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《香港幼兒學報》是為香港幼兒教育工作者而設的專業期刊，每年出版兩冊。《香港幼兒學報》編委會現誠徵各類有關幼兒教育、照顧及發展的文章，題材不限，不同類別而有關家庭與孩子成長的文章也無任歡迎。

本學報的辦刊宗旨是為香港幼教同仁提供一個分享知識和經驗的園地，以及辯論不同議題的平台；為實踐優質幼兒教育作出貢獻；及讓幼教研究成果和創新實踐經驗得以發表。學報可透過專題形式刊出，故編委會歡迎各界人士就專題項目提供意見。

《香港幼兒學報》第13卷第1冊將於2014年5月出版，題材不限，歡迎有興趣的人士來稿。稿例刊於本學報封底內頁。

Invitation to AuthorsHong Kong Journal of Early Childhood (HKJEC) is published twice a year especially for early childhood educators in Hong Kong. The Editorial Board of the HKJEC invites contributions on all aspects of the education, care, and development of young children. Contributions from all disciplines concerned about young children and their families are welcome.

At times, articles may be published under a special theme. The Editorial Board welcomes suggestions for themed issues. The journal aims at providing opportunities for Hong Kong’s early childhood professionals to share their experience and knowledge, and debate issues; to contribute to quality early childhood practices; and to disseminate research findings and innovative practices.

Contributions are invited for the next edition of the HKJEC Volume 13, Number 1, to be published in May 2014. Papers on any topic are welcome. Notes for contributors can be found on the back inside cover of this journal.

SubscriptionsPlease contact the HKJEC for details of subscriptions through email ([email protected]) or by post to the Editorial and Publication Office. A subscription order form can also be found on the last page of this journal.

Editorial and Publication OfficeDepartment of Early Childhood EducationThe Hong Kong Institute of Education10 Lo Ping Road,Tai Po, New Territories, Hong KongFacsimile: (852) 2948 7160E-mail: [email protected]

AcknowledgementOur thanks to The Hong Kong Institute of Education and Educational Publishing House Limited for sponsorship of the publication from 2002 to 2014 respectively, and all the reviewers who have contributed their expert advice to the journal.

Views published in the journal do not necessarily represent those of the Editorial Board, the Department of Early Childhood Education, The Hong Kong Institute of Education or Educational Publishing House Limited.

Copyright© 2013 The Hong Kong Institute of EducationAll right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of The Hong Kong Institute of Education.

ISSN 1682-878X

Edition EditorsDr. LAU Grace 劉慧中博士The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong

Dr. LI Hui 李輝博士The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Editorial Board (2012-2013)Dr. HO Choi Wa Dora 何彩華博士The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong

Dr. LI Hui 李輝博士The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Dr. WONG Wai Yum Veronica 黃蕙吟博士The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong

Ms. YEUNG Suet Ching Priscilla 楊雪貞女士Yew Chung Education Foundation, Hong Kong

Panel of Advisors (2012-2014)Professor CHEN Lung An 陳龍安教授Shih Chien University, Taiwan

Professor CHOU Su Hui 周淑惠教授National Hsinchu University of Education, Taiwan

Dr. HSUEH Yeh 薜燁博士The University of Memphis, USA

Professor LAU Sing 劉誠教授Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

Dr. LIM Swee Eng Audrey Bernadette 林瑞瑛博士Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Professor SIEGEL LindaUniversity of British Columbia, Canada

Professor YU Yong Ping 虞永平教授Nanjing Normal University, China

The Hong Kong Institute of Education Library

For private study or research only. Not for publication or further reproduction.

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Hong Kong Journal ofEarly Childhood香港幼兒學報 Vol. 12 No. 2 Dec 2013

目錄 Contents

編者序言

Editorial

劉慧中、李輝．LAU Grace & LI Hui��3

Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Learning in the Mobile Era –Advances, Challenges, and Implications

Christina AHN．安相姬 ��7

香港學前中文教育研究－幼兒語文教與學現況調查A Study of the Pre-school Chinese Language Education in Hong Kong: The Current Situation of Language Teaching and Learning

謝錫金、李黛娜、羅嘉怡、陳聲珮．TSE Shek Kam & LEE Toi Na Monique & LOW Ka YEE & CHAN Sing Pui Tikky ��19

Progress and Barriers in the Implementation of Early Childhood Inclusive Education in Hong Kong Kindergartens

幼兒融合教育在香港幼稚園實踐的進程和障礙POON Tsz Ying．潘芷盈 ��25

An Interview Study of Chinese Parents’ Beliefs about Play and Learning in Younger Children

中國父母對嬰幼兒遊戲與學習觀念的訪談研究LIN Xun Yi．林洵怡 ��35

對佛教思想落實在幼兒教育課程及教學法上的初階理解The Application of Buddhist Thinking on Early Childhood Curriculum and Pedagogic Practises. An Initial Understanding

劉慧中．LAU Grace ��44

Development and Validation of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Scale

《香港幼稚園課室觀察量表》的研發與信效度檢驗

CHAU Nga Lei Lilian & LI Hui & LAU Yi Lok Michelle Marie．周雅莉、李輝、劉懿樂��53



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How do Creative Teachers Facilitate Children’s Creativity in Visual Arts? A Case Study about the Visual Arts Teacher Training and Teaching

創意教師如何促進幼兒視覺藝術中的創意？視覺藝術教師培訓及教學的個案研究LEUNG Kit Ying Suzannie．梁潔瀅��76

運用視覺組織圖表開展幼兒藝術綜合課程的理論與實踐Using Graphic Organizer to Deliver Early Integrated Arts Curriculum: Theory and Practice

劉永慈．LAU Wing Chi Margaret��87

香港幼稚園推行「幼兒故事劇場」的個案研究Case Study on the Implementation of Kinder-Theater in Hong Kong Kindergarten

劉秀清．LAU Sau Ching Helen��98

Negotiating the Meaning of the Green School

綠色學校意義的研討Ailin IWAN．余莉美��111

Providing Cognitive Advantages for Economically Disadvantaged Children: Is High Quality Preschool the Best Way or Does Family Also Matter?

促進貧困家庭兒童的認知能力發展：優質學前教育是最好的方法還是家庭教育仍至關重要？ZHANG Li ．張莉��118

鳴謝學報評審Reviewer Acknowledgement��126



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編者序言

自千禧年以降，幼兒教育開始成為世界各國普遍關注的熱門話題，各地的政府大都顯著增加對幼教事業的財政投入。香港特區政府更在二零零七年推出學前教育學券制，並在二零一三年成立免費幼稚園教育委員會，全面檢討和規劃香港的免費幼教政策。樂觀而言，香港幼教的黃金時代或將來臨。這是大勢所趨，也是幼教發展的歷史必然。當然，機遇與挑戰總是如影隨形，今日幼教所面臨之挑戰更是前所未見。例如， Web 3.0時代帶來的「學習革命」，早期中文教育問題，幼兒融合教育問題，三歲以下兒童的遊戲與學習問題，幼教課程改革，教學評估，以及早期音樂和創意教育等等。面對這些挑戰，本港幼教研究人員一直在展開各類實驗和實踐性研究，本期所收錄的論文即展示了他們在研究方面所做出的努力。

科技發展日新月異，手機等移動設備已經徹底改變了人類的生活和行為模式，也進入了幼兒的日常生活。在本期首篇論文裡，安相姬對這一發展趨勢進行了認真反思，並就如何利用移動設備及其相關程序促進幼兒的有效學習展開了前瞻性的理論與分析研究。我們衷心希望本文能引發業界更多的思考和應用研究。

中文讀寫教育，一直是香港幼教界的重點、難點和熱點。有鑑於此，謝錫金、李黛娜、羅嘉怡、陳聲珮展開了一項關於本港幼兒中文教學現狀的調查研究。本期第二篇論文便是他們的研究報告。他們調查了一千二百名本港幼師，結果發現幼師普遍需要一個更具系統和生活化的中文識字課程以及增加必要的專業訓練。這些數據對進一步研究如何改善本港幼教中文課程提供了重要的參考。

早期融合教育在本港幼教界一直行而不通甚至推而不行，當中定有深層次原因。潘芷盈在第三篇論文裡就此展開了理論研究和現實反思。她從哲學觀念和現實實踐兩個層面對早期融合教育的概念做了界定，並進一步總結分析了一些有爭議性的相關研究。這提醒喚來業界對一個迫在眉睫的問題的全面反思，那就是：早期融合教育應該何去何從？

香港和內地幼教改革使幼師普遍接受了「遊戲中學習」的思想；然而，對那些望子成龍的家長而言，卻未必接受，這是由於他們對早期學習與遊戲之間的關係未必有科學的認識。因此，林洵怡對福建十五個零至三歲嬰兒的家長進行了深入的訪談研究。在第四篇論文裡，她匯報了有關研究結果，值得一看。

香港幼教課程改革成果早已鞏固，但靈性及精神層面的教育卻鮮有觸及。為此，劉慧中在第五篇論文裡探討了將佛教思想融於幼教課程與教學的可能性，並期望以此拋磚引玉，引發更多的關於宗教課程與教學方面的研究與思考。

香港幼教界急需高信效度、簡便易行的幼稚園質素評量工具。為此，周雅莉、李輝、劉懿樂研發了一套適合香港幼教環境的課堂教與學質素評量工具——《香港幼稚園課室觀察量表》。在本期第六篇論文裡，他們詳細報告了這一量表的研究過程以及量表的信度、效度等心理測量數據。我們希望這一量表的推出能夠有效緩解業界在質素評估方面所遇到的困難。



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幼兒創意教育一直是本港幼兒教育的軟肋。有鑑於此，梁潔瀅對香港具有創意的幼師進行了個案研究。在第七篇論文裡，她詳細匯報了這一研究。她的研究結果顯示，創意教師會同時運用既有及全新的創意概念，作為推動幼兒視覺藝術創意的教學方法。這一頗具創意的研究，可能會引發更多有關幼兒創意教育的研究和反思。

幼兒藝術綜合課程知易行難，音樂及其他藝術科目多年來一直未能有效融入現有綜合課程。劉永慈在第八篇論文裡介紹了在幼稚園運用「視覺組織圖表」進行綜合藝術課程的理論與方法。她透過「視覺組織圖表」及相關教學範例的展示，與教師分享如何以趣味的音樂活動來推動幼兒的綜合藝術學習，從而促進本港幼稚園實施有效的綜合藝術課程。

幼稚園課程改革，需要到校支援以及後續的行動研究。劉秀清在第九篇論文裡，介紹了她們推行「幼兒故事劇場」的先導性個案研究。她們發現，「外展隊」進入幼稚園內作教學的實踐與演繹，既可增強隊伍成員自身的信念與技巧，更可刺激原任老師積極實踐「幼兒故事劇場」。

綠色學校是一個新興的、有待探討的概念。余莉美在第十篇論文裡詳細探討了對綠色學校的不同理解和看法，並分析了綠色學校建築和綠色教育的好處。在寸土寸金的香港地，如何將幼稚園變身為綠色學校，確實具有一定挑戰性。

貧困家庭兒童的教育問題，是關乎教育公平的大事。在本期最後一篇文章中，張莉通過大量的文獻研究，以分析學前教育及家庭因素對貧困家庭兒童認知發展的影響。她的結論是：提升貧困家庭兒童認知發展的最佳方法是優質學前教育與家庭教育的有機結合。這為制定有效的扶貧及早期教育政策提供了一定的理論依據。

不難發現，本期論文所涉及的話題既深且廣，研究的課題既新穎又實際，這為我們瞭解香港及大中華地區幼教最新進展提供了一個萬花筒。我們進展到何處？我們將前往何處？這些文章可能提供了一些答案，但也帶出了更多的問題。我們由衷期望，本期論文能夠引發更多的研究、思考和共鳴。

執行編輯李輝、劉慧中



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Editorial

In the past decade, most of the governments in the world have significantly increased their attention and financial input to early childhood education (ECE). Hong Kong, for example, launched the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) in 2007 and has just set up a committee in 2013 to systematically review the policies on (free) early childhood education. The golden era of ECE is on its way. This is the trend, the inevitable development of ECE in history. This trend, however, is coming along with enormous challenges as shown in this issue, such as e-learning in the Web 3.0 era, early literacy and languages, early childhood inclusive education, educare of the younger children (under three), early childhood curriculum reform, teaching evaluation, early music and creative education, and so on. Hong Kong researchers have been addressing all these challenges through various empirical and practical research. This special issue is merely a snapshot of their great efforts.

This issue starts with an inspirational review of early mobile learning in the Web 3.0 Era. AHN Christina, in the opening article, reviews the emergent framework on early mobile learning and integrates the concept with early childhood technology-enhanced learning. She also discusses the critical challenges and addresses the educational implications of early mobile learning.

TSE Shek Kam, LEE Toi Ng Monique, LOW Ka Yee and CHAN Sing Pui Tikky, in the second paper, report a descriptive study on the current situation of early Chinese language teaching and learning. They have thoroughly analyzed the views of early childhood educators towards Chinese language teaching and learning with a focus on teaching Chinese to non-Chinese speaking preschoolers in Hong Kong. They also discuss the problems and solutions related to the curriculum models, teaching materials, pedagogy, teaching challenges, and professional development of teachers.

POON Tsz Ying, in the third paper, reviews the progress and problems of implementing early childhood inclusive education in Hong Kong context. She clearly defines the concept of early childhood inclusive education from both the philosophical and technical perspectives. She highlights that as more practitioners acquire specialist knowledge and become cognizant of the issue, they will be able to bring fresh perspective into practice and bridge the theory-practice divide.

LIN Xun Yi, in the fourth paper, reports an interview study of Chinese parents’ belief about play and learning in younger children. The results suggest that Chinese parents no longer hold the traditional Chinese values about early learning and play. But the parents in the study did report difficulties and challenges in enhancing children’s learning through play at home. The finding indicates that family’s socioeconomic status might have an impact on Chinese parents’ beliefs and practices regarding early play and learning in the first three years.

LAU Grace, in the fifth paper, explores the possibilities of incorporating Buddhist ideas into early childhood curriculum and pedagogy. Being concerned about the adoption of multiple modes of teaching practices in early childhood classroom over the past decades, she tries to develop a matching early childhood curriculum with the framework of Buddhism. We hope this paper could inspire Chinese early childhood educators to rethink and further study the possible early interventions to build a harmonious society.



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CHAU Nga Lei Lilian, LI Hui and LAU Yi Lok Michelle Marie, in the sixth paper, report the development and validation of a reliable, valid and culturally appropriate instrument, the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Scale (ECCOS), which could be used to evaluate the learning and teaching quality in Hong Kong kindergartens. The results suggest that ECCOS has excellent inter-rater and internal reliabilities. This finding indicates that ECCOS is a psychometrically sound and culturally appropriate classroom observation scale.

LEUNG Kit Ying Suzannie, in the seventh paper, investigates how the creative teachers in Hong Kong facilitate young children’s creativity in visual arts classrooms. The results of this case study suggest that those creative teachers commonly used visualization and modification in their teaching. The study also shows that both the existing and new conceptions of creativity have been used by the creative teachers to facilitate children’s creativity in visual arts.

LAU Wing Chi Margaret, in the following paper, further explores the possibilities of incorporating music and arts into the integrated curriculum in Hong Kong kindergartens. She suggests using a brand new strategy, the graphic organizer, to integrate music activities into early childhood curriculum. Good practices and examples are also showcased to demonstrate how the integration of music with other disciplines in the existing early childhood curriculum can be fostered.

LAU Sau Ching Helen, in the ninth paper, reports the follow-up action research of the “Art-Language Integrated Curriculum Approach” project launched

in 2010. The findings of this pilot study suggest that establishing the “Outreach Team” and implementing the “Kinder-Theater” could help enhance the teaching effectiveness of early integrated arts curriculum.

Ailin IWAN, in the tenth paper, explores and defines the concept of green school for young children. In her article, “Negotiating the Meaning of the Green School”, she gives some examples of organizations that follow the diverging perspectives both in the United States and in Hong Kong. She also addresses the benefits of delivering green school physical building and green education.

ZHANG Li, in the final article, summarizes the studies that have explored the influences of preschool settings and families on the cognitive development of young children from economically disadvantaged families. Her analyses show that the best way to promote cognitive development of disadvantaged children is a good combination of high quality preschool education and family education. Preschooling effect versus family effect, which is more critical? The answer to this still remains unknown.

Taken together, this special issue provides a multi-facet account of the developments and challenges in early childhood education with a shared focus on the Hong Kong context, and the Chinese context at large. Where do we go from here? What issues beg for further investigation? The articles included in this volume provide some answers as well as many more questions, which deserve closer investigations. In this connection, this special issue serves as a springboard for further research in the field of ECE in Hong Kong and other Chinese societies.

LAU Grace and LI HuiEdition Editors



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Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Learning in the Mobile Era – Advances, Challenges, and Implications

Christina AHN

The University of Hong Kong

AbstractToday’s technological landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, challenging old assumptions and shifting fundamental ways through which we communicate, socialize, entertain, and learn. The explosive growth of mobile device ownership and the centrality of such technology in the lives of young children today urge us to consider how the multiple facets of mobile devices and apps can be harnessed to enhance young children’s learning. The aim of this paper is to summarize existing theories on learning, review emergent frameworks on mobile learning, and integrate the concepts with those of early childhood technology-enhanced learning. The paper then discusses some critical challenges and implications of mobile learning in early childhood to provide a valuable forum for the further discussion of this topic and its related studies.

摘要今日科技日新月異，不斷挑戰舊有觀念和習慣，重塑人類溝通、社交、娛樂和學習的行為。移動設備的爆炸式增長令其成為成人甚至幼兒日常生活的核心設備。這一發展趨勢逼迫我們去認真思考如何充分利用移動設備及其相關程序以促進幼兒的有效學習。有鑑於此，本文首先總結了現有的學習理論，審視了關於移動學習的新興理論和框架，並嘗試將其與幼兒技術增強型學習整合在一起。最後，本文分析了移動學習給幼兒教育帶來的一些關鍵性挑戰以及需要進一步展開的研究話題。

Introduction Today’s technological landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, challenging old assumptions and shifting fundamental ways through which we communicate, socialize, entertain, and learn. With the rapid proliferation of mobile devices featuring interactive digital content in all domains of daily life, these devices have become an integral part of households and families in much of the developed world (Johnson, Adams & Haywood, 2011). Consequently, young children’s exposure to digital media has also significantly expanded which in turn has highlighted the need to better understand the influence and impact of such technology on young users.

Apple announced in January of 2013 (www.apple.com) that since the opening of their AppStore

in 2007, more than 40 billion apps have been downloaded. As of December 2013, there are nearly 1,000,328 active apps available for download (www.148apps.biz), with the “games” category leading the list at 18.30% and the “education” category closely following, with the second largest share of all available apps at 10.79%. An in-depth analysis of the education category of Apple’s AppStore (Shuler, 2012) furthermore indicates that at the time of publication, over 80% of top selling apps in the education category target children from toddler to high school age and, of those, 58% account for apps designed for toddler/preschool children. Assuming that the education category percentages have stayed more or less consistent over a one year period, a loose estimation based on these statistics indicates that there are about 62,202 active apps available for the toddler to preschool



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age group in Apple’s AppStore as of December 2013. This data, coupled with the abundance of apps for the burgeoning Android platform, provide a compelling snapshot of how ubiquitous these apps for mobile devices have become in the lives of young children today.

In the past, vibrant debate and discussions have taken place over whether allowing young children access to technology is beneficial to their overall development. However, in response to the explosive growth of mobile device ownership and the centrality of such technology in the lives of young children today, the more relevant and urgent question to be answered is no longer whether we should allow access but how the multiple facets of mobile devices and apps can be harnessed to enhance young children’s learning.

In the growing body of research on mobile devices, many scholars and industry leaders have forecasted that these smart mobile devices have the potential to revolutionize learning and teaching (Shuler, 2009). According to the 2011 Horizon Report, (Johnson et al., 2011), smartphones and tablets are named as one of the six new emerging technologies that may have a major impact on teaching, learning, and research in primary education. Due to their portability, ease of access, and affordability, these devices are quickly gaining acceptance by parents, educators, and institutions as instrumental tools for learning (Sharples, 2013). Even those in the field of early childhood education who have been known to be cautious about technology use increasingly acknowledge that integrating mobile technologies in learning can promote the social, linguistic, and cognitive development of young children if used in developmentally appropriate ways (NAEYC & Fred Rogers Center, 2012).

While the amount of research in the area of young children’s use of mobile devices has grown over the past few years, the existing literature is still largely fragmented and mostly descriptive rather than evaluative (Plowman, Stephen, & McPake, 2010). Furthermore, current studies on mobile device use by young children have not yet

been meaningfully contextualized within the newly emerging mobile learning frameworks. There may be several explanations for this. Due to the rapid speed at which new technologies are developed and commercialized, keeping pace with such market practices is a formidable challenge. Another reason may be dependent on the developmental variability of young children within and across this age group, which renders rather difficult the observation and evaluation of their learning (National Research Council, 2008).

Against this backdrop, the aim of this paper is to summarize existing theories on learning, review emergent frameworks on mobile learning, and integrate the concepts with those of early childhood technology-enhanced learning. The paper begins with a brief review of dominant learning theories and early childhood learning in the context of technology-assisted learning and play-based learning. Then the paper outlines recent advances in mobile learning which provide a useful lens through which to examine mobile device use by young children. Finally, the paper discusses some critical challenges of, and implications to providing a valuable forum for the further discussion of this topic and its related studies.

Learning in the Early Years In literature, there are generally three main approaches used to describe learning: learning as outcome, learning as process, or learning as activity. These approaches are grounded in three major theoretical perspectives which Fosnot & Perry (1996) outline as behaviorism, maturationism, and constructivism. A summary of these theories are summarized in Table 1.



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The current understanding of early childhood education is influenced by a combination of maturationist and constructivist schools of thought. The position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (1998; hereafter NAEYC) on developmentally appropriate practice stems from the maturationist perspective and supports the notion that certain physical and psychological milestones need to be met for optimal learning. The constructivist perspective argues that interaction is one of the most important components of any learning experience (Vygotsky, 1978) and emphasizes that young children’s cognitive development takes place in the context of the child's interactions with others where the child is an active participant and such interactive learning results in highly individualized learning (Bowman, Donovan, & Burns, 2000).

More specifically, one of the key elements of Vygotsky’s theory is that learning influences cognition by the use of tools and, through the use of these tools in a social context, learners negotiate meaning and construct knowledge, leading to cognitive development and deep learning (Pelligrino, Chudowsky, & Glaser, 2001). The focus is on the learner and the interactions with the tools rather than on the tools themselves. From this view, mobile devices are the cognitive tools with which young learners actively engage, participating in dynamic learning processes, outcomes, and activities that are highly personal and individualized.

Theory Theorists CharacteristicsBehaviorism Skinner

Pavlov • Learning as a system of behavioral responses to physical

stimuli.• Learning does not require much cognitive processing. • Learners are passive and require motivation through

reinforcement. • Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to

modify the occurrence of a form of behavior.• Drill-and-practice, present-test-feedback approach.

Maturationism Erikson Gesell

• Conceptual knowledge is dependent on the developmental stage of the learner.

• Age is an important predictor of behavior.• Learners are assessed in relation to developmental

milestones.• “Developmentally appropriate practice” based on this

theory.Constructivism Piaget

Vygotsky • Learning takes place through the active behavior of the

learner and what the learner, not the teacher, determines what he or she learns.

• Knowledge cannot be transmitted to learners; the learners must construct knowledge for themselves.

