inadequacy of teaching resources in terms of time resources,curriculum material and human resources.Based on the findings of the study,the study makes the following three recommendations.Firstly,teachers should study the core concepts and theoretical background of the project approach in depth.Secondly,the preschool should clear the obstacles for teachers to implement the project approach and provide continuous and reliable professional and psychological support.Thirdly,the preschool and the relevant education authorities should empower teachers and reduce their teaching and workload.Fourthly,the preschool and teachers value parental involvement and promote a consultative teaching and learning relationship of collaborative parenting between the home community in the project curriculum.