Table 1: Major Theories on Learning, adapted from Fosnot & Perry (1996)



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result in encouraging learning compared to traditional teaching methods.

• Cognitive skills—Using digital activities, children learn cognitive skills through repetition, as relevant studies have found improvements in operating memory, spatial ability, visual attention, etc.

• Social interaction—In preschool education, young children often engage in cooperative social interaction when playing digital activities (p.5).

Another key attribute of learning in the early years is learning through play. Sociocultural theorists have asserted that play is the single most important activity of the early childhood years (Bodrova & Leong, 2007; Vygotsky, 1978) and scholars have identified many ways in which children’s play may advance their cognitive and socio-emotional development (summarized in Verenikina, Lysaght, Harris, & Herrington, 2004).

Play, in a digital context, then can be described as interactive, game-based learning which is presented in an app format on mobile devices. A quick scan of the education category of the AppStore reveals that a large portion of the apps in this category embody features of interactive gaming as the basis for learning. While some drill and practice apps exist which represent the behaviorist approach to learning, those apps which target young children tend to be interactive in nature, fully taking advantage of the gestural interface technology (Tootell, Plumb, Hadfield, & Dawson, 2013). Conversely, some apps in the “games” category for young children also seem to have clear educational goals in mind, with game-like characteristics. While it is not the aim of this paper to illuminate the finer points of what constitutes a game versus a learning game, scholars have noted that learning games differ from entertainment games because they “target the acquisition of knowledge as its own end and foster habits of mind and understanding that are generally useful or useful within an academic context”

Technology-Assisted Learning in the Early Years

Many studies in recent years have explored the role of technology in young children’s education. As technologies have evolved, so have scholars’ views of technology-assisted learning in the early years. Li & Masters (2010) discuss technology in early childhood learning in the context of E-learning and assert that it has the potential to allow “young children to learn through experience, application, and conversation in community, physically or virtually, with peers, parents, teachers, and other adults, beyond the classroom and across the media” (p.245). Furthermore, they elaborate that E-learning is not only electronic-learning in the most traditional sense of the term but expand on the definition to include, evolving, enhanced, extended, everywhere, every-time, and everybody (p.246). This interpretation fully embraces the constructivist view of learning that is a particularly suitable approach with which to analyze young children’s interaction with mobile devices.

While some scholars have expressed caution, many support the pivotal role of technology as an effective learning tool in early childhood settings. As Couse & Chen (2010) summarize, studies that examined the viability of tablet computers in early childhood settings have yielded positive results in the motivation and engagement of young learners. Similarly, as described in Zaranis, Kalogiannakis & Papadakis (2013), several studies have shown that by using digital media, children can gain understanding of abstract concepts that were previously considered too difficult for their age. Yelland (2005) has also suggested that use of digital media for learning in an early childhood classroom setting have resulted in enhanced collaborative learning and logical thinking, reinforcing their ability to solve problems. The benefits of learning through digital media as summarized by Zaranis et al. (2013) succinctly capture the positive impact:

• Learning—Digital activities can provide considerable educational services to children. Well-designed digital educational activities provide potentially more motivation and



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(Klopfer, Osterweil, & Salen, 2009; p. 21).

Similar to technology-assisted learning, the notion of interactive games and its impact on learning has been debated by scholars. However, there is concrete evidence to support the positive impact of digital play on various developmental processes (Amory, Naicker, Vincent, & Adams, 1999). In the past, most of the research on game-based learning had focused on adolescents, leaving a gap in the area of early childhood games (Plowman & Stephen, 2005). However, in recent years, research results have substantiated the claim that that “children’s play, especially in its make-believe or pretending game forms, is a critical pre-cursor to a major feature of our adult narrative consciousness” (Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006; p. 97-98). These suggestions are echoed by Wang, Kinzie, and McGuire (2010), who reinforce the notion that technological games can be used to “enrich and structure problem context, facilitate utilization of resources, and support cognitive and metacognitive processes” (p. 383).

In the same vein, Plowman, Stephen & McPake (2012), while cautioning that it is difficult to establish a direct relationship between technological play and specific learning outcomes, also outline four areas of learning that technology can support:

1) Operationallearning:refers to understanding the functions of items such as the mouse as well as the ability to operate them, which often relies on motor skills

2)Extendingknowledgeandunderstandingoftheworld, includes what is described as subject knowledge in schools

3) Dispositionto learn:encompasses a range of affective, social, and cognitive features of learning to learn

4) Roleoftechnologyineverydaylifeincludes learning about the role of technology for a range of social and cultural purposes (p.6)

These characteristics of technology-assisted learning are not only useful for reconceptualizing early childhood learning in a mobile context but can also serve as a useful basis from which evaluation criteria to assess the effectiveness of learning apps can be developed.

Although descriptions vary and the debate on the merits of the use of technology in early childhood learning is ongoing, it is critical to contextualize and embed young children’s use of technology in emerging discussions of mobile learning in order to arrive at more meaningful interpretations of mobile device use and its impact on young children’s learning.

Advances in Mobile Learning Before undertaking a discussion of mobile learning, it is first necessary to define the hardware; that is, the “mobile device”. Numerous terms such as smartphone, tablet, portable multimedia device, and phablet (phone tablet) refer to mobile interactive digital devices such as the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and other devices of various sizes and forms. The common feature that binds the diverse range of hardware together is the interactive touchscreen interface, which is also sometimes referred to as gestural, multimodal, or assistive technology. The term “app” derives from “software application” and has evolved since such mobile devices have been introduced into the market. Today, the term app generally refers to all software applications designed to run on mobile phone operating systems (Purcell, Entner, & Henderson, 2010).

Conceptualizations of mobile learning encompass various dimensions of technology and learning and a quick glance at the literature on mobile learning results in common themes that describe its positive attributes such as mobility, flexibility, connectivity, personalization, customization, and advanced communication. Sharples (2013), a leading scholar in the area of mobile learning defines it as “any learning that happens when the learning is not at a fixed, predetermined location, or learning that happens



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when the learning takes advantage of the learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies” (p.6) and asserts that the most prominent aspect of mobile learning is the possibility for learning to be situated anywhere, allowing for the blurring of formal and informal settings of learning.

A comprehensive mobile learning framework developed by Koole (Koole & Ally, 2006) (Figure 1) – appropriately named FRAME (The Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education) – takes a highly sociocultural approach to learning and describes mobile learning as a “process resulting from the convergence of mobile technologies, human learning capacities, and social interaction” (p. 25). The three critical components of technological, learner, and social aspects can be leveraged to assist in the comprehension of the complexities involved in mobile learning.

Figure 1: The FRAME Model for Mobile Learning (Koole & Ally, 2006)

of young children’s learning is “not as simplistic as a distinction between formal and informal learning because preschool education is predicated on learning through play, which is seen as a natural activity for children of this age.” (p.4)

As the research in mobile learning is becoming more sophisticated, the learner’s role is increasingly grounded in the constructivist view rather than the technological aspect of learning (Kearney, Schuck, Burden, & Aubusson 2012; Wong, 2011). A learner-centric mobile learning model proposed by Wong & Looi (2011) elaborates on the seamlessness of experience for learners using mobile devices and outlines the key features of mobile learning as:

• Encompassing formal and informal learning • Encompassing personalized and social

learning • Learning across time • Learning across locations • Ubiquitous knowledge access • Encompassing physical and digital worlds • Combined usage of multiple device types • Seamless and rapid switching between

multiple learning • Knowledge synthesis • Encompassing multiple pedagogies (p.9)

These characteristics of “seamlessness” as offered by Wong & Looi (2011), when compared to the aforementioned concept of E-learning – evolving, enhanced, extended, everywhere, every-time, and everybody – show significant overlap of key principles. Furthermore, these concepts, when taken together with key attributes of early childhood learning in the context of technology-enhanced learning, capture the very essence of what young learners of mobile devices may be experiencing during the learning process, which, to reiterate, are – “learning through experience, application, and conversation in community, physically or virtually, with peers, parents, teachers, and other adults, beyond the classroom and across the media” (Li & Masters, 2010; p.245). Based on this, it can be inferred that despite the minor distinctions on emphasis, the emergent mobile

Similarly, Looi, Seow, So, Chen, & Wong, (2010) assert that the separation between formal and informal learning is increasingly becoming less significant as mobile technology “creates seamlessly connected learning experiences” (p.2). In an early childhood context, Plowman et al. (2010) speculate that the contrast and comparison



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learning frameworks that are rapidly gaining recognition seem to highlight role of the learner, the seamlessness of the learning experience, and the integrative nature of the learning process, which are strikingly similar to the requirements of technology-assisted learning in the early years.

Challenges & Implications On the basis of this review and the conceptual frameworks of early childhood learning and mobile learning discussed in the previous sections, the article has identified five broad areas of challenges facing educators and parents and the implications to be considered when ruminating on the impact of mobile devices on young children’s learning. These implications illuminate ways to further enhance theoretical development as well as improve the practical applications of mobile learning in early childhood.

1) Mobile learning compounds the contextual issues related to early childhood learning, further blurring the line between formal and informal education, leading to difficulty in the assessment of learning outcomes.

By nature, young children’s learning is not specifically limited to physical locations and the characteristics of mobile learning intensify this blurring of domains. While the concept of mobile “seamless learning” (Sharples, 2013; Wong & Looi, 2011), as already has been discussed, can afford personalization and knowledge synthesis, this obscured delineation can lead to difficulty in assessing learning outcomes of young children. The very portability of these devices presents both opportunities for assessment as well as barriers to conducting large scale studies in the context of young children.

2) Quantity of apps does not equal quality; apps are not sufficiently grounded in sound pedagogical frameworks, leading to questionable quality and unclear learning outcomes

Despite the plethora of apps touting educational benefits, it is doubtful how many of the apps being marketed to parents of young children are grounded

in any sound learning and pedagogical frameworks. Many learning apps espouse a behaviorist approach to learning, merely putting forth drill and practice approach to reinforcement that are not only outdated, but may even impede learning outcomes of young children. Moreover, Marsh (2010) suggests that digital activities and play differ from that of the spontaneous children’s play because the digital play depends on and is limited by the design of the software. Given the time and opportunities that today’s young children have for engaging with mobile devices, it is important that software designers understand the richness of children’s traditional play and use its developmental advantages in their products (Verenikina, et al., 2010).

Another problem that exacerbates the issue of app quality is the lack of app category guidelines. This is a daunting task, given that the categorization of the apps in the AppStore is a highly subjective and an arbitrary process left to the app developers themselves. A quick glimpse at the app developer guidelines (AppStore Library, 2013) in the iOS developer library as of December 2013 reveals that there are no clear guidelines for assigning apps to the education category, meaning the responsibility for classifying an app under “entertainment”, “education”, or “games” categories wholly resides with the developer. Mobile learning can only be as good as the quality of the apps and, currently, it is often difficult to differentiate between an app that solely espouses entertainment value versus a learning/educational app that has clear educational goals. Especially for the youngest of learners, the wrong types of apps and unclear learning goals can seriously hinder the learning process. At this time, only a few useful guidelines have been proposed (Shoukry, Sturm, & Galal-Edeen, 2012; Vavoula & Sharples, 2009) to aid in the design and evaluation of educational apps and mobile learning for young children. The question of how these app developers can meet the challenging criteria of creating developmentally appropriate content that fully considers the various dimensions of learning will be crucial in ensuring that the potential of mobile learning can be optimized.



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3) Parents seldom have adequate resources to guide and scaffold technology-enhanced learning in the home

The role of parents is often overlooked in educational research but, as the socio-cultural view of early learning suggests, they are critical participants in scaffolding young children’s learning. A recent study exploring parental attitudes towards mobile learning in the US (Grunwald Associates, 2013) revealed that compared to parents of older children, parents of pre-K children perceive the most educational value from the mobile apps and parents of young students (K–2) most strongly agree that mobiles and apps can make learning fun, promote curiosity, and teach problem solving. Moreover, parents of younger students report strong beliefs about the benefits of mobile learning for every subject domain except social studies and a substantial proportion of parents also believe mobile devices and apps can help teach writing skills. As these parental expectations reveal, the demand and anticipation for learning outcomes are clear, but it is questionable on what basis parents are claiming such optimism.

It can be said that parents often base their app purchase decisions based on anecdotal sharing of information from other parents and endorsements from websites often without being properly informed. A few resources and family advocacy groups (such as www.commonsensemedia.org) exist to provide information and educate the public on the efficacy of digital content. Another site, www.iear.org, attempts to rank and review educational apps based on age group, content area, and other useful criteria. However, neither of these sites appear in the first few pages of the Google search result “best educational apps for kids,” making access to this information limited. More of such resources are needed and the existing resources need to be marketed appropriately in order to ensure that parents can be better informed when making decisions on developmentally appropriate digital content for their children

4) Measuring the impact of mobile device use on young children’s learning requires a

comprehensive assessment framework that encompasses assessment of the technology, assessment of the learner, and the underpinning pedagogical frameworks

While many studies on young children’s use of mobile devices have noted increased motivation and engagement as a key advantage of mobile learning, studies that provide observable and measurable enhanced learning outcomes are relatively scant. In order to evaluate mobile learning in early childhood more holistically, a comprehensive assessment approach that includes an assessment of the learner, the outcome, and of the apps is needed. An assessment framework such as the one proposed by Pelligrino et al, (2001) purports that there are three important aspects of any assessment endeavor: 1) assessment to assist learning, 2) assessment of individual achievement, and 3) an assessment to evaluate programs, and this can easily be applied to mobile learning to provide guidance to all stakeholders in the young children’s learning process.

While measuring the impact on early childhood learning is particularly difficult due to the variability of young children’s development, an emerging field of inquiry called educational analytics – described by the Horizon Report (2011) as a way of enabling parents, teachers and schools to tailor educational opportunities to each student’s level of need and ability (Johnson et al. 2011; Bienkowski, Feng, & Means, 2012) – deliver some optimism. The new advances in learning analytics offer much promise to answer the increasingly complex questions about evaluating the learning outcomes of children (Bienkowski, 2012: p.25) and offer opportunities to effectively assess various subject domain knowledge such as language, literacy, math, and science through collection of individualized data gathered during the process of learning with technology.

A very recent study by Kiekel & Kirk (2013) proposes a set of guidelines that encompasses all aspects of mobile learning for young children. This set of guidelines offers a very comprehensive checklist that includes screen design, navigation



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香港學前中文教育研究－幼兒語文教與學現況調查A Study of the Pre-school Chinese Language Education in Hong Kong: The Current Situation of Language Teaching

and Learning

謝錫金、李黛娜、羅嘉怡香港大學

陳聲珮香港教育學院幼兒教育學系

摘要對於大部分中文初學者而言，學習中文的最大困難，在於漢字學習。有關漢字的學習，普遍認為有三大困難，分別是「字多難記」、「形多難寫」和「音多難讀」(謝錫金，2002)。而在香港的幼稚園，幼兒於入學後便開始進行中文識字教學，但其中部分幼稚園偏重以重複抄寫的方法幫助幼兒識字，被受爭議(幼稚園視學組，2004; 2005; 2006)。因此，香港不少家長、幼兒教師和教育學者/教育研究者，同樣關注香港幼兒語文教育中，識字課程的設計和施行情況。

針對以上種種，香港大學教育學院中文教育研究中心透過問卷的方式，向本港學前教育機構和教師進行一項有關幼兒中文教與學方法的研究調查。研究計劃的名稱為「香港學前機構中文教學研究」。是次研究共有1200名學前機構教師參與，當中研究範疇包括中文課程模式、教材、教學語言、教法、教學上遇到的困難及教師專業發展等分項。研究結果發現，香港幼兒教育需要發展一個更有系統和生活化的識字課程。而進一步的科學研究數據能夠幫助香港幼兒教師規劃更有質素的識字教學方法。另外，研究反映香港幼兒教師在不同專業發展領域尚有待提升，包括有效的識字教學法、學前兒童學習理論等。學界有必要增加幼兒師資培訓與進修的資源與空間。

AbstractChinese characters acquisition remains the greatest challenge among language beginners. Yet Hong Kong kindergartens would start teaching Chinese characters literacy as early as pre-school level. Pre-school language education, word literacy course designs and implementation are critical concerns raised by parents, teachers and researchers. This study aims to investigate: the current situation of pre-school Chinese Language teaching and learning; views of pre-school educators towards Chinese Language teaching and learning; and the current situation of Chinese Language learning among Non-Chinese speaking pre-schoolers. A questionnaire was designed for the “Study of the Pre-school Hong Kong Chinese Language Education“, involving 1200 pre-school teacher participants in the survey. The data collected include areas on curriculum models, teaching materials, pedagogy, teaching challenges and professional development of teachers. It was found that more studies are needed on developing a systematic and life-oriented literacy curriculum. In-depth research is also in demand for a scientific base



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on desired quantity of literacy and related pedagogy for pre-schoolers. Teachers have reflected their professional developmental gaps in domains including effective literacy pedagogy and pre-schoolers’ learning theories of literacy, with which academic resources need to be drawn.

引言香港幼兒的中文識字課程，向來是香港家長、幼兒教師和教育學者關注的課題。而現時香港主流幼稚園的中國語文教學，只融入於主題教學或方案教學中，大部分未能獨立成科。因此，在幼兒中國語文教學的不同範疇，如師資培訓、教材、教法、評估等方面，同樣未能得到全面的關注，相關研究更見不足。

　　幼兒語文教學的成效，深遠影響孩子往後語文能力的發展。因此，學界有必要重視香港幼兒中國語文教育的現況，並致力提升香港幼兒中國語文教育的成效。

　　針對香港幼兒中國語文教育的現行情況，香港大學教育學院中文教育研究中心向本港學前教育機構和教師，進行一項有關幼兒中文教與學方法的研究調查。有關調查結果，可供香港幼兒中文教育界作參考之用，例如：設計課程、教材、教法、評估等；期望能為香港幼兒教育界略盡綿力。

文獻回顧語文教學法

不論中外，語文教學法皆有「先識字，後閱讀」與「先閱讀，後識字」的爭議。前者強調從書寫系統的各層次單位，由下而上有系統發展文字意識，從而學會閱讀 (Adam, 1994)；後者主張於真實的情境進行語文學習，從完整的意思，由上而下發現文字的規律 (Goodman, 1 9 8 6 ) 。有關理論，引發了英文字母拼讀(phonics)與全語文 (whole language)教學的議論 (Chall, 1996)；而中文也出現「集中識字」與「分散識字」之爭辯 ( 萬雲英，1991)。在中文識字教學上，有學者主張綜合兩者的優點，有效地進行識字教學 (謝錫金，2002)。

香港學前語文教學政策西方幼稚園的語文課程主張兼容全語文 (whole language) 與字母拼讀 (phonics)，認為幼兒階段是發展讀寫的黃金時間，既建議使幼兒在豐富的環境中探索文字，參與有意義的讀寫活動，同時提議激發幼兒的語音意識，有助日後的閱讀發展 (Neuman, et al, 2000)。

過去，香港學前教育課程指引提倡語文活動採用全語文的取向，整合聽、講、讀的語文經驗，主張在真實自然的情境中學習語文。同時，指引也提議認字的活動，讓幼兒認識字形、字音和字義，避免強記中文 (課程發展處，1996)。近年，課程指引仍然提出整合幼兒的語文經驗及探究文字的結構系統 (課程發展議會，2006)。因此，香港幼兒的語文教學，可採用綜合的模式，聯繫識字與讀寫，幫助幼兒的讀寫萌發 (謝錫金，2006)。

相關的香港語文教學調查雖然學前教育課程指引倡議具理論的語文教學方法，但是研究發現香港幼稚園中文教學存在一定的問題。兩項調查發現，香港幼稚園過於重視寫字教學。廖佩莉等人 (1998) 的調查發現，在主題教學模式下，部分教師對中文教學概念模糊，忽略了以語文主導教學，只偏重於操練方式的寫字活動，但求迎合家長的要求。何志恒等人 (2002) 的調查也同樣指出，在遷就家長下，學校的語文課程偏重於寫字教學，寫字活動佔去四成的教學時間，而大部分被訪者認為寫字教學可以增加學生的認字量，但不少受訪者認為學生對寫字失去興趣。

在過去的研究基礎上，香港大學中文教育研究中心在優質教育基金撥款資助下，與香港教育學院開展了「幼兒有效漢字學與教：高效漢字認讀及書寫發展」研究計劃。計劃不單在



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本港多所幼稚園進行先導識字教學計劃，同時對全港幼兒學校進行命名為「香港學前機構中文教學研究」的問卷調查，向全港幼兒學校和任教教師發出問卷，藉以了解幼兒語文教學的現況。另外，由 2007 年起，少數族裔學生可以透過學劵計劃入讀香港主流幼稚園 ( 香港教育局，2013)。因此，是次調查將包括非華語 [1] 幼兒。

本文將詳細講述「香港學前機構中文教學研究」問卷調查的研究目的、研究方法及研究分析結果，並從研究結果所得，提出有關香港幼兒中文教學的可行建議。

研究目的「香港學前機構中文教學研究」的問卷主要目的在調查：1) 香港學前機構中文教學的現況；2) 香港幼教工作者對現時中文教學的意見； 3) 香港非華語幼兒學習中文的現況。

研究方法「香港學前機構中文教學研究」以問卷調查形式進行。問卷以郵寄方式，於 2011 年 11 月至 12 月期間向全港幼兒學校派發，合共向 928所幼兒學校派發。每所幼兒學校同樣獲得 3 份內容相同的問卷，以分派予各級，分別為幼兒班、低班及高班的老師填寫。有關調查共有393所幼兒學校寄回問卷，回收率為 42.3%。以問卷數量為單位，共有 1200 份問卷寄回，回收率為 2784 份寄出問卷的 43.1%。根據是次研究的回收率顯示，本調查結果具代表性。

研究工具本研究的主要研究工具為問卷。問卷採用多項選擇題形式向教師收集意見。研究問卷參考全球學生閱讀能力進展研究 (PIRLS) 的教師問卷進行設計。問卷共有 39 題題目，受訪對象可於 40 分鐘內完成。問卷題目包括中文課程模

式、教材、教學語言、教法、教學上遇到的困難及教師專業發展等分項。

分析方法本研究採用量化數據統計方式進行研究分析。研究團隊在收集教師問卷後，首先會進行編碼，然後輸入資料。為確保研究信度，輸入後的資料會由兩位研究員重覆核實。最後，研究員使用數據分析軟件SPSS進行數據分析。

研究結果1. 香港學前教育機構中文教學現況

1.1整體課程模式據調查，超過七成受訪教師的學校採用綜合課程的主題教學 (76.5%)，其次是方案教學(50%)及故事主題教學 ( 41.9%)，而分科課程者不足一成 (見圖一 )：

圖一：幼兒學校的課程模式

1.2中文教學的形式超過八成的受訪教師經常或差不多經常利用主題形式 (86.9%) 進行中文教學，其次是故事教學 (54.4%)，兒歌教學 (51.8%)，全語文教學(35.3%)，模擬情景教學 (25.3%)，從抄寫中學習(18.1%)，專科教學形式 (11.2%)，其他形式者不足一成 (見表1)。

[1] 非華語的意思，是指非以華語作為第一語言及家庭語言。課程發展議會 (2008)指出，香港非華語學生包括巴基斯坦、菲律賓、尼泊爾、

印度、泰國、越南和印尼等少數族裔學生。平等機會委員會 (2011)指出，香港少數族裔學生現時約有12,000人，人數較以往有所上升。



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表1中文教學的形式 1.3中文教學的活動現行中文教學的活動，超過八成受訪教師每天或差不多每天安排口語表達活動 (84.9%)，聆聽活動 (75%)，寫字活動 (70.8%)，識字活動(61.8%)，閱讀活動 (54.8%)，其他的活動則不足一成。

1.4識字教學七成受訪教師表示，學校會按不同年級的幼兒訂立全年識字量。而不同學校所訂立的識字量，當中差異很大：幼兒班的平均識字量為63.93，標準差為 37.96﹔低班的平均識字量為133.59，標準差為107.31﹔高班的平均識字量為204.21，標準差為147.35 (見表2)：

班級最小識字量最大識字量平均識字量 (標準差 )

幼兒班 5 300 63.93 (37.96)

低班 5 800 133.59 (107.31)

高班 18 800 204.21 (147.35)

表2香港幼兒學校訂立全年識字量之差異

1.5書寫教學七成的受訪教師利用口唱空 (72.7%)，教導幼兒書寫，其餘是於白紙上成寫 (48.3%)，沿虛線書寫 (37 .7%)，於田字方格紙上仿寫(28.9%)，其他方法則不足二成：於其他材質上仿寫 ( 如小沙池 )(15.6%)，於米字方格上仿寫(3.3%)。同時，超過九成的教師教授幼兒筆順(98.8%)，以及筆畫名稱 (99%)。

1.6中文教學活動的教學語言九成受訪教師採用廣東話為中文教學語言(92.9%)，而運用普通話者僅佔少數(1.4%)(見表3)：

表3　進行中文教學活動的教學語言

中文教學的形式百分比（％）

廣東話 92.9%

廣東話為主，普通話輔助 5.2%

普通話 1.4%

普通話為主，廣東話輔助 0.3%

其他 0.1%

中文教學的形式百分比（％）

主題教學 86.9%

故事教學 54.4%

兒歌教學 51.8%

全語文教學 35.3%

模擬情景教學 25.3%

從抄寫中學習 18.1%

專科教學 11.2%

方案教學 9%

背誦經典 5.3%

其他 1.6%

六成的受訪教師表示教授同一文本時，會分別教授認讀和書寫的字詞 (63.8%)，其餘則沒有將兩者分別教授 (36.2%)。

1.7普通話教學在幼兒普通話學習方面，60.5% 受訪教師表示學校每星期也會進行 30 分鐘的普通話課教學，當中 77.5% 教師表示課程目標著重與人溝通的能力。



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範疇百分比（％）

語言心理學 74.2%

古代幼兒文學 67.7%

幼兒語音發展 64.1%

語音知識 62.8%

幼兒語法發展 60.3%

當代幼兒文學 58.8%

現代漢語知識 57.3%

2. 香港幼教工作者對現時中文教學的意見 2.1中文課程發展的意見有關幼兒中文課程發展，73.7% 受訪教師同意幼稚園中文課程「應訂立有系統的識字課程」。72.9% 教師同意「應以中文學科知識的學習系統順序來組織課程及教學」。此外，66.5%受訪教師認為「應分設獨立的普通話課程」。

2.2教師的識字教學的觀點有關幼兒教師的識字教學觀點，50.5% 受訪教師同意「分別教授認讀字詞和書寫字詞」，26.7% 不同意「分別教授認讀字詞和書寫字詞」，22.7% 表示沒有意見。再者，94.7% 受訪教師認為「寫字應先教授筆劃較少的字」，66%受訪教師認為「認字應先教授筆劃較少的字」。

2.3中文教學上所遇到的困難教師在語文教學上所遇到的困難主要有三項：60.8%受訪教師表示「教授字形時沒有正規的標準字形作為依循」；38.5% 受訪者表示「不懂運用有效的方法教授識字」；34% 受訪者表示

「不懂運用有效的方法令幼兒理解字詞的意義」。

2.4教師專業發展需要調查結果顯示，五成受訪教師認為在「語文教材發展與規劃」的師資培訓並不足夠。而超半受訪教師認為在多個幼兒語文教學範疇的師資培訓同樣不足，有關情況可 (見表4)：

表4過半數受訪教師認為培訓不足的範疇

3. 香港非華語幼兒學習中文的現況 3.1香港非華語幼兒就讀幼稚園情況調查結果顯示，受訪學校中，有非華語學生入讀的班別佔25.8%，非華語學生人數由1-23名不等。而 50.6% 受訪教師表示，在其任教的班級中至少有 1 位非華語學生，6.2% 受訪教師更表示在其任教的班級中，有 8 位或以上非華語學生。

以上情況顯示，非華語學生在本地主流學校就讀的人數越來越多。而非華語學生與本地學生一起學習，為課堂的中文學與教帶來很大挑戰。

3.2香港非華語幼兒的語文能力 48.5% 受訪教師認為非華語學生的說話能力低於應有水平，而 67.4% 受訪教師認為非華語學生的閱讀能力低於應有水平。由此可見，非華語學生的閱讀能力和說話能力大部分未如理想。而非華語學生與本地學生一起學習時，容易出現能力與學習差異的問題。

總結及建議語文課程設計

綜合以上調查結果，在課程設計上發現香港現時大部分幼兒學校皆採用綜合性課程，但課程未能兼顧有系統的識字教學。而大部分教師同意幼稚園中文課程「應訂立有系統的識字課程」。因此，建議學界提供具研究基礎的中文教學法及課程發展模式予業界參考。根據《學前教育課程指引》建議，語文學習應該是自然和生活化，讓幼兒通過真實情境，有效學習 (課程發展議會，2006)中。如何發展一套生活化而有系統的識字課程，是當今學界有待研究的課題。

識字教學方法在語文教學方面，跟過往的調查相若 ( 廖佩莉等人，1998﹔何志恒等人，2002)，現時香港大部分的幼兒教師仍然強調從寫字的方向學習漢字，因而主張在認字範疇同樣先教授筆劃較少的字，未能區分「認讀字詞」和「書寫字



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詞」的不同學習層次，影響幼兒的讀寫發展。再者，教師對幼兒識字量的要求及看法並不一致，而不同的識字量要求，將引致教學內容多寡與深淺程度的差異。因此，學界有必要在幼兒識字量這一學術範疇進行深入的科學研究，以協助訂立配合幼兒發展進程的預期識字量。

教師專業培訓於專業培訓上，部分教師反映不懂運用有效的方法教授識字，缺乏幼兒識字學習的理念，故在編排識字教學 (包括識字量、教學法以至系統學習 )出現一定程度的困難，並且做法差異很大。此外，調查發現教師在多個幼兒語文教學範疇的師資培訓感到不足，對幼兒識字教材發展與規劃感到困難。因此，學界有必要增加幼兒師資培訓與進修的資源與空間。

非華語幼兒學習中文最後，在非華語幼兒學習中文方面，幼兒教師面對不同程度的困難和挑戰，有必要增加相關的培訓。而本地幼兒與非華語幼兒在語文能力方面差異甚大，教師需要對學習差異作出相應的照顧及調整，包括教材，教學方法等。因此，學界有必要針對非華語幼兒學習中文的課程規劃，教學法及教材設計，作出深入研究。

鳴謝本研究部分經費獲得優質教育基金撥款資助。本研究計劃得以成功，需要感謝研究團隊其他成員的共同努力，成員包括羅傑瑩女士、徐詩琪女士、許翠歡女士、梁昌欽先生等。

參考資料Adams, M. J. (1994). Beginning to read: thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press.Chall, J. S. (1996). Learning to read: the great debate (3rd Ed.). Fort Worth : Harcourt Brace College Publishers.Goodman, K. (1986). What’s whole in whole language. U.S.A.: Scholastic-TAB.Neuman, S. B., Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2000). Learning to read and write : developmentally appropriate practices

for young children.Washington, D.C. : National Association for the Education of Young Children.平等機會委員會(2011)。少數族裔教育工作小組報告。香港：平等機會委員會。何志恆、廖佩莉、劉社堯 (2002)。香港幼稚園寫字教學調查報告。教育曙光，46， 51-56。香港教育局(2013)。為非華語學生提供的教育支援措施簡介。2013年10月2日，取自 http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/tc/student-parents/ncs-students/about-ncs-students/Brief_NCS%20support%20

measures_2013%2008_E.pdf。萬雲英(1991)。兒童學習漢字的心理特點與教學。載於高尚仁、楊中芳編，中國人．中國心-發展與教學篇

(頁404-448)。台北市：遠流。廖佩莉、劉社堯、何志恒 (1998)。幼稚園中文教學推行現況與檢討。載於歐陽汝穎編，高效能中文教學：第

三屆中文科課程教材教法國際研討會論文選 (頁91-109)。香港：香港中文教育學會。課程發展議會(1996)。學前教育課程指引。香港︰香港課程發展處。課程發展議會(2006)。學前教育課程指引。香港︰香港課程發展議會。課程發展議會(2008)。中國語文教育學習領域：中國語文課程補充指引(非華語學生)。香港：政府物流服務

署。質素保證視學幼稚園組(2004, 2005, 2006)。周年報告。2013年10月2 日，取自 http://www.emb.gov.hk/kg/chinese/kindergarten/kindergarten.htm。謝錫金(2002)。綜合高效識字教學法。香港：青田教育中心。謝錫金 (2006)。讀寫萌發。載於謝錫金(編)，香港幼兒口語發展 (頁107-114)。香港：香港大學。



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Progress and Barriers in the Implementation of Early Childhood Inclusive Education in Hong Kong

Kindergartens幼兒融合教育在香港幼稚園實踐的進程和障礙

POON Tsz Ying


AbstractTerminologies of inclusion have been a constant source of confusion for stakeholders and hence impede the progress of implementing inclusive educational practices in early childhood education. In this paper, the criteria for defining the issues and barriers to implementation are explored from a philosophical, and technicist perspectives. Through a review of the literature, various important issues are identified and these help to shed light on the problems associated with the local HK context. It is crucial to create an inclusive atmosphere within kindergartens. It is hoped that as more practitioners acquire specialist knowledge and become cognizant of the issues in this field, they will be able to bring fresh perspectives into practice and bridge the theory-practice divide.

摘要融合教育的術語一直混淆了很多幼兒教育的持份者並阻礙了融合教育的實踐。這文獻討論範圍著重於哲學概念和術語於幼兒融合教育的進程中所存在的問題。除此以外，本文亦透過文獻探究，探討了有爭議性的研究，闡明本地幼兒融合教育的主要問題。營造幼稚園裡的幼兒融合環境亦為重要，實踐者應運用更多的融合教育知識以填補理論與實踐之間的隙縫。

Introduction This paper reveals the core issues concerning inclusive education, which focuses on the early years of children. The review highlights the philosophical concepts, terms, cultural values, and educational applications of inclusion, as well as difficulties encountered in local contexts. Different controversial terminologies and related research will also be explained. Therefore, it illustrates the knowledge that researchers have constructed, and reveals possible difficulties of Chinese teachers in early childhood inclusive education (ECIE) implementation in Hong Kong. The following parts will discuss early childhood inclusive education in a broad sense, followed by a description of the current issues that arise in the context of implementation in Hong Kong.

The Process of Early Childhood Inclusive Education

Inclusion is the idea to include all children within an education system, which has confused some practitioners, as it is sometimes used interchangeably with integration. Inclusion is 100% placement in general education, whereas in mainstreaming, a student with special needs is educated partially in a special education program, and also receives education in the general education program (Dixon, 2005). Inclusive education is a system which carries out the concept of inclusion. Some use ‘inclusive education’ interchangeably with ‘integrated education’; however, their different core meanings have created confusion. ‘Inclusion’ is an evolution from ‘special education’, with the Salamanca



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Declaration in 1994 as the hallmark event in its evolution. A trend toward mainstreaming, however, recommends the idea to return segregated children with special educational needs (CSEN) back into the regular program (Wilson, 2003). Mainstreaming and similar terms found in two parallel school systems, general education and special education, imply that there is an underlying assumption of inequity between the systems (Dixon, 2005). In Australia, Forlin (2006) describes mainstreaming as students with disabilities being registered in their local regular school, but with the option to be withdrawn for parts of the school day to receive intensive interventions. With integration, the concept that brought about integrated education is now generally named as a series of practices to educate CSEN in separate rooms within a mainstream school (Wilson, 2003); in separate learning environments, they have limited interaction with mainstream children. According to the Warnock Report (1978), integration can be divided into three forms: locational integration, social integration, and functional integration. In terms of staffing, integration involved members of the special education system and the mainstream system (Dixon, 2005), while full inclusion implied all members’ involvement. With the recent emphasis on the importance of quality care in early education (Rao & Li, 2009), inclusion may be helpful to remove children’s barriers in later development. Thus, it is important for research studies and pragmatic development to evolve for ‘early childhood inclusive education’, which is an education system to involve children with diverse needs and all members from a school.

Teachers ’ Ear ly Chi ldhood Inc lus ive Education Practices

‘Practice’, according to Robinson and Díaz (2006), is an action informed by beliefs about how to achieve educationally important purposes in a particular circumstance; it is more than behavior since it incorporates beliefs about what is important and how what is important can be realized in a particular circumstance. ECIE is a series of practices or processes that merge early childhood education and the idea of inclusion. ECIE is a unique and recently developed field of

education (Wilson, 2003), which can be seen as an evolution from special education practices, and ECIE has undergone a paradigm shift. The practice of ECIE emphasizes play, social skill development, ‘pre-academics’ (Wilson, 2003), and the idea of including all children regardless of their special education needs (SEN).

Special education practices ECIE is a paradigm shift, from the medical model of special education to a social model of inclusive education, with a strong value to include all children. During the twenty-first century, people gradually expect higher levels of education attainment, and at the same time, they are more aware of fighting for their human rights of equality, as well as opportunities for education. CSEN (formerly called disabled or handicapped people) were not eligible for normal education, together with children without SEN (mainstream children) in decades past. At that time, receiving special education and rehabilitation services was practically the only choice. This concept of segregating education is the implementation of special education. General teachers practicing this idea of special education might have a pathognomonic stance, or a hypothesized a set of educational practices, which are characterized by a ‘search for pathology’. They would also understand children’s behaviors within a belief system that involves less intervention, less interaction with resource teachers, the lack of a demonstrated link between assessment and curriculum, and minimal parental contact (Stanovich & Jordan, 1998). Special child care centres and early education training centres in early childhood education of Hong Kong are settings that implement special education practices.

Inclusive education practices Inclusive education practices are educational practices or processes that include all children as full-time contributing members. They also provide opportunities for positive interaction with normally developing children (Wilson, 2003), in a group of children with diverse abilities and needs, which is a different approach than integration. Early childhood inclusive practices must include family and community members, assessment in



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natural settings, and is a collaborative process (Vakil, Freeman, & Swim, 2003), which requires educators’ capacities for changing the learning environment (DeVore & Russell, 2007).

The major weakness of many studies about the implementation of the inclusion is the lack a clear definition of ‘inclusion’ (Ryndak, Jackson, & Billingsley, 2000). In order to design a more feasible research study, many researchers have only fulfilled some of the important criteria mentioned (Winter, 1999). Without exploring all of the concepts involved in the idea of inclusion, most of the studies were concerned only with the discussion of how accommodation should be done and how inclusion can be best practiced in schools. Inclusive programs may take various forms in different centres, and services can be implemented in multiple approaches (Soukakou, 2012). Thus, inclusive education practice is a collection of educational approaches implemented by teachers, in which teachers are the primary interventionists, in different forms of education provisions. They are theoretically incorporating their own beliefs from the concept of inclusion. Furthermore, Janko et. al. (1997) also stated that the complex relationship between beliefs and behaviors seems to be affected by associations to the strong emotions connected to the term ‘inclusion’, and that impacts how stakeholders’ values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices are implemented.

Inclusive education approaches There are numerous inclusive education approaches around the world that implement different forms of educational schooling. The different names and different preferences of any particular approach, similar to various kinds of curriculum approaches, depend on different cultural beliefs in different countries or regions. Besides different approaches, the complexity of the discourse of inclusive education around the world has also been expressed in three different forms of educational provisions, which include special schools (segregation: the process to separate education for CSEN and mainstream children), special classes in regular schools (integration), or full inclusion in regular classes (inclusion)

(Evans, 2004). The three forms of provisions lie on a continuum of services from segregation to full inclusion. Therefore, teachers can implement their beliefs about inclusive education in at least three different applications of educational schooling, but the approaches clearly depend on the respective ideas of education.

The inclusive educational approaches are developed from the idea of inclusive education, which is very different from the ‘correctional’ concept of special education: to improve or to heal children’s disabilities. Although it has been accused of a lack of rhetorical ideology, and a lack of scientific evidence success, the idea is fundamentally based on the idea of uniting every child together and to ultimately provide a sense of community for every member in the society. Since the Salamanca Declaration in 1994, the discussion of social-ethical discourse has focused on the value of inclusion (Avramidis & Norwich, 2002). These values are highlighted in some important concepts and serve as guides for an early childhood inclusion program model (Winter, 1999).

Six major approaches to inclusive education, according to Winter (1999), include, first, an ‘appreciation of diversity’, that is, the acceptance of a diverse unique individual. Second, a ‘provision of accommodation’ is described as the flexibility of a curriculum to offer a natural learning experience for children. Third, ‘involvement of integration’ is one of the philosophical underpinnings of the concept of inclusion that is related to different pedagogical approaches. Fourth, ‘practitioners’ responsiveness’ emphasizes a dynamic learning environment. Fifth, a ‘collaborative team of professions’ suggests a team which requires professionals, specialists, families, and the community, all cooperating within the inclusive system. Finally, a ‘systematic organization with evaluation’ is a well-developed early childhood inclusive program that heavily depends on organization and multidisciplinary team planning.

The Hong Kong Context During the 1970’s, Hong Kong was still a British Colonial City. The educational policies and



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transition program to prepare children for their kindergarten schooling.

Among the four services , ‘ Integrated Programme’ (IP) is the most inclusive practice, as all IP provide individualized education plans and other professional help to CSEN. Yet, still there are some physical placements because only some Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre could implement the practices with a whole school approach that encourages the involvement of all of its members. Furthermore, the success of ECIE also requires a series of systematic curriculum modifications (Sandall & Schwartz, 2002), not only requiring teachers’ input, but also cooperation with a team of professionals and teaching staff for such implementations to take place. It is even more difficult for kindergartens without official admission to CSEN to work on curriculum modifications, not to mention a whole school approach. Thus, it is very likely that the pace of ECIE in the majority of Hong Kong kindergartens is lagging behind the general knowledge about ECIE practices. Little is known about the real situations of these programs. Whether it is successful, or whether children could benefit from ECIE, still remains an estimation, without rigorous evidence to establish conclusions.

The IP in kindergartens-cum-Child Care Centre in Hong Kong usually have intervention services, in which CSEN have their own schedules that swap between whole class activities and individual trainings. There are different specialists involved, including educational psychologists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and physiotherapists who will visit, assess and communicate with class teachers, in order to set up an education program (individual educational plan) for every child with special needs. Although the Hong Kong government is encouraging as inclusive a learning environment as possible, not to mention offering financial support, there is almost no active effort to promote inclusion in early childhood. These actions could involve professional seminars on ‘How to prepare an inclusive program’, for example. These general inclusive education approaches can offer a lens to investigate the Hong Kong situation, and see what insufficiencies, if any,

reforms have been adapted or influenced under the shadow of the United Kingdom education system. While worldwide trends had been aware of integrating CSEN into ordinary schools at that time, the early history of special education in Hong Kong had just started. While early childhood education development was still behind on the reform agenda, special education services were provided by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Until recently, there have been four kinds of services were provided for different targets: ‘Early Education and Training Centre’; ‘Integrated Programme in Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre’; ‘Special Child Care Centre’; and ‘Residential Special Child Care Centre’ (Social Welfare Department, 2009).

In 2006, The HKSAR government (Education Bureau, 2006) suggested that teachers be less anxious, as children’s difficulties with their learning are normally temporary and may not always induce negative effects. When catering to the learning differences in preschool classrooms, teachers attempt to identify children’s learning needs and to pay attention to their performance and growth. It is even constructive to make variations in learning content and adjusted teaching approaches according to children’s needs, in order to build a research checklist based on the building blocks model (Sandall & Schwart, 2002). Inclusive practices from the inclusion concept consist of more than just placing young children in the classroom with mainstream peers (Vakil, Freeman, & Swim, 2003).

However, ‘physical placement’ alone is common in Hong Kong ECIE. In addition to numerous private services, the government (Social Welfare Department, 2009) has offered a ‘Special Child Care Centre’ for moderately or severely handicapped children, for special training to facilitate their growth and development, which is clearly a segregated setting. ‘Early Education and Training Centres’ are designed for children with special educational needs from birth to age of two, which extends service prior to schooling for children at the age of six. Thus, this intervention program is more intensive training, to serve as a



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could be improved upon in the future.

Early childhood inclusive education policy guidelines in Hong Kong

There are a number of policies to document the advancement of inclusion in Hong Kong. More emphasis on inclusion can be found in secondary and primary school settings, with less emphasis found in early childhood settings. The first ‘White Paper in Hong Kong in 1977: Integrating the Disabled into the Community: A United Effort’, advocated for the inclusion of students with disabilities in regulars schools (Forlin & Sin, 2010). With the implementation of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO) in 1996, the Equal Opportunities Commission issued the Code of Practice on Education help to promote public understanding of the DDO (Education Bureau, 2010), and to assist schools in developing policies and procedures against discrimination by providing practical guidance (Forlin & Sin, 2010). From 1997, the Education Bureau promoted the Whole School Approach, which is the concept from inclusive education as advocated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to help the advancement of integrated education in Hong Kong (Education Bureau, 2010). There have been remarkable changes in Hong Kong schools since 2003, many of which have formulated policy and practices at the school level to support inclusion (Forlin & Sin, 2010).

Although the Hong Kong Government encourages kindergartens to admit all children and embrace ‘education for all’, the Education Bureau also promotes the use of an inclusion index to help kindergartens to prepare for inclusion. Yet there is no policy that mandates kindergartens to welcome CSEN, only documents that offer certain guidelines to suggest catering to special needs within kindergartens (Education Bureau, 2006). Most of the practitioners agree with the adequate provision of IP placements that have admitted most of the CSEN. However, teachers in practice still find problems that emerge from underestimation of the existing number of CSEN waiting for the IP placements (There were a few cases that required

more than two years to be placed). The lack of government support also leads to the lack of a welcoming atmosphere and lack of accountability for teachers to carry out inclusive education in Hong Kong kindergartens. The lack of adequate support from policy guidelines indicates an unwilling attitude on the part of the Hong Kong Government to include all children in the pre-primary system. Further investigation is needed in future research studies as to whether the current practices offer welcoming atmospheres.

The Local Philosophy of Early Childhood Education

First, resolving conflicts in defining both philosophies and terminologies seems crucial in order to facilitate better practices. There were no calls for educators to articulate understandings and beliefs of treating ‘disability’ as a disease from the medical paradigm (Carrington, 1999), and students’ feelings and preferences were not consulted (Brantlinger, 1997). In addition, there were only minimal studies concerning early childhood inclusion, even as it was documented for the importance of early identification and early interventions. Contributions from supporters of full inclusion practices have been influencing how the concept of inclusion is perceived in public circles, educational systems, and community programs all over the world (Stoiber, Gettinger, & Goetz, 1998). These also began several decades of debates about this topic within different countries, political systems, and cultures. The ideas have been widely discussed within educational groups, at professional meetings, and in professional journals, as well as in a variety of national forums (Stoiber et al., 1998), which has brought about great impact within educational groups that divided the ideas into two extremes including segregation and inclusion.

Second, when influences were brought about through the construction of knowledge, Carrington (1999) claimed that the influences on teachers’ values and beliefs were a form of social construction. The idea of inclusion does not mean to remove funding from special schools, or to segregate children without support (Brantlinger, 1997). The idea of inclusion emphasizes and requires a balance



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of collaboration and communication between teachers, administers, professionals, specialists (therapists and psychologists), and scholars (research academics). Thus, it is important for different members in the school system to understand how their different roles support the school. However, in the era of postmodernism, in which different parts of the system are being criticized and challenged on the grounds of their effectiveness, it appears to regress the collaboration and communication between parties. Thus, practices for inclusive services can be hindered, and ultimately inhibiting the learning of children in need. When the idea of inclusion is introduced as a school-based concept to kindergartens, then, the influence of postmodernism to such a concept would create a shift in motive for school-based practical perspectives (Li, 2006).

It is important to be aware that different perspectives and stances from stakeholders toward such school-based curriculums are crucial for the implementation and promotion of inclusion. Therefore, it is not only important to reach a consensus for the implementation of ECIE, but most importantly, this knowledge transfer may affect the values and beliefs of teachers, which to a certain extent impacts their daily routine work, especially related with CSEN. With only minimal evidence to support this invaluable significant topic, which could contribute to the educational ideal of helping all children, it is important to consider this discourse on early education inclusive practices.

Problems and Barriers of Implementing Inclusive Education

There are enormous difficult ies when implementations take place, which are important to learn about while investigating the system. Although some were questionable when compared with local findings of primary and secondary settings, certain concerns related to early childhood inclusive problems have been evidenced. The most prominent factor (Buysse et al., 1998) has been found to be adequate teachers’ training (Currie & Prudnikova, 2005), including child care staff, support teachers (Silva & Morgado, 2004) and specialists. Other difficulties include the teacher-child ratios, inadequate classroom facilities, and a

lack of teacher planning time. The major challenges for contemporary program staff also include an inadequate number of identified CSEN at a time, and though teachers were trained with different skills superficially, their practices for every type are not intensive (Bricker, 2000). Moreover, those programs have been challenged for the lack of empirical evidence in supporting their effectiveness (Florian, 1998), and related research studies are not simple undertakings (Lindsay, 2003). In the era where striking for ‘quality’ in early childhood education (Rao & Li, 2009) is indispensable, a comprehensive study of ECIE programs should first investigate possible difficulties.

Regarding the administration of services and the issue of integration, there was limited involvement of family members in planning special services (Buysse et al., 1998), a lack of communication with families of children with disabilities, as well as inadequate supervision (Lindsay, 2003) and support for child care staff. Other barriers to inclusive education in the early years include the failure to state child care standards and to address the needs of children with disabilities, lack of planning time to coordinate special services, and limited availability of special services in general early childhood programs. A thorough integration is an ongoing process that requires regular communication and professional development, with assisting professionals to work on it (Mogharreban & Bruns, 2009). Yet only limited information about of the process of inclusion is usually mentioned, when compared with a large discussion on the ‘results’, which are not yet very helpful to the promotion of inclusion (Bricker, 1995). Parents are usually concerned about their CSEN’s performance, but have neglected the process of the integration of education programs. It would negatively affect CSEN on their academic progress (Bricker, 2000).

Practical problems of local Early Childhood Inclusive Education

The pilot study of inclusive education in Hong Kong’s primary and secondary settings started on 1997, and the ‘integrated programme’ of young children with special educational needs



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into child care centres started as early as 1978. It was believed that this inclusion movement was influenced by different practical problems.

It was suspected that there was inadequate awareness and a lack of practical action to implement the inclusion. Numerous countries in Europe have improved their awareness in providing quality inclusive education during last few decades. Norway’s inclusive education started in the 1960s, when most western societies were increasing their awareness about democracy, social justice, and equality for all (Flem & Keller, 2000). The education at the time focused on the individual and pupils with observable disabilities, while the current trend involves approaches that are more comprehensive, contextual, and ecological (Flem & Keller, 2000).

As a result of the Salalmanca Statement, which promises action for equal learning opportunities for people with special educational needs, the government of Portugal has been promising inclusion educational practices as a significant part of their political agenda (Freire & César, 2003). Despite teachers’ lack of understanding of these children and their beliefs about inclusion, the Portuguese government has encouraged collaborations among teachers and they have urged schools to make strategic decisions about how to reform the school curriculums so as to address these educational needs (Freire & César, 2003). Local general teachers are suspected also to have such a lack of understanding of inclusive education. This is usually because of their lack of training during their pre-service vocation education. It is suggested that inclusive education should be a mandatory module during their training, and more could be done if a holistic curriculum modification for pre-service kindergarten teachers is emphasized.

Different policies and systems of referral are required to support the actual practice of inclusion. While inclusive education is encouraged in European countries, the role of special education teachers’ work in Greece has been justified with contradictory beliefs about inclusive education, which has eased social inclusion in a segregated

setting (Vlachou, 2006). Also, when there is a lack of inclusive systems and related guiding policies, teachers cannot implement inclusion properly with inadequate staff training (Vlachou, 2006), which suggests government disagreement over inclusive education. In the era of educational reform, professional development for teachers, especially in their inclusive education knowledge, is crucial, yet is usually left behind. In Hong Kong, special education teachers who possess more inclusive education knowledge could hardly find time to share their practices with general teachers. It is suggested that more podiums of discussion should be opened for them in order to transfer knowledge, so that they can learn from each other.

More awareness should be sought to gain teachers’ confidence in working in inclusive education, since teachers are assumed to be the closest in the environment of children’s learning. In addition to those policies to promote early inclusive education, the United States has provided a systematic screening and assessment for young children with SEN and has adequate support during their school transition (Malone & Gallagher, 2009). Since the education of young children with special needs from birth to age three are administrated under different laws than with children from three to five, a transition period is problematic (Malone & Gallagher, 2009). Lack of support and policy guidelines in Hong Kong could only leave general teachers lacking of confidence when working with CSEN. More support from the government, and more in-service training would provide strategies for teachers to work with CSEN when needed.

It is arguable that complexity, as well as an ambiguity of ideologies and terms, has affected both ultimate policy development and implementation of related practices in those societies (Flam & Keller, 2000). Except the IP for Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre, the Hong Kong SAR government does not have any policies for a mandated early inclusive program, and there are similar transition problems when young CSEN were switching between early education training centres to IP at Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centre, which have not yet been resolved. No doubt, teachers’ understanding of the



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systems and their sound knowledge of children with different needs might aid in smoothing the transitions.

Some societies have indeed found themselves in ideological agreement with inclusive education. Practitioners may also face these critical barriers that impede turning ideas into practices. Professional training for Hong Kong kindergarten teachers about inclusive education is far behind worldwide trends and standards of having comprehensive, contextual and ecological approaches (Flem & Keller, 2000), significant political agenda (Freire & César, 2003), and a systematic transition (Malone & Gallagher, 2009), especially in the field of early childhood education. There is urgency for Hong Kong educators to solve these problems and implement suitable local adaptations, and accelerate the development of professionalism and collaborative support services to strive for a more inclusive atmosphere.

Conclusions According to the series of discussions regarding inclusive education, local ECIE, its conflicting views,

kindergarten training, problems of implementation, and teachers’ practices, the current paper has provided a rich study related to the topic. If kindergarten is a comparatively flexible arena (Salili, 1999) for inclusion to take place, through the investigation of the relationship between beliefs and practices of teachers toward inclusion, existing difficulties and barriers could be overcome with resolutions supported by sound theoretical frameworks of belief systems. It is very important to create an inclusive atmosphere within kindergartens, and the application of inclusive knowledge acquired by practitioners can fill the gap between theory and practice. Ultimately, teachers with better preparation, attitudes, and beliefs about inclusion could help children with or without SEN to enter an inclusive environment in which tolerance and care are appreciated in their learning journey. This paper has explored different complex conceptions and local practice difficulties. It has provided a link between different research studies’ findings on the topic and an explanation of the local situation, which provides discourse for further investigations and professional development to put ECIE into practice in Hong Kong.

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An Interview Study of Chinese Parents’ Beliefs about Play and Learning in Younger Children

中國父母對嬰幼兒遊戲與學習觀念的訪談研究

LIN Xun Yi


AbstractEarly childhood educational reform in Mainland China has led ‘play-based teaching and learning’ to be the mainstream of current opinion in early childhood education. However, whether parents especially those of children before the age of going to the kindergarten tend to believe about this has not been empirically studied. The present study was a qualitative study, which involved in-depth interviews with fifteen parents of under-three children in urban Fuzhou of Fujian Province, to explore their beliefs about learning, teaching and play at home. The results suggest that the parents no longer hold the Chinese traditional values that learning is beneficial but play is not. They highly emphasize the positive functions of play for children’s development. Although the parents realize play is the best way for learning in the very early years, they still face difficulties and challenges to enhance children’s learning through play at home. The study also indicates the influences of the Socioeconomic Status on parents’ beliefs and practices about children’s play and learning.

摘要中國學前教育改革使「遊戲中學習」成為主流的幼稚教育思想。然而入園前嬰幼兒的家長如何認識早期學習與遊戲卻缺乏相應的實證研究。本研究對中國福建福州的15個0-3歲嬰幼兒家長進行深入的半結構式訪談。結果表明家長們不再持有「戲無益，學有宜」的傳統觀念，他們非常認可遊戲的發展價值，認為遊戲是該年齡孩子學習的最佳方式。但家長們對如何在家裡通過遊戲促進孩子早期學習仍存在困境和挑戰。研究也表明家庭社會經濟地位對家長觀念和實踐的影響。

Backgrounds Play is children’s universal activity and integral part of their everyday life. However, the nature and values of children’s play have been perceived very differently across cultures (Roopnarine & Krishnakumar, 2006; Kazemeini & Pajoheshgar, 2013). In western societies play is widely regarded as the medium to enhance young children’s cognitive and social skills. Parents usually provide numerous objects to promote the opportunities of children’s play and pledge active participation in play with their children (Roopnarine, 2011). But

these beliefs and practices seem to be less favorable among parents in some under-modernized areas and some culture groups (Singer et al., 2008).

In Chinese society, the central goals for parents in the family were to educate obedient children working hard at academics. Historically play was seen frivolous or even harmful to childhood development because it would jeopardize academic learning. Nevertheless with influences of western thoughts and modernization in the society, some of the traditional values are being transformed. In the past two to three decades,



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early childhood educational reform in mainland China has ascribed great importance to play in the curriculum (Zhu & Wang, 2005). The revolution occurred in kindergartens is not only the curricular reform but also an idea innovation in children and learning (Liu & Feng, 2005).Some foreign educational opinions have been widely accepted by present-day Chinese kindergarten teachers, such as ‘respecting children’s individual needs’, ‘play-based teaching and learning’ and ‘educating through daily life’. Due in large to the changes in early childhood education settings, more child-centered and democratic rather than authoritarian approaches are adopted by the younger generation of parents in raising and educating their children at home (Xu et al., 2005).

Few studies however have been conducted on the parenting of Chinese parents who have children under three years old (Wu, Young & Cai, 2012). While parental educational beliefs appears to play a significant role in children’s development, little is known about parents’ beliefs relevant to children’s play and learning before they go to the kindergarten. Rao and Li (2009) observed 4 toddlers in the pre-kindergarten programmes and interviewed their teachers and parents. They found that ‘eduplay’ or ‘play-based learning’ had been highly emphasized on the programmes by both of teachers and parents. However, what younger children’s parents tend to believe and practice about this at home has remained unexplored in the literature.

In China, the majority of children are usually cared for at home up to three years of age. Parents especially those in some developed regions have been very eager to get involved in children’s early learning before children go for the formal early childhood education. Recently Chinese government started incorporating under-threes into public Early Childhood Care and Education policy agenda. The research on parental beliefs and practices related to under-three children’s play and learning at home not only will gain important insights in this poorly understood area, but also provide implications for policy development.

Methods The present study aimed to provide a preliminary exploration on parental play-learning beliefs and practices at home. It was a qualitative study, which involved face-to-face interviews with the parents from selected families with children under three in urban Fuzhou. As the capital city of Fujian province, Fuzhou has a population of more than 7 million and consists of 5 districts and 8 counties which cover an area of 11,968 square kilometers. In 2010, Fujian ranked 12th in GDP amongst 32 major administrative units in mainland China.

Participants Eight families were selected purposively to ensure that the children represented different age, gender, and socioeconomic status backgrounds (SES). There were five girls and three boys. The youngest one was seven months old and the oldest was thirty-five months old. All of them had no history of mental, physical or sensory handicaps. The SES of the participating families was estimated by combining information on household income and parents’ educational level. Two families were considered as high SES families, for household income was much higher than the average (Fuzhou Bureau of Statistics, 2012) and both parents attained master degree or above. Two were considered as low SES families, for household income was considerably less than the average and both parents had educational level below the university degree. And other four were middle SES families for household income was around the average and parents had educational level of university degree (see Table1 in Appendix 2 for socio-demographic information).

Procedure The researchers went to the participants’ home and interviewed both parents in each family separately. The interview, developed for the present research, used four focused open-ended questions to tap parents’ perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and practices relevant to children’s play and learning at home (See Appendix 1 for interview protocol). The individual interview was conducted with a semi-structured protocol to ensure a level of consistency



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across interviews while allowing new issues to emerge. Prompts were used when necessary to elicit more detailed responses. Due to the absence of one father (Family G) during home visit, altogether eight mothers and seven fathers participated in the interview. Each interview lasted approximately 30 to 50 minutes and was audiotaped.

Data analysis The interview data was transcribed verbatim. Analysis of the data was based on the examination of parents’ responses to each question. The transcripts were reviewed and discussed by the author and an Early Childhood Education master to identify the initial codes. All codes were grouped together to generate a series of themes and coding categories based on the themes. A random sample of transcriptions was cross-coded for inter-coder agreement. Patterns of responses were mixed and matched until themes were saturated (Miles & Huberman, 1994).The emerged themes were further categorized into three major themes.

Findings and Discussion The three major themes and other emerged issues have been presented and discussed in this section.

Theme 1: General Perceptions of Younger Children’s Play and learning

Most parents in the interview defined children’s play by giving concrete examples. A broad range of child’s activities and parent-child activities were perceived by them as play. Parents realized that very young children’s play is to pursue pleasure and satisfaction in doing the activity rather than to achieve serious goals. They usually used terms such as “love”, “enjoy”, “have fun” when talked about child’s play at home.

“He never gets bored of playing with his little cars. When we played together, he liked me to build blocks and then he pushed it over and let me do it again and again. He was very excited hearing ‘Bang!’ when blocks fell down.” (Family C-Father)

“He was very busy with playing sticks these days. He took the stick around the house, fought with his father and hit everything in the garden…mud, tomato trees and the big barrel for watering plants.”(Family F-Mother)

“We had fun with playing ‘hide and seek’ and looking the mirror…she was very cheerful when being raised up and swung back and forth by her father.” (Family B-Mother)

“She likes to play in the real and pretend kitchen with her older sister. Sometimes they invited me to join. They dressed up to pretend the bride and groom after going to my friend’s wedding.”(Family H-Father)

Some parents, especially those of older children, considered more serious activities as child’s play, such as reading, guessing alphabet and learning basic arithmetic concepts. But they realized that child’s intrinsic motivation “interest” “free choice” matters in the activity.

“When we play together, I taught her Chinese classic poems in the picture books. She forgot fast. When she chose ones to learn on her own, it was better”. (Family E-Mother)

“She loves drawing. She spent long time on scribbling with crayons on the paper and told me what she is drawing. Sometimes we played number and alphabet puzzles but I it was still difficult for her. She was not very interested in it. ” (Family G-Mother)

In addition to the nature of children’s play from a parent’s perspective, it has been seen from the above excerpts that play develops from the infancy and toddler year to the early childhood. It appears that children’s developmental status, parent’s involvement and family’s environments exert the influence on the play.



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be cultivated unconsciously. ” (Family D- Mother)

Theme 2: Developmental Significance in Younger Children’ Play

All interviewed parents highly emphasized the positive functions of children’s play, although they ascribed varied values to it. Their responses were coded with an adapted coding scheme based on previous study (Parmer, Harkness & Super 2004). The six categories were: play importance for physical development; for cognitive development; for socio-emotional development; for fun and happiness; for curiosity, imagination and creativity; for early academies start; for others. We assumed the frequency of mentioning a particular idea in each category reflects the extent of its importance. The frequencies occurred were tabulated (See Table 2 in Appendix 2).

As table 2 shows, parents in this study put most emphasis on the value of play in cognitive development. Parents also underlined the benefits of play for socio-emotional development of very young children. However different aspects in this domain were stressed. The parents of younger children thought of play to foster the intimacy between children and parents while parents of older children thought of play to enhance children’s skills getting well along with peers.

“She needs lots of love; the main function of play is to foster interactions between parents and child, to increase intimacy between us.”(Family B- Mother)

“Most important is to share and cooperate with kids at his age and to gain some rules in the group. Play will help him to maintain harmonious relations with others in the future.” (Family G- Mother)

The functions mentioned least frequently by parents were play for creativity and play just for fun. All of the three parents who considered creativity value of play came from the high SES families. Amongst the four parents who thought

Regarding features that characterize children’s play, some parents suggested subtle but significant differences between two Chinese words “wanshua (玩耍 )” and “youxi (遊戲 )”, both of which can be regarded as equivalent to the English word “play”. Parents tend to perceive “wanshua” as unstructured activities and children’s spontaneous behaviours that have fun, while consider “youxi” as structured activities and involving interactions with adults or peers. Parents seem to attach educational values to

“youxi” rather than “wanshua” and believe more chance that children can learn knowledge and information though “youxi”.

“For my understanding, ‘youxi’ is more sophisticated. I don’t think he could ‘youxi’ at this young age, he just did what he liked, what he wanted to do. He couldn’t follow our instructions and interacted with others purposefully.” (Family A- Father)

“I don’t think what he did (playing with cars on his own) was ‘youxi’.it was just ‘wan’ because he did nothing just had fun. He didn’t interact with others. He didn’t get new knowledge and skills from doing it... I think parent-child class in early learning centre is ‘youxi’, because it’s not casual behaviour… it’s designed and organized by the teachers” (Family C- Mother)

Some parents stated that it is natural for children to play and play is part of childhood, while learning involves the child exerting an effort. Despite this, all participating parents believed that the relationships between play and learning are very close and saw play as the best way for learning, particularly at this younger age.

“Younger children’s learning is quite different form the learning of adults and older children. You cannot force them to sit at the table and learn by listening to the teacher. You need to make learning pleasant and like a play. Only in this way, children are willing to engage and their interest in learning will



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play just for fun, three were fathers and only one was mother.

“Dancing, listening to the music, drawing and playing with art media develop child‘s ability of appreciating the beauty and stimulate their imagination and creativity. (Family G- Mother)

“It’s nature for children to play; it’s nature for children to have fun. I think the most important thing is my child feels happy in play.” (Family F- Father)

Some functions mentioned by the parents didn’t fall into the six main categories. For example, one father said child play could liberate adults from caring the child. Another father thought that play was important because his daughter would have less opportunity to play in the future.

“Sometimes I am very tired from the work. When my son plays quietly and doesn’t cry, I can watch my favourite football without being disturbed. ” (Family A- Father)

“There will be fierce competition in the future. When she goes to the kindergarten, primary school and high school and... she will have less and less time to play. So right now I want her to play a lot when she can.” (Family E- Father)

Theme 3: Parental Roles in Play and Enhance Learning through Play at Home

Parents acknowledged the significant role as parents in children’s play and learning. Most parents in this study mentioned “parents are children’s primary teacher”. The involvement of parents in play and learning was considered as vital to children’s development. However, parents had varied beliefs and practices regarding what his/her roles played in child’s play and learning. Parents also perceived their multiple roles in children’s play, depending on the contexts and what they play with the children. In addition to their own perceptions, they are asked to give examples and

detailed descriptions on what they did in children’s play.

Six categories of parental roles were derived from the parents’ responses using the criteria: 1) whether parents involved in children’s play; 2) whether parents tried to teach something when play with children; 3) the way they taught children in play. Security guard was coded when parents didn’t join children’s play but supervised the play to ensure the safety. Companion was coded when parents didn’t join children’s play although still were reassuring close by the children. Playmate was coded when parents actively involved in children’s play just to make children happy. Direct instructor, indirect instructor or scaffolder was identified when parents actively participated in children’s play with the intention of teaching something through play. Direct instructor was coded when parents reported to provide instructions but few choices for the children when played with them. Indirect instructor was coded when parents reported to use or try to use indirect strategies (e.g. suggesting, demonstrating or setting up a model) to enhance children’s learning but children didn’t follow the instructions well. Scaffolder was coded when parents reported to flexibly use strategies and adjust them to children’s needs and developmental level sensitively.

The frequencies occurred were tabulated (See table 3 in Appendix 2). As indicated in table 3, the dominant role parents had taken in children’s play was indirect instructor. The less common parental roles in children’s play included direct instructor and scaffolder. It suggests most parents in this study tried to teach something while playing with children but they faced a dilemma. On one hand, they tried to respect children’s needs and realized direct instructions were not suitable for children at this younger age. On the other hand, most of them didn’t know how to interact with children effectively to help them learn and develop through play in optimal way.

It is noted that the Socioeconomic Status has had the influence on parents’ practices. In this study all of the three parents as scaffolder in children’s



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play were mothers who had very high educational level. There were two parents from low SES families amongst the three parents who had the role of direct instructor.

Other Issues Emerged in the Interview Some issues emerged during the interview in addition to the three main themes.

Firstly, although parents thought learning is embedded in play and play is the best way of learning at this younger age, some of them believed that the conflicts between play and learning are bound to arise and intensify as children grow up when they go to school.

Secondly, parents realized some factors that could exert influence on children’s play and learning, such as child’s temperament, the environments in the community and early childhood education programmes called Zaojiao they participated in, however, they believed parental educational attitudes and the way parents interacted with the children to be primarily importance influence on their children’s play and learning.

Thirdly, parents stressed the role of grandparents could not be overlooked given children are taken care of for most of time at home by grandparents. They pointed out the grandparents’ old- fashioned

ideas for raising children needed to be changed when talking on the challenges to enhance very young children’s learning through play at home.

Conclusion and Limitation The present study provided the first empirical evidence of Chinese parents’ beliefs on very young children's play and learning as well as their at-home practices. The results suggest that the parents no longer hold the traditional values that play is harmful to the children. Instead they highly emphasize the value of play in cognitive development and see play as the best way for children’s early learning. However they are still facing challenges and need effective strategies and supportive family environments to enhance children’s learning through play at home. The study also shows that parental beliefs are influenced by ecological contexts and children’s characteristics.

This study, while informative, is limited in certain respects that could be improved in future studies. First, findings are likely to be regional and cannot be generalized to the whole of China and to other cultures. Second, in addition to the self-report interview, direct observation can be done to give further evidence for parents’ beliefs. Third, the findings from this qualitative study would need to be validated with quantitative data in future research.

ReferencesFuzhou Bureau of Statistics., 2012. Fuzhou Statistiscs Yearbook (in Chinses). Beijing: China Statistics Press. Kazemeini, T., & Pajoheshgar, M. (2013). Children's Play in the Context of Culture: Parental Ethnotheories. Journal

of Science and today's world, 2(3), 265-281.Liu, Y., & Feng, X. (2005). Kindergarten educational reform during the past two decades in mainland China:

Achievements and problems. International Journal of Early Years Education, 13(2), 93-99.Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.Parmar, P., Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (2004). Asian and Euro-American parents’ ethnotheories of play and learning:

Effects on preschool children’s home routines and school behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28(2), 97-104.

Rao, N., & Li, H. (2008). “Eduplay”: Beliefs and Practices Related to Play and Learning in Chinese Kindergartens. In I. Pramling Samuelsson & M. Fleer (Eds.), Play and learning in early childhood settings:international perspectives (pp. 97-116). Springer Netherlands.



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Roopnarine, J. (2011). Cultural variations in beliefs about play, parent-child play, and children's play: Meaning for childhood development.In A.D. Pellegrini (Eds.), The Oxford Hnadbook of the Development of Play (pp. 19-37).New York: Oxford University Press.

Roopnarine, J. L., & Krishnakumar, A. (2006). Parent–child and child–child play in diverse cultural contexts. In D. P. Fromberg & D. Bergen (Eds.), Play from birth to twelve: Contexts perspectives and meanings (pp. 275-288). CRC Press. .

Singer, D. G., Singer, J. L., D'Agostino, H., & DeLong, R. (2008). Children's Pastimes and Play in Sixteen Nations: Is Free-Play Declining? American Journal of Play, 1(3),283-312

Wu, K. B., Young, M. E., & Cai, J. (2012). Early Child Development in China: Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Improving Future Competitiveness. World Bank Publications.

Xu, Y., Farver, J. A. M., Zhang, Z., Zeng, Q., Yu, L., & Cai, B. (2005). Mainland Chinese parenting styles and parent–child interaction. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29(6), 524-531.

Zhu, J., & Wang, C. (2005). Contemporary early childhood education and research in China. In B. Spodek & O.N.Saracho (Eds.), International perspectives on research in early childhood education, (pp. 55-77). Information Age Publishers.

Appendix 1

The interview protocol:- What is play? Tell about your child’s play at home. - What’s your opinion on the relationship between play and early learning?- What’s the importance of child’s play?- What’s your role in your child’s play and learning? - Any other comments.



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Family Child’sgender

Child’sage Father’seducation Mother’seducation Familyincome

(RMB/ month)A Male 7 months University degree University degree 6000-8000 B Female 8 months University degree University degree 6000-8000C Male 18 months University degree Master degree 6000-8000D Female 22 months University degree University degree 6000-8000E Female 26 months Vocational education Vocational education < 2999F Male 30 months Master degree PhD > 10000G Female 31 months Master degree Master degree 8000-10000H Female 35 months Vocational education High school graduation 3000-5999

Playforphysical

development

Playforcognitive

development

Playforsocio-

emotionaldevelopment

Playforfun and

happinessPlayfor

creativity

Playforearly

academies start

Playforother

reasons

Mother A 1 1Father A 1 1 1Mother B 1 1 1Father B 1 1Mother C 1Father C 1 1 1 1Mother D 1 1Father D 1 1Mother E 1 1 1Father E 1 1 1Mother F 1 1 1 1Father F 1 1 1

Mother G 1 1 1 1Mother H 1 1 1Father H 1 1Intotal 5 13 9 4 3 5 2

Appendix 2

Table1Backgroundinformationintheeightfamilies

* Average monthly family income of urban residents in Fuzhou city was 6962. (Fuzhou Bureau of Statistics, 2012.)

Table2Parents'perceivedFunctionsofchidren'splay



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Securityguard Companion Playmate Indirect

instructor Scaffolder Direct instructor

Mother A 1 1 1Father A 1 1Mother B 1 1Father B 1 1Mother C 1 1Father C 1 1 1 1Mother D 1Father D 1 1 1Mother E 1Father E 1 1Mother FFather F 1

Mother G 1 1 1Mother H 1 1 1Father H 1Intotal 5 4 4 11 3 3

Table3Parentalrolesinchildren’splay



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對佛教思想落實在幼兒教育課程及教學法上的初階理解

The Application of Buddhist Thinking on Early Childhood Curriculum and Pedagogic Practises. An Initial

Understanding

劉慧中香港教育學院幼兒教育學系

摘要香港在過去十數年的教改推動下，幼教課室亦走向多元化教學。這情況有助配合幼教多元化的文化及宗教觀的發展。事實上，特區政府的課程改革文件也確立了宗教文化的靈性向度在教育上的意義和訊息。筆者現嘗試引用佛教思想於幼兒教育上的實踐並在理念上作出研究分析，期待以拋磚引玉的精神踏出第一步，讓香港的幼教界朋友展開一個在多元文化的融和社會下的宗教教學法研究的平台。

AbstractEducational reform in Hong Kong over the past decades have facilitated the adoption of multiple modes of teaching practises in the early childhood classroom. This situation has in turn facilitated the enhancement of different cultural and religious practises in Hong Kong. Practitioners of different religious and cultural background could then follow their religious ideology to design its own teaching pedagogy when apply it in the ECE curriculum. As a matter of fact, the SAR government has in its policy document established the feasibility of the dynamic cultural-religious practise in the Hong Kong society. In this paper, the author tries to apply the thinking of Buddhist to the early childhood curriculum and pedagogic practises, with the aim of opening a platform where the stakeholders of early childhood education could further research on this multi-facet aspect in a harmonious society.

引言根據香港教育城 (2008) 的資料顯示 ( 見表一 )，香港幼稚園和幼兒學校受着香港的歷史因素所影響，由宗教團體所辦理的佔百分之五十四；非宗教團體辦理的幼稚園和幼兒學校

則佔百分之四十六。而學校往往根據各宗教團體的辦學理念在校內提供宗教教育，促進幼兒的信仰、靈育、生命、價值和倫理等方面的正向培育。



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天主教基督教道教佛教伊斯蘭教其他宗教無宗教總數

學校數目 65 417 9 16 3 7 441 958

百分比 6.78% 43.5% 0.94% 1.67% 0.31% 0.73% 46%

（表一）

回歸後的香港特區更進一步發展成為一個多元化文化發展的社會，每學年的公衆假期表中，除了有聖誕假期及一些中國傳统的節日假期外，更有佛誕節。在過去十數年的教改推動下，幼教課室亦走向多元化文化教學。事實上，香港教育統籌委員於 2000 年 9 月出版的

《教育改革進展報告：終身學習，全人發展》(香港教育統籌委員會，2000) 提及以下這段課程改革文件，並確立了宗教文化的靈性向度在教育上的 (價值 )意義。 “德育在教育體系，以致整個社會的道德

體系中，也有著十分重要的使命。我們要讓每個學生在學習階段中也能夠在道德、感情、精神（英文原文為：SPIRITUAL EDUCATION）各方面接受有系統的學習，並有充分的經歷，以建立正確的人生觀和價值觀。”( 香港教育統籌委員會編訂，《終身學習 • 全人發展：香港教育制度改革建議》，2000年9月，頁31。)

有說近今十多年的教育改革因趨向多元化發展，使幼兒教育更能配合多元化的文化及宗教觀的發展 ( 劉慧中及戴燕儀，2010)。每一種宗教也擁有自己獨特的宗教觀，進而影响秉承著該種文化及宗教觀衍生的教育理念；然而在香港這個具容納性的多元文化社會中卻能呈現出不同宗教可以和平共處的情況。程介明曾在信報撰文提及香港在宗教文化下的傳统，那就是殖民地時代的港府至現今的特區政府，一直也沿用由不同的宗教團體承擔辦學的社會責任，因而受到民眾的尊重 (程介明，信報，2010年6月11日 )。因着教師的教學法得宜的配合，在學校裏學生之間，也是可以友善地互相對待別人的宗教和文化的。舉例說，當今的天主教

教宗亦曾在一九九八年撰文指出不同宗教的信徒在秉持自己的 [ 文化 ] 及信仰其時，亦須尊重別人的宗教信仰，尤指當信徒在別的宗教信仰中找到具真理成份的情況時，信徒便須以真誠的心去學習並在自己原有的宗教信仰上更臻完美 (Ratzinger, 1998, 頁110)。

佛教既為世界五大宗教之一，就自當有其宗教的真理性，而依其教育理念所衍生的教學法也就有需要作出探究及學習。筆者現嘗試以佛教思想聯結幼兒教育作出分析，期待以拋磚引玉的精神踏出第一步，讓香港的幼教界朋友開拓一個在多元文化的社會下的宗教教學法研究的平台。

佛教思想與幼兒教育眾所周知佛教是釋迦牟尼佛所創立的，距今已有二千數百多年。而世界上任何一個政治朝代，都很少有超過一千年以上的統治時間。這點可說明宗教乃是全人類的一個永恒的需要(張澄基 ,1983a)。佛教既為世界五大宗教之一，當然能滿足人類的這個恆常需要。現今我們所修學的佛教，是佛的教法。這種超國家、超民族、超時間、和超空間，由佛陀弟子將佛陀思想多次結集而成佛經帶給世人啟示的教法，實彰顯了佛陀思想的真理性。

佛教的「緣起法」更進一步引証了佛陀思想的真理性 : 所謂之因緣決不是自然的相湊合，也決不是受着自因意志的支配，仍是法相的必然，因着因緣生果相續的法則而為必然的結果。重要的是，依着因緣生果法則 (佛家術語為緣生 )一切法相，正各有其系統，一絲不亂 ( 李石岑，1983)。



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正因如此，研究佛法與人生的各種關係便是探究人的終極需要。事實上，有關佛陀圓通哲學所指，佛陀最熱切的關注是在治療與實用方面，而不是形而上方面的。他的宏願不是描繪宇宙的藍圖，而是幫助人類改變他們的生活，使眾生袪除一切壓迫他們的煩惱與痛苦 (舒吉譯 1983，頁 88)。據這樣的理解，可以說佛陀思想，作理論而非精神而言，是入世的 (張澄基1983b,頁132, 137)。因此筆者明悟到大乘 (大乘佛教理念 ) 乃最適宜老師研究幼兒教育的法則，這些法則是指那些支配著幼兒教育的方法及原則。

幼兒教育是人生教育的起步點人終其一生都在教與學，而據傅湛(Fulghum, R, 1990) 的《我真要懂的一切在幼稚園便已學懂》一書中所言，幼兒教育更是人生漫長教育的起步點及基璴。佛教以「轉迷開悟」「離苦得樂」為二大目的，前者是求真理，後者是修聖道。人生的意義與目標，不外乎發揮大家本具的佛性，和圓滿佛性的無量功德；為萬千苦痛的一切眾生，除痛苦、破無明 ( 張澄基 1983b, 頁 127)，此乃度他修聖道的做法。雖說年幼的孩子可能未有足夠修行去度他，然而若能在其年幼開始，即透過生活的環境，在耳濡目染下受感染 /教誨下學習，最少也能明白到以戒、定、慧去利己，也未嘗不是好事。況且，據佛學所指，人的現在生雖被過去生 [及未來生 ] 像鏈條一樣由因果鎖着，今世所受的苦仍因過去生的業遞傳過來。正因此，身為佛教徒的父母便有責任讓幼兒及早接觸佛法，以便早點以「法」為軌則，賴以暫且對佛學有認識的老師作為「僧」的角色去傳持。那麼，幼兒最基本亦能接觸到小乘修行習自度之德，例如初步明悟聲聞乘的四聖諦法，有軌則可循以能「學習」自度。佛典雖被認為是資料浩瀚，然而若由老師將佛典中蘊藏的法，以深入淺出的故事形式表達於幼教課程上，例如運用倡議「人間佛教」的太虛徒弟印順法師所編著的《兒童佛學課本》作幼教課程籃本，先學習佛陀的法，再

將所領悟到的引伸到生活上的學習。筆者認為是可行的。對以上的假設，有待日後再作深入研究。

當今香港幼兒教育在教改下的情況

香港的學前教育在十多年前才開始真箇備受重視，一連串的幼教改革里程更隨着全港教改趨勢應運而生。優質幼兒教育課程强調以

「兒童發展」及「非正規的兒童學習」模式作基本原則來訂定校本課程設計。依據官方資料所指引，學前教育的施行重則主要是透過 (表現指標 01 年 ) 教與學的方法，貫穿六個學習範疇去達至四個幼兒發展目標 ( 幼兒教育課程指引，2006, 頁15)。更為詳盡一點的解釋是 : 透過 (表現指標 01 年 ) 教與學的方法 ( 以學生為中心方法 : 建構教學法配合人本教學法，以其中一種綜合課程模式，即多學科 / 跨學科 / 超學科貫穿六個學習範疇 (語文、早期數學、科學與科技、個人與群體、藝術、體能與健康 )去達至四個幼兒發展目標 (身體發展、認知和語言發展、情意與群性發展、美感發展 )，能達到這些發展目標便可視為學習成果。

這種新的教學方法與傳统的舊式教學方法截然不同。舊式教學方法強調在老師主導下要求幼兒學習老師既定 / 預設的活動，又透過寫字、默字、串字 ( 英文 ) 的重覆練習去記憶一些幼兒認為「無意義」的知識學習；因此，這種沒有「以人為本」的教學方法便被「人本主義」、

「實用主義」教育家如杜威 (J. Dewey)、馬斯洛(A.Maslow) 等人評為「非民主」的教育方法。

換言之，非正規的課程是按照幼兒個別的興趣、需要和動機，在推行課程時必須讓幼兒從「非結構性、非規則性」的遊戲中去「發展學習」，以實際環境去豐富幼兒的生活經驗。強調首先從實際的生活中讓幼兒自由地、沒有壓力地、快樂地進行「做中學」，以建立幼兒自主、自信及創意的能力。學科知識及技能學習可透

[1] Maria Montessori 陳恆瑞、賴媛譯蒙特梳利幼兒教學法：讓孩子自我成長，台北，大眾心理學叢書



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過前述的活動中領悟，而無須直接地「教授」，理由是避免向幼兒施加無謂的壓力。以間接式的社會建構法去「膺架」幼兒發展則可被接納，是否能掌握學習到的知識並不重要。推行蒙特梭利 (Montessori) 教學法的瑪利亞•蒙特梭利 1 也曾說不應強制幼兒去學老師指定的知識，在生活中悠閑的去獲取「生活知識」對幼兒來說更有意義。

為了完滿地推行這種非正規的、以遊戲(Play) 為主的「學習」模式以便促進「兒童發展」，教改課程便建議學校推行統整教學（這概念部份源於兒童發展的統整性 (周淑惠2002, 頁10），因為惟有在兒童的遊戲中才能夠充份讓兒童得到各方面的均衡發展：惟有透過整合性，沒有遊戲規則的遊戲 (Play)，人的生理 (身 )、心理 ( 心 )、心靈 ( 靈 ) 及智能等各部份發展才能彼此相關、相互影響，均衡且統合地發展。以建構教學（誘導幼兒主動從實踐中尋求知識，再按自己的能力、進度進行學習）及人本主義教育理念（學生自我導向，主動探求自覺有興趣之題材）推行教學，才能真正發揮到以「兒童為中心」的核心價值理念。

為何教改取不到教改預期的成果之解說

幼教改革推行十多年來，至今依然未見顯著成效。業界在十多年的教改中不斷營營役役、兜兜轉轉，有些學校發言人亦直接表示曾

嘗試了不同課程及方法，作了 180 度徹底的改變，最後仍是原地踏步或走上回頭路，有幼教持份者指出這呆滯不前的景況乃由於受到佛教所謂的業力 2 所影響導至 ; 並認為這情況大有可能是因為「真理」被佛教稱之為三毒中的「癡」3 所蒙閉了，仍昧於宇宙人生的真理所致。

在這方面的見解，筆者認為張澄基 (1983b,頁138)說得好，「今天人類思想紊亂，紛歧的原因，是缺乏一個令人滿意的一貫之道……當人失去宗教和道德善惡的因果律及信仰後，一切便傾向趨入斷見」。

上文既述，佛法既有一貫的、嚴密的思想系統，筆者認為如依其法訂定幼教課程及教學法的準則，定會獲得一個理想的課程和教學法。事實上，幼教業界對於學校推行教改裏足不前，依幼兒教育界的研究所得，乃是與推行課程背後的支持信念有關 ( 黃艾珍、容燕文、譚美顏，2011)。有學術文獻指出令教改成功的關鍵點是能改變教師對課程的信念 (Bruner, 1967，香港教育學院兒童研究與創新中心，劉慧中引，2013) 然後再由教師的想法影响小朋友，不無道理，Brunner(1967) 指出課程是為教師而設多於為學生而設；並認為如果課程不能改變、感動 (move)教師，令教師在接收到的訊息上不斷思考；教師便不能將之所教的在學生身上獲得成效。要全面地推行以人為本教育理念就是對其教育信仰的履行，教師是須時作出其對教育信仰的改變信念 (劉慧中引，2013) 。

[2] 「業」力的產生是由於有貪慾、瞋恨、邪見等的不良心理所影響及而漸漸成了習慣，形成一種力量。這種力量，叫做業力，即是積累習

慣的力量，亦即是苦惱的招集者。(印順法師，1997)。如此說來，令幼兒教育改·革未能順利成功推行的主因就是業力了。

[3] 佛教思想中的「三毒」乃指貪、瞋及癡。貪是對順境起貪愛心、瞋是對逆境起厭惡心，「癡」是對於不順不逆境闇味無知。佛陀在「涅槃

經」第十二卷中告訴弟子人生有生苦、老苦、病苦、死苦、愛別離苦、怨僧會苦、求不得苦、失榮樂苦等真相，而這些苦就是由這三毒

所引起的。(印順法師，1997；陳柏達，1998)

若要為幼兒教育教改的成果作出解釋，筆者相信可從持有兩種不同立場的持份者去解釋。假如持份者一的立場是站在人本主義那一邊

的，亦即會支持近今十多年以來幼兒教育創新的路向那邊走的，那麼估計這些人本理論支持者會認為幼兒教育教改的成果不顯明仍由

於 (一 ) 幼教員工因「因循」而對順境起「貪愛」之心，對習慣了的課程模式及教學法感到滿意而不希望作出任何改變；若被強行作出改

變則感到厭惡，此乃瞋之所在。至於「癡」則意味著幼教員因對教改的理念不清晰而導至不知如何作出改革。(二 )在另一邊廂，若幼教

持份者是站在非人本主義的立場而言，相信他們會認為幼兒教育教改的成果未能理想乃由於教改的大方向與佛教教育的方針未能吻合所

以；原因是佛教並不是主張西方那套崇尚個性解放模式的以人為本主義，而是人道主道，這是筆者的理解。據張澄基 (1983b)所指，「佛

法的精神，不是哲學的，而是一貫的」。佛法的精神是反對人用自己的方法滿足己慾以減少人生的痛若，故此可知悉佛法的精神並不是

植根於人本主義。



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故此，若幼教持份者的教育信仰擁有非人本主義立場，相信他們會認為幼兒教育教改的成果未能理想乃由於教改的大方向與佛教教育的方針未能吻合所以。

學校員工對社會建構式課程 /人本課程未能充份掌握的關鍵點在於推行的方法甚於課程的設計，因為前者涉及人的行為表達，是活的，能直接與業力 (Karma)有關係。可見，常被評為不合標準的學校其實在於落實於教室時所推行的教學法未能達標所致，書面上的課程設計可列為輔助而不是主力。推行教學法的重心點在於以老師為主導或是以學生為主導。

理想的佛教幼兒教育方法應有的一貫之道

筆者對佛教教育一貫之道之設立，有以下明悟作考慮據點：

小乘佛教的精神，著重在解脫生死，不談宇宙有限無限的問題；但大乘佛教，在開顯諸佛廣大莊嚴境界時，明白地說明宇宙的無限性(張澄基1983a,頁123)。梁啟超 (1983,頁255)更言：「佛教未嘗無言他力者，然祇以施諸小乘，而不施諸大乘」；換言之，小乘佛教認受他力，而大乘佛教則認受自力。

若再將佛教的「自力」和「他力」延伸在教育上，「自力」是指所提供的教育須讓學生依自己的興趣和能力去獲得知識，這是「華嚴時」的

「頓教」，它是佛陀為上根利器菩薩所說的高級課程。「他力」是由老師為主導去教導學生的教育模式，課程的安排為老師所預設。介乎「他力」與「自力」教育尤如哈佛大學認知心理學研究所所長布魯納博士 (Jerome Bruner)所說的「螺旋式課程」，它讓學生按其心理發展和背景去獲得老師的「漸教」。這種「漸教」是一種由淺入深的課程，逐漸引導稟賦拙劣的學生 (陳柏達，1998)。課程都是先以老師預設的基本結構，並

以老師主導的角色去教導學生，然後順著學生的心理發展和背景，來逐漸充實課程內容。這樣說來，「漸教」也是「他力」的教育模式之一。

筆者因而理解到幼教持份者(老師)應以大乘佛教的廣博懷抱精神，以自力去探究教育問題；但當知道行不通時，要算那是多心儀的理論，也不能執着，應以「無我」的態度，應嘗試從經驗中領悟、作出修正。然而，在實務教育年紀尚幼的孩童時，老師則須用小乘他力的方法範圍內作實踐。此外，須切記萬變不離其中的原則，幼師所採用的幼兒課程及教學法，尤其是教學法不能採用與佛學本體義上背道而馳的進步主義及人本主義，意解幼兒要接受小乘的他力培育 (須由老師去教，幼兒去學。而不是像當今推行的方法，幼兒自己先行探索去學 (由幼兒先以自力去發掘知識 )，然後才由老師以輔導形式促進其發展 )。在這大原則的範圍下，幼師方面刞可採用大乘佛教的自力原理去探討適合「以學校為本」的課程及教學法。既然教學方法比課程的設計還重要，現借少許空間探究依佛學思想去訂定一套合適的教學方法作為持守的一貫之道好了。但首先要考慮 :

（一）佛學思想並不屬於進步主義[或退步主義]之說

根據學愚教授 4 所闡述及筆者的反思理解到佛教思想並不配合進化論的理論，因為前者在時間觀上的過去、現在、未來是連續性進行的 (liner progression)，於此，人會由一個階段進境入另一階段而不會回頭。反之，佛教思想則告訴我們人因惡業須進入輪迴 ( 經歷十二因緣 )，人會因每個不同階段所產生的業力(Karma)而兜兜轉轉，有的只是變化……直至修德完滿，達至湼槃，變化才停止下來。由此可見，源於進化論的進步主義並不配合佛教思想的教化。

[4] 學愚教授堂課講義 :香港中文大學，2007-2008),不論大乘經論中說念佛法門，還是中國古代大德們建立的淨土理論，說到消除業障，往

生淨土，儘管都非常強調彌陀願力的作用，但同時也重視自力的基礎。次序為先有自力，後才有他力。



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（二）人本主義所力推以慾望作進步的動力之說欠真理性

與進步主義同出一源的人本主義是 20 世紀五六十年代在美國興起的一種心理學思潮。人本主義理論是根植於其自然人性論的基礎之上的。人具有不同於動物本能的似本能需要，並認為生理的、安全的、尊重的、歸屬的、自我實現的需要就是人類的似本能，它們是天賦的基本需要。在此基礎上，人本主義心理學家進一步認為，以本能的需要就是人性，它們是善良的或中性的，應該得到本能慾望上的滿足 (魏運華，2006)。曾翻閱報章 (《信報》要聞，全球政治經濟極速掌握，11/2013) 的副刋作者這樣說：「所有經濟學 101 課程都會昭告世人，人類的存在狀態是「有限的資源」(limited resources) 對應「無限的慾望」(unlimited wants)，而慾望是社會進步的動力。不少經濟學家更不惜說惟有經濟學是全盤接受人類無限慾望的一問學問……說得明白一點，就是肯定「貪念」……總之，你想繼續擁抱市場經濟，就要接受這樣那樣的偏差」。

對一般人而言，快樂便是慾望之滿足，正如剛才所說，當貪念 ( 慾望 ) 成了動力，獲得的經濟效益便是快樂之泉源。但佛教學者 (1983a,頁106-107)卻指出，天下快樂的人，往往都是慾望少的人。又說今日人類潮流的趨向，是在增長貪 (工化的結果，助長人類的種種慾望 )，瞋 (慾望不能滿足，而引起種種紛爭憤恨 )，癡 ( 不明苦樂根源，胡想亂搞 )，結果怎能不自害害人 ? (頁143)。單是這一點已能初步指出推行與進步主義同出一轍的人本主義並不是佛學思想。再進一步引證人本主義的不適切，可翻查佛教的學者梁啟超先生，如何透過批評大會，批評其學生胡適的著作。因為後者寫一些有關其留學美國時的老師，人本主義學家杜威的思想。

論以佛教宗派思想體系的淨士宗作幼兒教育一貫之道

淨土宗強調佛菩薩的救贖力量，因而有「他力」思想的興起。亦隨著念佛法門的興起，佛教才出現了他力法門。有說這種他力也還是以自力為基礎 (濟群法師如此看來，淨土宗的思想體系與 1996 年 5 的幼兒教育課程指引所推行的建構教學法比較相近，然而又未至於達到人本教育向度較多的2006年 6 指引的情況。

雖說淨土理論重視他力，但仍有自力的基礎，張澄基 (1983a, 頁124)卻指出 : 「佛教的「淨土」在概念上絕不等同「天堂」時，解釋到佛教的往生淨土，是起點不是終點，往生淨土的目的，並非到那裏去享樂，而是到那裏去受訓，等到受訓完畢 ( 成就之後 )，還要到他方無盡世界中，和回到娑婆世界上，來度一切眾生」。要是以「受訓」這字彙來形容往生淨土，筆者可否將張澄基(1983a)對淨土思想的理解，在排次上其實是以他力為先，自力為後呢? 如果這理解屬實，按淨土宗思想推行的幼教教學法仍是屬於傳統式以「老師為中心」的範式，因為老師在推行這些預設的課程時，仍先採取主導的角色進行。

若果將凈土宗的佛學理念引伸在課程上，例如在課本內容的撰寫上，就如同《兒童佛學課本》所選寫的內容一樣，是有預設的。可參見例一及例二的典範。在教師方面，則會依編寫者預先編好的內容，再以他力 ( 教師 ) 去教導兒童。至於兒童是否會將所學實踐在其生活中，如例二中如何去助人，則有賴兒童的自力發揮了。

[5] 1996年課程指引強調均衡發展和利用遊戲、觀察和接觸，誘發學習 (康德式根本建構法 )。以「遊戲、學習和照顧」為課程活動的三大要

點，分述此三方面的有關目的、推行原則、教學原則、學習範圍、活動內容、設備教材等。整體來說，是指導性較強的課程綱要。(劉

慧中，2008)

[6] 2006年課程指引則強調以兒童為中心的核心價值，教師要認識兒童發展特徵和掌握兒童學習的特色。屬於自主學習(具社會建構法及人

本教育法的特色 )。以六個學習範疇呼應兒童發展目標，用統整課程模式，提供建構知識，發展基本能力和價值態度等學習元素。融合

照顧和教育於各學習範疇，使學習更均衡全面，具彈性和多元化。(劉慧中，2008)



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例一佛

佛說 : 「人人都可以成佛。」佛陀指導世人：只要捨惡行善，思想純潔，就可以成佛。遵守佛的教訓的人，是幸福的、快樂的。我們都是未來的佛，大家努力吧。

例二菩薩

學佛的人，信奉佛教，心地善良，行為端正。一面學佛，一面救助世人。這類人就是菩薩。我們發願學佛、先做一個自利、利人的小菩薩。

從「莊嚴淨土．成熟眾生」說起

根據寬運 (2012) 寫於香港回歸祖國 15 週年紀念日前夕的一篇文章中指出「慈悲佛陀的於報「四恩」( 佛恩、父母恩、眾生恩、國土恩 )中，就教導我們要報「國土恩」。而《般若經》更有「嚴土熟生」之說，謂修行已有大成就的菩薩們，由於廣大的慈悲心，不忍眾生受苦，因此發願以實際行動來「莊嚴淨土、成熟眾生」。

依寬運如上的指出，筆者不難明白到如發揮淨土宗的精神和教化，佛陀於報的四恩，是顯示了人 ( 我們 ) 是藉由「他力」，正如寬運去給人 ( 我們 ) 指出在修佛法上的應行之路。在學校教育層面上，孩童因而亦須藉著「他力」，例如孩子的老師去教導孩子需要孝順父母，以報

「四恩」中的「父母恩」。

一所佛教學校分享的個案事例在 2013 年 10 月 25 日的一次由香港教育學院宗教教育與心靈教育中心主辦的「學教教育的宗教向度：理念與實踐」教育專業發展會議中，筆者便從所派發的講義中找到一個個案事例引證有佛教導向的一所小學，如何透過佛化教育融入於生命教育的介紹。由於這個個案無論在實踐佛教理念上，又或在課程和教學方法上，也深受與會者的欣賞，而個案學校的參與

學生是小二年級的學生，這個年級的學生年齡也屬於幼兒教育的範圍內，即是零至八歲的幼兒 (學前教育課程指引，2006，頁6)；因此現引用這個理想的個案事例，嘗試解說佛教思想中的凈土宗若落實在幼兒教育課程及教學法上的實況。

從筆者的理解中，可以反映到這一所佛教小學在教導年幼的初小學生時明白孝順父母的課題時便是「他力」的教學課程設計去達到預設的教學理念和教學目標，例如 :

教學理念中包括透過佛家「慈愛」的態度，讓學生明白孝順的重要。教學目標中其中一項包括教導學生生命的層次如「慈悲心」，以慈悲心對待生命：「身、心」------愛惜身體，心存感恩……等等。

(以上的教學計劃參考自這所佛教小學派給與會者的講義 --- 佛教林炳炎紀念學校 , 香港佛教聯合會主辦的學校報告簡介 , 2013)

筆者理解到學校為配合這些預設的課程，所運用的教學法便須配合。情況有如這個事例中顯示的教學程序中相似。當學校推行這個課程時，從教學計劃的編序上可首先見到學校先安排不同的老師分工地將預設的知識 ( 知 ) 部份 ( 靠他力 ) 授予學生，這些老師分別是圖書館主任，常識科教師及視藝科教師。這些老師以

「他力」的身份首先給學生講解預設的知識部份，並藉此給學生建立一些固定的範圍去作思考的基礎，好讓學生在往後能靠自力去學習。接著的教學計劃活動仍顯示出活動是由 ( 他力 )安排，目的是讓學生從體驗活動中觸動對家人關愛之情 ( 情感 )，往後的兩個環節，分別是名為意 (意志 )及行 (行動 )的活動，便注入多一點

「自力」成份，活動目的是讓學生體驗從活動中培育到的堅毅精神及透過「承諾行動書」，以讓學生靠 ( 自力 ) 在日常生活中活出關愛和孝順家人。



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參考文獻印順 (1997)。兒童佛學課本。台北：世樺。全球政治經濟極速掌握 (2013.11)。信報要聞。李石岑 (1983)。佛學與人生。輯於張澄基等編，佛學與人生 (頁161-168)。香港 : 藝文圖書。佛教林炳炎紀念學校 (香港佛教聯合會主辦 )的學校報告簡介 (2013)。如何透過佛化教育融入於生命教育，「學

教教育的宗教向度：理念與實踐」教育專業發展會議，香港教育學院宗教教育與心靈教育中心主辦，2013.10.25.

周淑惠 (2002)。幼兒教材教法：統整性課程取向 (初版 ) 。台北市：師大書苑有限公司。梁啟超 (1983) 。論佛教與群治之關係。輯於張澄基等編，佛學與人生 (頁247-258)。香港：藝文圖書。張澄基 (1983a)。佛法宗教與今日的世界。輯於張澄基等編，佛學與人生 (頁103-126)。香港：藝文圖書。張澄基 (1983b)。佛法為今世所急需。輯於張澄基等編，佛學與人生 (頁127-146)。香港：藝文圖書。舒吉譯 (1983)。佛教的基本概念。輯於張澄基等編，佛學與人生 (頁87-101)。香港：藝文圖書。程介明 (2010.6.11)。多元宗教的共存，信報，16。黃艾珍、容燕文、譚美顏 (2011)。幼教校本課程發展的實踐。兒童研究與創新中心，香港教育學院。課程發展議會 (2006)。香港學前教育課程指引。香港：課程發展議會。寬運 (2012)。莊嚴淨土·成熟眾一一寫於香港回歸祖國15週年紀念日前夕，菩提卷前語，菩提，315，4。劉慧中、黎國燦 (2013)。小班環境中推行幼兒德育所面對的困難及其解決方法芻議。優質學校教育學報，8，

25-40。劉慧中、戴燕儀 (主編 ) (2010)。幼兒教育面面觀:研究與實務結集 (一 )，香港：香港教育學院。劉慧中 (2008)。《課程＜學前教育課程指引(2006)＞的施行，從概念開始到訂出可行的校本課程領導與策

略》修訂本，香港：香港教育學院。學愚教授 (堂課講義 )。香港中文大學，2008。

結語無論採用那一種課程和教學法，萬變不離其中的原則是 :

佛教思想不屬於進步主義，亦不屬於退步主義，只是願意接受改變、不執着。經他力指導，明悟是非，解開執迷。再靠自力不斷反省覺悟，去除執着成見；因為自心所念的皆是

「無常」，欲明「我空」的理，須返觀自身一切，皆是「不淨」，對做錯了的事，明白會產生業得惡果，終會害己害人；因此會克盡己能 ( 自力 )，以不依從自己的本能意慾，那種「無我」的精神撥亂反正 [ 道 ]，亦會因己的「癡」而願意接受他力 ( 僧 - 老師 ) 去助自己明白佛法指點迷津。在修行過程中要實踐「戒」、「定」而得

「慧」，便能「去迷開悟」，息滅「貪」、「瞋」、

「癡」三毒即煩惱的根本，而能離苦得樂，修成正等正覺。總括而言，將以上的佛學思想作大原則引伸到幼兒教育層面，便是 (一 ) 幼教持份者應以大乘佛教的廣博懷抱精神，以自力去探究教育問題；但當知道行不通時，要算那是多心儀的理論，也不能執着，應以「無我」的態度，嘗試從經驗中領悟、作出修正；(二)在實務教育孩子上，則須維持在小乘他力方法的範圍內。如是說，佛教課程是一貫的，有一定的準則去依循的。古語有云「種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆」，實在不無道理。同樣地，只要依循了一貫的教育信仰及相配的模式去教育下一代，所得到的教育果實定是豐盛的。相反地，若強行地要求有宗教信仰及信念背景的學校去改變一貫的教育模式，又是否合宜呢？筆者希望幼教界的持份者能省思這個關鍵性的課題，也期許多設立一個溝通的平台，以讓各方也能表達意見。



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濟群法師 (2007)。海天佛文化網。取自 http://hait.chudu.net/xxcs/mt/2007.html。魏運華 (2006)。人本主義學習理論。 2005年3月19日，取自 http://www.online-edu.org/?10558Fulghum, R. (1990). All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten, New York: Villard Books.Ratzinger, J. (1998). Many Religions- One Covenant. Israel, the Church and the World. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.HKedCity (2008). Profile of Kindergartens and Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres. Retrieved from the website of

HKedCity in June 2009. http://chsc.edb.hkedcity.net/kindergarten/



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Development and Validation of the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Scale

《香港幼稚園課室觀察量表》的研發與信效度檢驗

CHAU Nga Lei Lilian

LI Hui

LAU Yi Lok Michelle Marie


AbstractFew psychometrically reliable and valid instruments exist to assess the learning and teaching quality of early childhood programs in Chinese societies. To address this gap, the current study aims to develop a reliable, valid and culturally appropriate instrument, the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Scale (ECCOS), for the evaluation of classroom learning and teaching quality in Hong Kong kindergartens. ECCOS was constructed base on the content of Performance Indicator (Domain of Learning and Teaching), the latest Guide to Pre-primary Curriculum, kindergarten inspection reports, psychometrically sound Western and Chinese classroom observation instruments and feedbacks from frontline early childhood educators. Results suggested that ECCOS has excellent inter-rater and internal reliabilities. Factor analysis generated 12 factors which accounted for 64.96% of the variances. These results indicated that ECCOS is a psychometrically sound and culturally appropriate classroom observation scale for the evaluation of learning and teaching quality in Hong Kong early childhood settings.

摘要中國幼兒教育界鮮有高信效度的幼稚園質素評量工具。有見及此，本研究旨在研發一高信效度，並適切香港幼兒教育文化環境的課堂教與學質素評量工具 –《香港幼稚園課室觀察量表》。本量表的評量項目涵蓋了《香港學前機構表現指標 (學與教範疇)》、最新的《學前教育課程指引》、教育局視學報告、西方與中國同類型課室觀察量表的內容，以及前線幼兒教育工作者的意見。觀察者評分信度、內在一致性信度及因素分析結果均顯示本量表為高信效度的評量工具。

Introduction Quality of early childhood program has been a global concern since the early 1980s (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 2007). To ensure the sustainability of high quality early childhood programs, studies on the development and validation of classroom observation instruments bloomed during the past 30 years (Lerkkanen et.al., 2012; Smolkowski & Gunn, 2012). Despite that a large majority of these

instruments were developed in Western cultures and thus reflected Western notion of quality early childhood education (ECE), the ones with sound statistical reliability and validity have been adopted to evaluate quality of early childhood practices over the world. Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) (Harms & Clifford, 1980) and its revised edition (ECERS-R) (Harms, Clifford & Cryer, 1998) are some of the examples. Regardless



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of the wide adoption, cross-cultural and within-cultural studies revealed the inapplicability of these instruments to evaluate quality of preschools in other cultures (Sakai, Whitebook, Wishard & Howes, 2003; Wessels, Lamb, Hwang & Broberg, 1997). These studies brought the issue of cultural appropriateness in instrument development to light. As a reaction to these findings, studies on instrument development flourished in different cultures during the past two decades, and the development of early childhood quality evaluation instrument in Chinese societies has started only in recent years. So-far, the only example reported is the Kindergarten Environment Rating Scale (KERS), which was developed and validated in Beijing and Shanxi (Liu & Pan, 2008; Pan, Liu, & Lau, 2010).

As a former British colony and a Special Administrative Region of China, Hong Kong is very different from other Chinese cities in terms of education system. In the past decade, quality assurance in ECE has become an imperative in Hong Kong (Education Commission, 2000). In response to this imperative, Education Department and Social Welfare Department (2001) have jointly issued the Performance Indicators (PIs) as the only local and mandatory measures to evaluate quality of preschool programs. However, there is no data on PIs’ psychometric properties, and studies revealed practitioners’ difficulties in using PIs to evaluate preschool quality even when training was provided (e.g., Li & Wong, 2008; Wong & Li, 2008). Cognizant of these problems, this study is dedicated to the development of a psychometrically sound, user-friendly, contextually- and culturally-appropriate instrument, the Early Childhood Classroom Observation Scale (ECCOS), for early childhood practitioners to evaluate the quality of their classroom learning and teaching against the PIs for a sustainable school improvement in Hong Kong.

The Performance Indicators and their Problems

In Hong Kong, PIs are the only criteria for internal and external evaluation of preschool quality. Yet, this set of sole and mandatory standard

is not without problem. The content, structure and problems of PIs will be discussed as follows.

The PIs were developed to set the official criteria for quality evaluation by combining the developmentally appropriate practices suggested by National Association for the Education of Young Children (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997), the first edition of Guide to Pre-primary Curriculum (GPC) (Curriculum Development Council, 1996), and the criteria for high quality early childhood programs suggested by World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP)-Hong Kong (Education Department & Social Welfare Department, 2001; Rao, Koong, Kwong, & Wong, 2004). PIs cover four domains, 16 areas, 32 performance indicators and 71 aspects which are supplemented with evidences of performance (Education Bureau, 2012; Education Department & Social Welfare Department, 2001). Among the four domains, since Hong Kong preschools were performing the worst in the ‘Learning and Teaching’ (L&T) domain (Education and Manpower Bureau, 2002), the PIs of this domain was chosen as the focus of this study.

The domain of L&T covers four areas, seven performance indicators, 19 aspects, and 46 ‘what to look for’s (WTLF) which are supplemented with four levels (excellent, good, acceptable and unsatisfactory) of evidences of performance (Figure 1). As shown in Figure 1, only ‘excellent’ and ‘acceptable’ levels of performance are provided with descriptions. According to Education Department and Social Welfare Department (2001), the reasons for not providing descriptions for all the four levels of performance are to ‘avoid repetitious and fragmentary’ and ‘enhance flexibility in application’.

At one glance, PIs (L&T) is a seemingly well-structured instrument. However, when examined closely, the lack of descriptions in the levels of performance ‘good’ and ‘unsatisfactory’, overlapping of items, and lack of correspondence of descriptions across different levels of performance are the three major structural problems. The lack of descriptions is clearly shown as two blank columns



55


in Figure 1. Overlapping of items can be seen in the first items in both ‘excellent’ and ‘acceptable’ level within the WTLF in this figure. Similar situation of overlapping can also be observed in other WTLFs and aspects in PIs (L&T). Lack of correspondence is shown as the difference in number of descriptive items under the ‘excellent’ and ‘acceptable’ level. For instance, there are no corresponding descriptive

items in the ‘acceptable’ level to fit with the last three items in the ‘excellent’ level in Figure 1. As the content of the first descriptive items in the two levels overlap with each other, the only pair of items which corresponds to each other is the second item in the two levels. All these pose difficulties to the decision of final level of performance.

Apart from structural problems, PIs also have problems in content and psychometric properties. As shown in the second descriptive item under the level ‘excellent’, an ‘excellent’ schedule should incorporate ‘adequate time’ for free-choice activities (Figure 1). However, vague terms like ‘adequate’, ‘balanced’ and ‘diversified’, are left undefined and open to interpretation. This problem, together with the aforementioned structural problem, adversely affects the reliability of the PIs. More, the PIs were developed more than a decade ago and did not include the content of the latest GPC (Curriculum Development Council, 2006) which described the most up-to-date official stances, criteria and examples to the ideal practices in Hong Kong preschools. Without

the updated criteria, PIs may not be user-friendly enough as practitioners need to refer to more than one guideline to carry out evaluation. Concerning psychometric properties, since the items in PIs were developed mostly through theoretical deduction and experience but not empirical research, there are no data on their reliability and validity (Education Department and Social Welfare Department, 2001), which are essential for any evaluation tool.

With these problems, even though PIs have taken important local indicators into account, they are far from being an adequate tool for the evaluation of early childhood classroom quality in Hong Kong. To develop a statistically reliable, valid, user-friendly and culturally appropriate

Figure 1. Excerpt of the PIs (L&T): The Area of ‘Teaching and Caring for Children’ (Education Department & Social Welfare Department, 2001)



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instrument, the PIs (L&T) were taken into account in the construction of the new scale, ECCOS. Apart from items in PIs, other elements were also incorporated to create this new instrument. The development, pilot testing, revision, and validation of ECCOS are described below.

Method A mixed-method approach was adopted to develop and validate ECCOS. There are in total three phases for the construction, pilot testing, revision and validation of the instrument, which are described as follows.

Phase 1: Construction of ECCOS Qualitative method was adopted in Phase 1 for the construction of the preliminary version of ECCOS.

Participants A research team composed of one education researcher, one postgraduate research student and two trained research assistants (RAs) majored in Psychology and ECE were responsible for the construction of the preliminary version of ECCOS.

Procedures Since PIs (L&T) (Education Department & Social Welfare Department, 2001) have been used by practitioners for more than a decade, the basic structure of areas, performance indicators, aspects and WTLFs with evidences of performance of PIs were adopted in the construction of ECCOS to ensure its familiarity to practitioners. However, unlike PIs which consisted of non-corresponding items with descriptions only on two levels of performance, item descriptions which correspond tightly can be found in all the four levels of performance in ECCOS. To enhance the clarity and user-friendliness, vague terms were operationalized and clearly-defined in ECCOS (Figure 2). Since PIs were locally developed, relevant items in PIs were included in ECCOS to ensure its cultural appropriateness. The following criteria and standards were also incorporated when constructing ECCOS.

First, ECCOS included the content of the latest edition of GPC (Curriculum Development Council, 2006) to reflect contemporary standards of quality ECE in Hong Kong. By including these contents into ECCOS, practitioners can use one instrument to cover the two essential government standards (PIs and GPC) for the evaluation of classroom learning and teaching quality.

Second, authentic problems mentioned in official government inspection reports of kindergartens were also taken into account when constructing the items of ECCOS. For example, children’s sitting posture, ways of holding a pencil and correctness of strokes while writing Chinese characters have been consistently reported as the common problems in Hong Kong kindergartens (e.g. Education and Manpower Bureau, 2002, 2004). The incorporation of these contents could enhance the cultural and contextual relevance of ECCOS items and heighten early childhood educators’ awareness to their problematic practices.

Third, ECCOS included the ideas of ECERS-R (Harms et al., 1998) and KERS (Liu & Pan. 2008), which reflected Western and Chinese beliefs on quality ECE respectively. The ideas of these instruments are important to the construction of ECCOS in terms of both content and structure. For example, PIs (L&T) have one aspect on ‘environment and facilities’ of preschools. However, while similar sub-scales in ECERS-R and KERS described various aspects of physical environment in detail, this aspect of PIs only included vague descriptions about teaching resources and play facilities. Since the widely acknowledged elements of classroom quality, such as, furniture, display and arrangement of space (Harms et al., 1998; Liu & Pan, 2008), were not mentioned in PIs, these elements were integrated in the proposed items of ECCOS with a special focus on cultural appropriateness. For instance, descriptions on sand and water areas in ECERS-R are inappl icable to Hong Kong preschool context, so they were not included in ECCOS. While cultural appropriateness is important, the integration of ideas of the two instruments made items in ECCOS more comparable to national



57


Figure 2. Excerpt of the ECCOS

and international standards. With improvement in structure and content, the preliminary version of ECCOS was ready for the next procedures, pilot testing and revision.

Phase 2: Pilot Testing and Revision of ECCOS

Phase 2 involved pilot testing and revision of the preliminary version of ECCOS constructed in Phase 1.

Strategies and skills.



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Participants Five experienced principals and six K2 and K3 class teachers from three voucher-eligible local kindergartens were involved in the pilot testing and revision of ECCOS with the research team.

Procedures First, research team used the preliminary version of ECCOS to observe three K2 and three K3 classrooms from the three kindergartens. The focus of this stage was to see whether the items in this version were valid and practical to use in authentic classroom observation. Second, the five principals and six teachers were invited to review the whole preliminary version of ECCOS. They examined all the items in the instrument and provided critical comments about their relevance, observability, importance, appropriateness and practicability. Individual interview was conducted with each participant to collect their comments on the instrument and validity of the research team’s observations. All the feedbacks were carefully reviewed and addressed. As a result, any redundant or invalid items in the preliminary version of ECCOS were further revised, combined and deleted so as to improve its content validity.

The revised ECCOS is an observation scale comprised of 111 subscale items which are rated on four levels of performance (unsatisfactory, acceptable, good and excellent). Following the basic structure of PIs (L&T), all the ECCOS items were organized in five levels, namely, ‘items in WTLF’, ‘WTLF’, ‘aspect’, ‘performance indicator’ and ‘area’, with ‘items in WTLF’ as the lowest level and ‘area’ as the highest level. In total, ECCOS included 111 ‘items in WTLF’, 27 ‘WTLFs’, 19 ‘aspects’, six ‘performance indicators’ and four ‘areas’. The revised ECCOS with improved content validity was ready for validation.

Phase 3: Validation of ECCOS In Phase 3, quantitative method was used to test the psychometric properties of the revised ECCOS. The primary goal was to determine the extent to which items were statistically associated with each sub-scale or proposed construct, to

eliminate items with weak psychometric properties, and to determine whether the final set of items represented a statistically meaningful summary of each sub-scale.

Participants One hundred and eighty-six teachers from K1, K2 and K3 grades of eight voucher-eligible non-profit-making local kindergartens in Hong Kong participated in Phase 3. The eight kindergartens were randomly selected from all the four regions (Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories East and West) in Hong Kong. In total, 16 classes were involved.

Procedures The learning and teaching activities of each class were videotaped for one half-day session. All participating teachers were then invited to watch the videos and use the revised ECCOS to evaluate their own and/ or their colleagues’ classroom practices. Teachers’ ratings were collected for subsequent analysis of psychometric properties of ECCOS.

Results Validity of ECCOS. Validity refers to the degree to which an instrument measures what it intends to measure. Criterion-referenced, content, and construct validity are the common ways to measure validity of an instrument. As mentioned before, PIs (L&T), the only instrument for evaluating quality of kindergarten classroom learning and teaching in Hong Kong, has not been statistically validated. Since ECCOS is the first instrument developed through rigorous empirical research, no other alternative reliable and valid instrument with similar nature is available for criterion-referenced validity testing on ECCOS. Hence, only content and construct validity testing were carried out in this study.

The content validity of ECCOS was assured by qualitative methods as described in Phase 1 and 2. ECCOS was constructed based on multiple sources of reference from both Western and Chinese classroom observation instruments, and had its structure and content streamlined after taking into



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account suggestions of experienced local early childhood practitioners. All these were ways to improve content validity of this instrument.

Apart from content validity, Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to test the construct validity of ECCOS. The Kaiser – Meyer – Olkin (KMO) value (.856) and the Bartlett’s test of sphericity (Chi square= 25105.368, df = 6105) were significant. These implied that the data collected was suitable for factor analysis. A principal component analysis using a Varimax rotation method of the 111 ‘items in WTLF’ in ECCOS produced a 12-factor solution based on the Eigenvalue >1 criterion. The 12 factors account for 64.96% of the variance (Table 1). The results of factor analysis suggested that ECCOS has satisfactory construct validity. Altogether, 80 ‘items in WTLF’ out of 111, 24 ‘WTLFs’ out of 27, 19 ‘aspects’ out of 21, six ‘performance indicators’ out of six, and four ‘areas’ out of four in ECCOS were covered by the 12 factors. In general, the constellation of items fitted well with the proposed categories and structure of ECCOS, but some items were not included in any of the 12 factors. The inclusion and exclusion of items will be discussed in the next section.



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ItemsinWhattolookfor Factor 1 CL

Factor 2 CL

Factor 3 CL

Factor 4 CL

Factor 5 CL

Factor 6 CL

Factor 7 CL

Factor 8 CL

Factor 9 CL

Factor 10 CL

Factor 11 CL

Factor 12 CL % of variance Cumulative%

27b. Descriptive evaluation and analyses .90 11.49 11.4927c. Comprehensiveness of assessment content

.89

27a. Basis of assessing children .8926c. Appropriateness of assessment methods .8726a. The setting up and storage of learning portfolios

.86

27d. Choice of words in assessment reports .8626d. Information sources for assessment .8626b. Handling of learning portfolios .8526e. Criteria of selecting children’s artwork .8425a. Understanding of assessment policies .8325b. Resource input on assessment .8321c. Fairness .80 6.18 17.6721b. Care towards children .7921a. Understanding and practice of the intended teaching content

.78

21d. Acceptance of children’s creative expressions

.76

20b. Attitude of self-evaluation .6222d. Qualification of early childhood educators

.61

20a. Job aspiration .6022a. Arrangement of continual education/ teacher training

.53

17a. Appropriateness of class rules and routines

.76 5.93 23.60

17b. Ability to understand and follow class rules and routines

.75

17d. Consensus of class rules and routines (the class teacher him/herself)

.71

18b. Attitude of handling inappropriate behaviors

.70

18a. Methods of handling inappropriate behaviors

.69

17f. Cultivation of good hygiene habits .67

Table 1. Factor loadings of ECCOS (N=186)



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ItemsinWhattolookfor Factor 1 CL

Factor 2 CL

Factor 3 CL

Factor 4 CL

Factor 5 CL

Factor 6 CL

Factor 7 CL

Factor 8 CL

Factor 9 CL

Factor 10 CL

Factor 11 CL

Factor 12 CL % of variance Cumulative%

27b. Descriptive evaluation and analyses .90 11.49 11.4927c. Comprehensiveness of assessment content

.89

27a. Basis of assessing children .8926c. Appropriateness of assessment methods .8726a. The setting up and storage of learning portfolios

.86

27d. Choice of words in assessment reports .8626d. Information sources for assessment .8626b. Handling of learning portfolios .8526e. Criteria of selecting children’s artwork .8425a. Understanding of assessment policies .8325b. Resource input on assessment .8321c. Fairness .80 6.18 17.6721b. Care towards children .7921a. Understanding and practice of the intended teaching content

.78

21d. Acceptance of children’s creative expressions

.76

20b. Attitude of self-evaluation .6222d. Qualification of early childhood educators

.61

20a. Job aspiration .6022a. Arrangement of continual education/ teacher training

.53

17a. Appropriateness of class rules and routines

.76 5.93 23.60

17b. Ability to understand and follow class rules and routines

.75

17d. Consensus of class rules and routines (the class teacher him/herself)

.71

18b. Attitude of handling inappropriate behaviors

.70

18a. Methods of handling inappropriate behaviors

.69

17f. Cultivation of good hygiene habits .67 The Hong Kong Institute of Education Library


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17e. Consensus of class routine (between class teacher and teaching assistant)

.66

18c. Methods of handling serious behavioral problems

.66

17c. Children’s involvement in the design of class rules

.57

7a. Floor’s resistance to skidding .85 5.92 29.527c. Wall color .817b. Absence of obstruction in passages .808f. Materials of the floor in classroom .748d. Safeness of furniture and facilities .728e. Wall material .678g. Arrangement of activity corners and regulation of the number of players

.67

8c. The change of display materials in classroom

.52

13b. Questioning skills .76 5.63 35.1613c. Appropriateness of questioning .7413e. Attitude of communicating with children

.73

13d. Respect of children’s point of view .7112b. The use of teaching aids/ materials .7012a. The balance of teacher- and child-oriented approaches

.57

12c. Adjustment of teaching methods .5513a. Tone, speed and skills of speaking .5010a. The use of parent resources .76 5.62 40.7810b. Parents’ attitude .769b. Communication with community resource providers

.71

19a. Communication between the school and home

.65

19c. Parents’ understanding and acknowledgement of class teacher’s methods of teaching

.62

9a. Arrangement of visits/ outings .6116j. Wound care .6119b. Element of parent-child collaboration in assignments

.60



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17e. Consensus of class routine (between class teacher and teaching assistant)

.66

18c. Methods of handling serious behavioral problems

.66

17c. Children’s involvement in the design of class rules

.57

7a. Floor’s resistance to skidding .85 5.92 29.527c. Wall color .817b. Absence of obstruction in passages .808f. Materials of the floor in classroom .748d. Safeness of furniture and facilities .728e. Wall material .678g. Arrangement of activity corners and regulation of the number of players

.67

8c. The change of display materials in classroom

.52

13b. Questioning skills .76 5.63 35.1613c. Appropriateness of questioning .7413e. Attitude of communicating with children

.73

13d. Respect of children’s point of view .7112b. The use of teaching aids/ materials .7012a. The balance of teacher- and child-oriented approaches

.57

12c. Adjustment of teaching methods .5513a. Tone, speed and skills of speaking .5010a. The use of parent resources .76 5.62 40.7810b. Parents’ attitude .769b. Communication with community resource providers

.71

19a. Communication between the school and home

.65

19c. Parents’ understanding and acknowledgement of class teacher’s methods of teaching

.62

9a. Arrangement of visits/ outings .6116j. Wound care .6119b. Element of parent-child collaboration in assignments

.60



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14c. Pronunciation of the second language .95 5.04 45.82 14d. The match with the second language teacher

.94

14b. Curriculum planning for second language learning

.93

14a. Creation of a second language environment

.93

14e. The match between the teaching content of the first language and second language

.91

1b. Learning elements .84 4.75 50.57 1a. Learning areas .822b. Proportion of exploration/ manipulation of materials in curriculum

.74

2a. The match between curriculum and child development

.73

4c. Quality and maintenance of exploratory materials

.78 4.69 55.26

4b. Variety of exploratory materials .774a. Coverage of learning areas (materials in activity corners)

.73

4e. Quality and maintenance (realia and equipment for fine motor activities)

.63

5b. The chance of actual manipulation of materials

.50

5c. The placement of materials .5015d. Waiting time for getting snacks, materials and realia

.74 4.68 59.94

15c. Snack time .7316c. The use of floor mats/ child-sized stools .7015a. Group/ free choice period .6224b. Children’s creative expressions (oral expressions)

.71 2.55 62.49

24c. Children’s understanding of the teaching content

.61

24a. Children’s creative expressions (artwork)

.60

3c. Noise interference .74 2.47 64.963a. Arrangement of space for class activities .59

3b. Storage of materials and space for children’s activities

.56

Note. CL = component loading



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14c. Pronunciation of the second language .95 5.04 45.82 14d. The match with the second language teacher

.94

14b. Curriculum planning for second language learning

.93

14a. Creation of a second language environment

.93

14e. The match between the teaching content of the first language and second language

.91

1b. Learning elements .84 4.75 50.57 1a. Learning areas .822b. Proportion of exploration/ manipulation of materials in curriculum

.74

2a. The match between curriculum and child development

.73

4c. Quality and maintenance of exploratory materials

.78 4.69 55.26

4b. Variety of exploratory materials .774a. Coverage of learning areas (materials in activity corners)

.73

4e. Quality and maintenance (realia and equipment for fine motor activities)

.63

5b. The chance of actual manipulation of materials

.50

5c. The placement of materials .5015d. Waiting time for getting snacks, materials and realia

.74 4.68 59.94

15c. Snack time .7316c. The use of floor mats/ child-sized stools .7015a. Group/ free choice period .6224b. Children’s creative expressions (oral expressions)

.71 2.55 62.49

24c. Children’s understanding of the teaching content

.61

24a. Children’s creative expressions (artwork)

.60

3c. Noise interference .74 2.47 64.963a. Arrangement of space for class activities .59

3b. Storage of materials and space for children’s activities

.56



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Reliability of ECCOS. Reliability refers to the consistency of an instrument in measuring certain constructs. Test-retest, parallel-forms, inter-rater, and internal reliability are the common ways to measure reliability of an instrument. Due to the time limit of the funding, it was not possible to carry out test-retest reliability testing on ECCOS. As mentioned before, ECCOS was constructed by adopting the basic structure and relevant items of PIs (L&T). Since the nature and number of items measuring the same construct within a sub-scale of PIs do not support any splitting, it is not possible to carry out parallel-forms reliability testing on

ECCOS. Therefore, only internal reliability and inter-rater reliability testing were carried out in this study.

Analysis of internal reliability on each of the six ‘performance indicators’ of ECCOS found that the Cronbach's α ranged from .887 to.981 (Table 2). For a scale with good internal consistency, α should not be less than 0.6 and should preferably be at least 0.8 (Cronbach, 1990). This result indicates that the six scales have excellent internal reliabilities.

Table 2 Internal reliability of ECCOS

Area Performance Indicator Number of items

Cronbach’sα

Curriculum Design and Management Curriculum Organization 4 .897

Environment and Human Resources Management and Usage

31 .933

Teaching and Caring for Children Strategies and Skills 47 .950

Attitude and Knowledge 10 .942

Children’s Learning Performance and Progress in Learning Process

8 .887

Assessment of Learning Experiences Policies and Methods of Assessment

11 .981

The two trained RAs were involved in the testing of inter-rater reliability. First, the two RAs familiarized themselves with the ECCOS items. Then, videos were used to train them so that they could further familiarize themselves with the ways of using ECCOS to evaluate the quality of authentic classroom activities. After their ratings had reached a good level of agreement (r = .97), they were invited to carry out formal evaluation with three videotaped classes of K1, K2 and K3 grades from three participating kindergartens.

The inter-rater reliability of ECCOS for the two raters was Kappa= .94–.99 (p <.001). In contemporary research, inter-rater agreement is considered to be very good if the Kappa coefficient is .80 or above (Altman, 1991). These results show that ECCOS has excellent inter-rater reliability.

Discussions The objective of this study is to develop a psychometrically sound, user-friendly and culturally appropriate instrument for Hong Kong early childhood practitioners to evaluate quality



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of learning and teaching in classrooms against PIs (L&T). As mentioned before, PIs have problems on structure, content and psychometric properties, and ECCOS was thus developed to tackle these problems.

Content of ECCOS The omnipresence of vague terms without operationalizable definitions is one of the major problems of PIs (L&T) in terms of content. In view of this problem, all vague terms in ECCOS were quantified to create a shared understanding of item descriptions among raters. Descriptions were also provided on all the four levels of performance. Frequently used vague terms like ‘adequate’, ‘balanced’ and ‘appropriate’ in PIs were operationalized in ECCOS with reference to the format of ECERS-R (Harms et al., 1998). Item descriptions were either provided with actual examples, or defined with reference to the observable and countable aspects of certain phenomenon. For instance, in ECCOS, a ‘balanced’ weekly schedule is defined by the frequency of art, physical and music activities in a week (Figure 2). The operationalization of items promotes shared understanding and this consistency is reflected in the excellent inter-rater reliability.

PIs included the major ideas of the first edition of GPC (Curriculum Development Council, 1996) and OMEP-Hong Kong’s criteria for high quality ECE (Education Department & Social Welfare Department, 2001). In other words, PIs is culturally appropriate by itself, and the adoption of relevant items in PIs to develop ECCOS is an appropriate way to ensure cultural appropriateness. To further promote up-to-datedness and contextual

appropriateness, ideas in contemporary Chinese classroom quality evaluation instrument (Liu & Pan, 2008; Pan et al., 2010), content of the latest GPC (Curriculum Development Council, 2006) and government inspection reports (e.g. Education and Manpower Bureau, 2002, 2004) were incorporated in ECCOS. Together with the feedbacks from experienced early childhood practitioners, the content validity, cultural appropriateness and contextual appropriateness of ECCOS were further assured.

Structure of ECCOS ECCOS was used by 186 kindergarten teachers to test its construct validity. The result of factor analysis revealed 12 factors which linked well with the proposed constructs and levels in ECCOS (Table 3). Among the 12 factors, four factors showed perfect match between items and their proposed construct. Factor 1 included all the 11 items in the area ‘assessment of learning experiences’, indicating that this factor is highly relevant to the proposed construct of assessment. Factor 3 included all the nine items in the aspect ‘order, routine and classroom management’. Items in this aspect were about the appropriate ways of setting up routines and maintaining order in classrooms. Factor 8 included all the four items in the performance indicator ‘curriculum organization’. All items in this factor fitted into the proposed construct which described the comprehensiveness, balance and appropriateness of curriculum. Factor 11 included all the three items in the aspect ‘effectiveness of learning’, and these items were about children’s effectiveness of learning.



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Table 3 Final version of ECCOS (80 items)

Factors Name of factors Items1 Assessment of

learning experiences1a. Teacher’s understanding of assessment policies1b. Resource input on assessment1c. Setting up and storage of learning portfolios1d. Handling of learning portfolios1e. Appropriateness of assessment methods1f. Information sources for assessment1g. Criteria of selecting children’s artwork1h. Basis of children’s assessment1i. Descriptive evaluation and analysis1j. Comprehensiveness of assessment content1k. Choice of words in assessment reports

2 Teachers’ attitude and knowledge

2a. Job aspiration 2b. Attitude of self-evaluation2c. Understanding and practice of teaching content2d. Care towards children2e. Fairness2f. Acceptance of children’s creative expressions2g. Arrangement of continuing professional development 2h. Qualification of early childhood educators

3 Order, routine and classroom management

3a. Appropriateness of class routines and rules 3b. Children’s ability to understand and follow class routines and

rules3c. Children’s involvement in the design of class rules3d. Consensus of class routines and rules (the class teacher him/

herself)3e. Consensus of class routines and rules (between class teacher

and teaching assistant)3f. Cultivation of good hygiene habits in children3g. Methods of handling inappropriate behavior3h. Attitude of handling inappropriate behavior3i. The handling of serious behavioral problems

4 Physical environment

4a. Floor’s resistance to skidding4b. Absence of hindrances in passages4c. Wall colors4d. The change of display in classroom4e. Safeness of furniture and facilities4f. Wall materials4g. Materials of the floor in classroom4h. Arrangement of activity corners



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5 Classroom instructions

5a. The balance between teacher- and child-oriented approaches5b. The use of teaching aids/ teaching materials5c. Adjustment of teaching methods5d. Tone, speed and skills of speaking5e. Questioning skills5f. Appropriateness of questioning5g. Respect of children’s point of view5h. Attitude of communicating with children5i. Developmental appropriateness of classroom decorations

6 Communication with early childhood stakeholders

6a. Arrangements of visits/ outings6b. Communication with community resources providers6c. The use of parent resources6d. Parents’ attitudes6e. Disposal of contaminant6f. Wound care6g. First aid knowledge and availability of first aid kit6h. Communication between the school and parents6i. Parent-child collaboration in assignments6j. Parents’ understanding and acknowledgement of class teacher’s

methods of teaching7 Second language

usage7a. Creation of second language environment7b. Curriculum planning for second language learning7c. Pronunciation of second language7d. Cooperation with the second language teacher7e. The match between teaching contents of the first language and

second language8 Curriculum

organization8a.Learning areas8b.Learning elements8c. Developmental appropriateness of curriculum8d. Proportion of exploration/ manipulation of materials in

curriculum 9 Materials in activity

corners, teaching aids, and equipment for fine motor activities

9a. Coverage of learning areas of materials in activity corners9b. Variety of exploratory materials 9c. Quality and maintenance of exploratory materials 9d. Quality and maintenance of realia and fine motor equipment9e. The chance of actual manipulation of materials9f. Placement of materials

10 Time management 10a. Group/ free-choice time 10b. Snack time10c. Waiting time for snacks, materials and realia10d. The use of floor mats/stools

11 Children’s effectiveness of learning

11a. Creative expressions (artwork)11b.Creative expressions (oral expressions)11c. Understanding of teaching content

12 Space 12a. Arrangement of space for class activities12b. Storage of materials and space for children’s activities12c. Noise interference



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In the remaining eight factors, not all items fitted with the proposed sub-scales as perfectly as in the four aforementioned factors. There were cases where one factor included items from two to three proposed sub-scales, and some items in the proposed sub-scales were eliminated by factor analysis. Despite these, the nature and descriptions of the items fitted with the eight factors. These factors are described below.

Factor 2 included eight out of ten items in the performance indicator ‘attitude and knowledge’. The eight items described the proper attitude and necessary knowledge kindergarten teachers should possess, and thus fitted well with this proposed construct. The two items which were excluded from this construct were related to the monetary support for professional development and establishment of teacher resource center at kindergartens. These may suggest that elements like teachers’ knowledge of child development, attitude when interacting with children and willingness to pursue continual professional development were more important than the mere existence of monetary and material support for professional development to quality ECE.

Factor 4 included 10 out of 12 items under the aspect ‘environment’. The 10 items were all related to this proposed construct which described safety, choice of materials and arrangement of facilities in kindergartens. The only item in this aspect which was excluded from the constructs in ECCOS was ‘children’s involvement in classroom decoration’. This may suggested that whether children have directly involved in decorating their classrooms was not related to the environmental aspect of quality in Hong Kong kindergartens.

Factor 5 included all the five items in the WTLF ‘attitude and skills of speaking’ from the aspect ‘communication skills and interaction with children’, three out of five items from the aspect ‘teaching methods’, and one item from the aspect ‘environment’. Although Factor 5 included items from different aspects, all the nine items were about the appropriate methods, skills and attitude of teaching, and thus described a general construct

of ‘classroom instructions’.

Factor 6 included all the four items in aspects ‘community resources’ and ‘arrangement of human resources’ and 3 out of 11 items in the aspect ‘caring of children’. The four items in the first two aspects described ways kindergartens make use of community and parent resources. Although the other three items were apparently related to children’s safety, these items included descriptions about home-school communication (e.g. to inform parents when children are seriously injured). Therefore, items in Factor 6 were related to the construct ‘communication with early childhood stakeholders’.

Factor 7 included all the five items in the WTLF ‘second language usage’. This showed that items in Factor 7 fitted well with this proposed construct. When the structure of ECCOS is examined closely, the WTLF ‘second language usage’ (Factor 7) and WTLF ‘attitude and skills of speaking’ (Factor 5) were originally constellated under the same aspect ‘communication skills and interaction with children’. However, the result of factor analysis suggested a splitting of the two WTLFs as two separate constructs instead of one. In most local kindergartens, second languages (English and Mandarin) are taught by second language teachers but not the class teachers. Since all the teacher participants were class teachers from local kindergartens, such result may suggest that in local kindergarten context, teaching second language was considered a unique set of skills which was different from general classroom instructions in Factor 5.

Factor 9 included four out of seven items in the aspect ‘quantity and quality’ and two out of three items in the aspect ‘arrangement of resources and children’s resource usage’. Although all the six items under the two aspects were constellated under the performance indicator ‘materials in corners, teaching aids, and equipment for fine and gross motor activities’, they were about materials for fine motor activities only. Originally, there were items for gross motor materials in this performance indicator, but they were eliminated



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by factor analysis and thus excluded from ECCOS. Furthermore, the included items were about the variety and quality but not quantity of materials. These results have two implications. First, since the curriculum of local kindergartens has been considered too packed and overloaded (Li, 2006; Li & Wong, 2008), play and gross motor activities are often forgone at the expense of academic activities (Chan & Chan, 2003; Cheng, 2001). Given that there are relatively little gross motor activities when compared to fine motor activities, items about gross motor facilities may not be relevant to the teacher participants. Similar situation can also be observed in KERS in which there were only items on indoor space and play materials but not gross motor activities (Liu & Pan, 2008). In contrast, in Western instruments like ECERS-R, gross motor play and equipment were considered important aspects of quality preschool (Harms et al., 1998). The inclusion and exclusion of items on gross motor activities indicated the cultural difference between Chinese and Western societies on what constitutes quality ECE. This phenomenon could also be observed in Factor 10, which will be discussed below. Second, items related to quantity of materials were not included in any factors in ECCOS. This indicated that the mere existence of sufficient materials was not considered relevant to quality ECE in Hong Kong when compared to the presence of various types of high quality materials. In sum, although some items in this performance indicator were eliminated from the 12 factors, the six items in Factor 9 were related to the proposed construct about materials. Hence, minor renaming of this construct is needed to accurately describe the items in Factor 9. The deletion of ‘gross motor activity’ from the name of this performance indicator would be a better way to describe this cluster of items.

Factor 10 included three out of five items in the aspect ‘time management’ and 1 out of 11 items in the aspect ‘caring of children’. The three items in ‘time management’ asked whether there is sufficient time for free-choice activity and snack, and whether children have to wait for a long time to get necessary materials. The two excluded items from this aspect were about time arrangement on

physical, music and art activities, as well as waiting time for school facilities, such as, gross motor area and toilet. These two items were not included in any 12 factors in ECCOS, indicating that they were not considered to be related to quality ECE in Hong Kong. This echoes the situation of Factor 9 that time for non-academic activities are often sacrificed for academic activities. The only item from the aspect ‘caring of children’ described the use of floor mats and stools during quiet activities and was apparently unrelated to this construct. However, since this item included descriptions on the duration of quiet activities, it was clustered into Factor 10. In sum, items in Factor 10 were related to the aspect ‘time management’, and the four items fitted with this proposed construct.

Factor 12 included three out of four items in the aspect ‘space’. The three items were about arrangement of space and its effect on learning and teaching, and thus fitted well with this construct. The item excluded from this factor was about whether children have sufficient space for quiet activities. In general, space in Hong Kong kindergartens is rather limited (Li, 2003, 2006). The exclusion of this item from all the 12 factors indicated that the mere existence of abundant space may not directly affect the local ECE quality. Instead, how teachers use the limited space for purposeful learning and teaching was considered more important to quality ECE in Hong Kong. In sum, the items in Factor 12 matched with the proposed construct on the use and arrangement of space in kindergartens.

The constructs of ECCOS were compared with those in ECER-S and KERS, the two relevant instruments of similar nature. Some of the constructs of these instruments were found similar to each other. As shown in Table 4, all the three instruments covered constructs on preschool environment, curriculum and interaction between teachers, parents and children. These factors may represent the universally true constructs which are important to ECE learning and teaching quality in both Western and Chinese cultures.



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Despite these similarities, the factor on ‘routine care’ only exists in ECERS-R and KERS but not in ECCOS (Table 4). In fact, items related to this construct existed in ECCOS, but factor analysis eliminated them from the 12 factors. For instance, there was originally an aspect ‘caring of children’ in ECCOS which described nap and meal arrangement, as well as other safety and routine care practices. However, factor analysis eliminated 7 out of 11 items from this aspect, and the remaining four items were clustered into two other constructs (Factor 6 and Factor 10) instead of ‘routine care’. This may show that this construct is not considered to be related to quality of learning and teaching in Hong Kong kindergartens.

‘Assessment’ and ‘communication with

early childhood stakeholders’ are the unique constructs for ECCOS (Table 4). While there are no constructs for assessment in ECERS-R and KERS, ‘assessment’ in ECCOS refers to kindergarten’s policies and methods of assessing children’s learning. ‘Communication with early childhood stakeholders’ in ECCOS describes kindergartens’ communication with parents and resource providers in the community. While there is no such item in ECERS-R, there is one named ‘teacher-parent interaction’ in KERS. Yet, this item is more related to caring of children because it is clustered in the construct ‘routine care’ (Liu & Pan, 2008), and thus is not related to the concept of communication for resource provision as the items in ECCOS do. The inclusion of these factors in ECCOS reflects the uniqueness of Hong Kong ECE context.

ECERS-R KERS ECCOSSpace and Furnishings

Physical environment

Teachers’ attitude and knowledge (Factor 2)

Parents and Staff

Environment (Factor 4)Classroom instructions (Factor 5)Materials (Factor 9)Space (Factor 12)

Personal Care Routines

Routine care --

Language-Reasoning

Interaction and curriculum

Order, routine and classroom management (Factor 3)

Activities Second language usage (Factor 7)Interactions Curriculum organization (Factor 8)Program Structure

Time management (Factor 10)Effectiveness of learning (Factor 11)

-- -- Assessment (Factor 1)-- -- Communication with early childhood stakeholders (Factor 6)

Table 4Comparison of factors in ECERS-R, KERS and ECCOS

To conclude, the result of factor analysis suggested a reduction of items from 111 to 80 items clustering around 12 factors in ECCOS. As shown in Table 3, although some sub-scales

needed to be renamed, the items fitted well with the proposed constructs, and the constructs reflect the unique definition of quality in Hong Kong ECE context. Together with improved content validity



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and high inter-rater and internal reliabilities, the results suggest that ECCOS is a reliable, valid and culturally-appropriate measure for evaluating classroom quality in Hong Kong kindergartens.

Conclusion, Limitation and Implication The major limitation of the current study is the sample size and comprehensiveness of the sampled kindergartens. In this study, only eight voucher-eligible non-profit-making local kindergartens were involved to test the instrument. As an instrument developed for the evaluation of early childhood classroom quality in the whole city, it would be better if other types of kindergartens, for example, voucher-ineligible private-independent kindergartens, are also taken into account. Since factor analysis has reduced the number of items in ECCOS, the final version with 80 items (Table 3)

should be tested against a larger number and variety of Hong Kong kindergartens in future research.

Despite the limitations, this study is the first attempt to develop a culturally appropriate, psychometrically sound and user-friendly classroom observation scale for evaluating the quality of learning and teaching in Hong Kong kindergartens. Apart from relevant items in PIs (L&T), updated research findings and both Western and Eastern ideas on quality early childhood practices were also integrated to ECCOS. With operationalizable items, tight structure, sound reliability and validity, it is hope that ECCOS has struck a balance between theory and practice, and is able to assist early childhood stakeholders to authentically evaluate the quality of learning and teaching in Hong Kong kindergarten classrooms.

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493 – 505.Lerkkanena, M. K., Kikasb, E., Pakarinenc, E., Trossmannd, K., Poikkeusa, A. M., Rasku-Puttonena, H., Siekkinene,

M., & Nurmic J. E. (2012). A Validation of the early childhood classroom observation measure in Finnish and Estonian kindergartens. Early Education & Development, 23, 323 – 350.

Li, H. (2006). Integrating information and communication technologies into the early childhood curriculum: Chinese principals' Views of the challenges and opportunities. Early Education and Development, 17, 467 – 487.

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Smolkowski, K., & Gunn, B. (2012). Reliability and validity of the Classroom Observations of Student – Teacher Interactions (COSTI) for kindergarten reading instruction. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 316 – 328.

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Acknowledgment This article is based on a project funded by the Quality Education Fund, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to Dr. Hui LI. Thanks are given to all the participating principals and teachers. The scale can be accessed at http://qcrc.qef.org.hk/ .



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How do Creative Teachers Facilitate Children’s Creativity in Visual Arts? A Case Study about the Visual Arts Teacher

Training and Teaching創意教師如何促進幼兒視覺藝術中的創意？

視覺藝術教師培訓及教學的個案研究

LEUNG Kit Ying Suzannie

Early Childhood and Elementary Education Division

Hong Kong Baptist University

AbstractIn the years of education reform in Hong Kong, educators aimed to nurture creative children for their lifelong learning. The creativity of the teacher's became a critical factor in facilitating children's creativity to create their visual arts capabilities. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate how creative teachers in Hong Kong facilitate children’s creativity in their visual arts classroom. A case study in a visual arts teacher training programme was conducted through the semi-structured interviews. Data were coded using the thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001). We found that creative teachers facilitated children in the creative process of fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration as suggested by Guilford (1950) and Torrance (1963, 1966). More than these capacities, creative teachers performed visualization and modification in teaching visual arts to the young children. The findings of this study suggest that creative teachers show both existing and new conceptions of creativity as their pedagogies to facilitate children’s creativity in visual arts.

摘要在香港近年的教育改革中，教育工作者致力培育具備創意的幼兒，為其終生學習作好準備。有見教師的創造力成為促進幼兒視覺藝術創意的重要因素，是次研究旨在探究香港的創意教師如何在視覺藝術課堂中促進幼兒的創造力。是次研究就一個視覺藝術教師培訓課程，以半結構性訪問進行個案研究，而所得數據則以主題網絡分析 (Thematic Network Analysis) 進行編碼。本研究發現具創造力的教師能在幼兒的創作過程中，推動其實踐吉爾福特 (Guilford) 及托蘭斯 (Torrance) 提出的創造四力—流暢力、變通力、獨創力和精進力。與此同時，創意教師亦會令幼兒視覺藝術教學形象化，並懂得在教學過程中進行修正。研究結果顯示，創意教師會同時運用既有及全新的創意概念，作為推動幼兒視覺藝術創意的教學方法。

Introduction The reform of early childhood education in Hong Kong in this recent decade indicates the importance of creativity and arts in the curriculum. According to Cheung and Mok (2013), creativity

has been ascribed great importance in recent years by the Western and Asian Countries such as UK, Singapore, China, Taiwan and also Hong Kong. The policy statements issued in these countries call for the inclusion of creativity development in the



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formal curriculum (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2004; Ministry of Education, 1997; Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 1998; Ministry of Education Taiwan, 2003; Curriculum Development Council, 2001). In Hong Kong, the Education Bureau has shown a strong commitment to creativity as an aim for the educational reform. The Curriculum Development Council (2001) proposed a consultation document entitled Learning to Learn in achieving lifelong learning and all-round development of students in the curriculum reform, "to build up their capabilities to learn independently...to become self-reflective on how they learn, and to be able to use different ways of learning". Creativity becomes one of the critical components for the notion of “lifelong learning” and the inclusion of creativity has been identified as a vital policy of the educational reform across all learning domains or subject areas from early childhood education to lifelong learning (Curriculum Development Council, 2001).

Meanwhile, the Education Bureau emphasizes children’s “all-round development in the domains of ethics, intellect, physique, social skills and aesthetics, and to develop good habits, so as to prepare them for life” (Education Commission, 2000) which also stated in the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (Curriculum Development Council, 2006, p.18). Kindergartens are encouraged to develop children’s different potentials based on the theory of multiple intelligences that there are many aspects of human intelligence and every individual has varied strengths (Curriculum Development Council, 2006, p.8). Teachers are recommended to consider the interrelations among the development of physical, cognitive, language, affective and social, and aesthetic skills and understandings in their curriculum planning. To develop an integrated curriculum, it is recommended that kindergartens should focus on six domains: (1) Language, (2) Self and society, (3) Early mathematics, (4) Science and technology, (5) Arts and (6) Physical fitness and health. According to the Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum (2006), an early exposure to the arts can extend children’s sensory experiences, and help them explore and perceive the world through different media of

expression, such as music, drama, dance and the visual arts. These experiences maybe introduced through interesting, balanced and diversified arts activities which can cultivate children’s aesthetic sensitivity, imagination, creativity, and social and emotional skills. Children can have an enjoyable experience in art appreciation and performance that arouses their interest in the arts and encourages an attitude of life-long learning (Curriculum Development Council, 2006, p.35). To have a better understanding of how these policy statements have come about, and the emphasis on art education, it would be essential to understand the theoretical underpinnings of the role that art plays in cultivating creativity.

Creativity and visual arts Sternberg and Lubart (1995) believe that everyone possesses creativity to some degree and that the discussion about creativity should be extended to adults like kindergarten teachers. Schirrmacher (1993) defines creativity as a cognitive process or way of thinking that involves many conceptions. Guilford (1950) and Torrance (1963, 1966) suggested that certain cognitive abilities may be involved in creativity: (1) fluency which is related to sensitivity to problems; (2) flexibility considers an ability to change one’s mental set; (3) originality encompasses an ability to generate uncommon yet acceptable ideas; and (4) elaboration - is the ability to expand upon problems and solutions. Both Torrance (1965) and Gardner (1980) agreed that children actively perform their creativity in their early childhood. Torrance (1965) plots the degree of creative functioning versus age and found that creativity often peaks during the fourth year of life and is followed by a sharp drop upon entrance into elementary school. Gardner (1980) stresses a U-shaped curve in creative development indicating that children who are aged 3 to 6 in their first stage are the most instinctively creative in various forms of expressive arts. Research has also revealed three major types of creativity based on self-ratings (Kaufman &Baer, 2004; Oral, Kaufman & Agars, 2007): Artistic/Bodily (‘hands-on’ creativity in art, craft, and bodily/physical creativity), Math/Science (creativity in



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math and science), and Writing/ Communication (creat ivi ty in interpersonal re la t ionships , communication, and writing). General creativity has been conceptualized as a divergent thinking ability, defined as the ability to generate multiple possible solutions to a problem in terms of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration (Guilford, 1956); is measured by performance on divergent thinking tests such as Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (Torrance, 1972). Traditional measures of creativity such as TTCT and the insight problem-solving task assess different aspects of creativity (artistic and scientific, respectively), rather than general creativity (Kozhevnikov et al., 2013).

In recent years, it is increasingly recognized that arts education contributes to students’ aesthetic development, and the development of thinking and creativity (Clement, 1992; Schirrmacher, 1993). According to Chan and Chan (2007), the connection between creativity and arts education in general and drawing in particular implies that the visual arts curriculum is important in the development and enhancement of creativity or creative thinking in children. Drawing abilities could play a mediating role in enhancing creativity through increasing participation in drawing activities and heightening awareness of artistic characteristics (Chan & Chan, 2007). All of these research studies point to the role that art education plays in the enhancement of creativity in children. In the next section, we will discuss how training in visual arts to preschool teachers contributes to children’s creativity.

Previous Study Leung (2013) studied the relationship between visual arts training to preschool teachers and their creativity by using the Test for Creative Thinking - Drawing Production (TCT-DP) (Urban & Jellen, 1996). The study was designed based

on the ideas of TTCT, to measure 14 dimensions in the drawings: continuations (Cn), completion (Cm), new elements (Ne), connections made with a line (Cl), connections made to produce a theme (Cth), boundary breaking that is fragment dependent (Bfd), boundary breaking that is fragment independent (Bfi), perspective (Pe), humor and affectivity (Hu), unconventionality, a, b, c, d (Uca, Ucb, Ucc, Ucd), and speed (Sp). In assessing the creativity of preschool teachers, the TCT-DP was adopted to compare the creativity of two groups of preschool teachers using their drawings as examples of their creativity. One group of preschool teachers (N= 23) had visual arts training while the other group (N= 24) did not. The results showed that the group of preschool teachers who had visual arts training performed better on the creativity assessment tool than the group of preschool teachers who had no visual arts training (see Figure 1 & Figure 2). In the previous study, the value of designing a visual arts teacher training programme was examined with respect to enhancing preschool teachers' creativity. It suggests that visual arts training should be highly recommended in the preschool teacher training programmes for enhancing teachers' creativity and as an important component of their professional development.



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Figure 1. High-score sample in TCT-DP (Leung, 2013)

Cn Cm Ne Cl Cth Bfd Bfi Pe Hu Uca Ucb Ucc Ucd Sp TOTAL

6 6 4 3 6 6 6 2 3 3 3 0 3 2 53

Cn Cm Ne Cl Cth Bfd Bfi Pe Hu Uca Ucb Ucc Ucd Sp TOTAL

5 4 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 20

Figure 2. Low-score sample in TCT-DP (Leung, 2013)



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Method Based on the previous study (Leung 2013), teachers who have received the visual arts training will perform their creativity better. Nevertheless, their creativity does not guarantee the nurture of children’s creativity. Therefore, in this study, to understand further how creative teachers in Hong Kong facilitate children’s creativity in their visual arts classroom, two research questions are asked: (1) How do these creative teachers deliver their visual arts teaching to facilitate children creativity? (2) What are the components in their creative teaching in visual arts to children? This study aims at conducting an in-depth case study to the sample of participants in the previous study who had high scores using the qualitative approach in TCT-DP through the semi-structured interviews.

Participants The sample of these participants (N = 6) is randomly selected from the 13% of the sample pool (N = 46) of the previous study (Leung, 2013) which are considered as exemplars of teacher participants who had visual arts training with high scores in TCT-DP to show how teachers’ visual arts training will impact their teaching to children.

Measures Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a set of interview protocols as below. Each of the semi-structured interviews was conducted individually with the participant in 30 minutes.

1. Can you describe how you plan for a visual arts activity to children?

2. What matters inspire you to design this visual arts activity?

3. Can you describe how you implement this visual arts activity?

4. What will you do when your children get stuck in the art-making processes?

5. How do you encourage children to enrich the details of their artworks?

6. What will you do if children encounter technical problems in the art-making processes?

7. Have you ever conducted art appreciation sessions for children? How?

8. What will you do if children finally complete their works which are far from your expectation?

9. In what ways do you assess children's artworks or art-making performance?

10. What kinds of quality do you think a "good" artwork of a child should have?

Procedures The interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed through the thematic network analysis (Attride-Stirling, 2001). This method aims to bring to light the meaning, richness and magnitude of the subjective experience of social life (Altheide and Johnson,1994) and contribute to the development of qualitative methods in the advancement of the most elusive step in the research process - analysis. There are 6 steps for conducting the analysis: (1) Code material (2) Identify themes (3) Construct thematic networks (4) Describe and explore thematic networks (5) Summarize thematic networks (6) Interpret patterns. In this study, the data collected from the semi-structured interviews were coded from the key words in the transcripts. Next, the codes were identified into themes. Different themes were then generalized to the organizing themes and finally into several global themes which summarize the thematic networks. Finally, the patterns were interpreted from the networks formed. Table 1 for example shows how the sequence of activities that leads to the global theme of creativity, using the elements of the concept of fluency.



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Figure 3. The coding processes of the thematic network – an example

Findings Through the thematic network analysis, the findings answered the two research questions (RQ) as shown below for this study.

RQ1: How do these creative teachers deliver their visual arts teaching to facilitate children creativity?

The findings showed that creative teachers used creative approaches in teaching visual arts to young children by designing the teaching plan, implementing the creative activities and also perceiving children’s performances in making art. The study found that teachers with creativity facilitated children in the creative process of fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration as suggested by Gilford (1950) and Torrance (1963, 1966). More than these capacities, creative teachers performed visualization and modification in teaching visual arts to the young children.

As an example, one teacher participant (T1) showed her fluency in facilitating children’s creativity through investigation, observation and hands-on experiences:

T1: “First, children need to do some research about different parts of giraffe, for example, actual heights of different parts of body. Second, children also need to search for the skin patterns. And then children and the teacher need to search the materials together in the school. For instance, they can find the rubber in the school for four legs and separate into different groups (those search for the same parts will get together into same group).”

Another teacher participant (T2) emphasized the importance of flexibility to children’s visual arts so as to facilitate children’s creativity:

T2: “Let them try. If failed, I then asked them to think of another way to go. Let them get wrong, and fix later and even make a new one.”

Similarly, another teacher participant (T3) expressed the value of originality to children’s visual arts through her openness and respect to children:

T3: “I will observe whether children can do it alone and have their own ways to complete the works. For artworks, I will consider the elements of visual arts and the voices from them. Even sometimes I have no idea about what they drew, children express themselves very well and are having meaningful mind that will be another perspective of appreciation.”

In facilitating children’s creativity in the visual arts classroom another teacher participant (T4) stressed her concept of elaboration as:

T4: “For instance, they are free to build the clay but the colors of clay I offered did not match their concepts. Then, I will provide them a reversible concept for them to accept their ideas.”

The process of visualization was explained by one teacher participant (T5) as:



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T5: “I have introduced some master pieces artists who often paint fruits. I also provided the authentic materials - fruits - discussed the colors and shapes (look likes a moon for a banana), and try to guide them to use fruit to collage what they like.”

Another teacher participant (T6) shared how modification works in balancing children’s abilities, interest and learning objectives:

T6: “I will design the activity based on children's development and I am aware of their developmental

stages. So, my activity should be simple and appropriate for children. I will also consider the theme planned in the kindergarten. I will prepare a lesson plan and a budget-balanced list of materials for the activities.”

RQ2: What are the components in their creative teaching in visual arts to children?

Table 1 shows the components that support the overall concepts of creativity as suggested by Guilford (1950) and Torrance (1963, 1966).

Conceptions of creativity Teacherswithcreativity Teacherswithpedagogiestofacilitatechildren’s

creativity

Fluency Creative teachers show fluency in planning and implementing visual arts activities.

• Develop teaching sequence • Facilitate to succeed • Search information from media • Introduce content and break down to steps • Introduce the usage of tools

Flexibility Creative teachers tolerant changes and accept new alternatives.

• Think of an alternative • Let go for wrong • Change other kind of color pen • Provide reversible concepts or ideas • Fix later

Originality Creative teachers value children’s original perspectives.

• Create something new • No matter how it looks like • Show new elements added on the original work • Let them do what they like if they have reasons • Respect the uniqueness of every work

Elaboration Creative teachers facilitate children to elaborate their artworks.

• Give tips • Show other works as models • Observe teacher's demonstration • Share metaphor with children • Appreciate those who are having good progress

Visualization Creative teachers scaffold children to build their visual learning blocks.

• Show a picture • Create product samples • Develop from daily life experiences and hot issues • Provide authentic materials • Ask specific questions to help them to visualize

Modification Creative teachers modify their visual teaching to balance the theoretical and practical concerns.

• Concern about child development • Emphasize child interest • Balance school resources • Achieve teaching objectives • Align school curriculum

Table 1. The relationship among creativity and the pedagogies of kindergarten teachers in visual arts



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Discussion This study indicated that creative teachers demonstrate creative components in their visual arts teaching - fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration as suggested by Guilford (1950) and Torrance (1963, 1966). More than that, creative teachers stress the importance of visualization and enhance ch i ld ren ’s t h i s capac i ty by providing various visual stimuli to them in class. Kozhevnikov et al. (2013) found that visualization abilities play an important role in the corresponding creativity dimension. The history of visual art is rich in evidence from prominent visual artists such as Kandinsky, Moore, O’Keeffe, and Dali reporting the crucial role of imagery in creation of their masterpieces (Kassels, 1991; Miller, 2000). Mental visualization or visual imagery refers to an experience of ‘seeing in the mind’s eye’, that is, perceiving some object, event, or scene in the absence of corresponding visual input (Kosslyn, 1994). Recent research based on reports of professional artists and scientists has provided further evidence that imagery plays a crucial creative role for visual artists and designers, as well as scientists, engineers, and other technology professionals (Blazhenkova & Kozhevnikov, 2009,

2010; Ferguson, 1977; Kozhevnikov, Motes, & Hegarty, 2007; Rosenberg, 1987).

In addition, creative teachers emphasize the idea of modification in the process of designing developmentally and culturally appropriate curriculum and performing teacher-guided instructions. Fox and Schirrmacher (2012) propose that a teacher-guided approach offers the best among the two extremes with a subtle structure and many children directions and input. Teachers often construct teaching opportunities and use questions to lead children to process their problem solving and give stimulus to children which is just enough to give them confidence to make art. Bresler (1993) stated that guided-exploration orientation requires planning and intensive teaching of the teacher as well as concentration and thoughts of children. Referring to Bae (2004), teachers in the guided-exploration orientation provide guidelines that help children to observe, listen, and communicate their sensitivities through artistic expression so as to appreciate the aesthetic qualities in arts. To support kindergarten teachers’ training in early visual arts, and by extension creativity, one has to keep in mind the framework presented in Figure 4.

Figure 4. A thematic network - features of creative teachers’ in teaching children visual arts



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This study implied that visual arts trainings are effective to nurture teachers’ creativity. In nurturing teachers’ creativity, visualization should not be neglected since visualization is one of the important teaching components in early visual arts teaching. And kindergarten teachers in visual arts, who are different from visual arts artists, have to concern themselves with the pedagogy in teaching visual arts to young children. Both subject and pedagogical knowledge of visual arts are critical to kindergarten teachers to be creative enough to facilitate children’s creativity.

Limitations First, the present sample size of this study is evidently not sufficient to generalize a full picture in explaining this research question. Second, this study tried to investigate the teaching effectiveness of the creative teachers through interviews. However, the data collection method cannot reflect the children’s visual arts in the classroom. But still, this study sets the stage for a worthwhile discussion in this research area. Therefore, there are suggestions for future studies: (1) survey could be distributed to a larger sample of kindergarten teachers; and (2) naturalistic observation in the

classrooms should be conducted.

Conclusion This study provides a case study to understand how creative teachers facil i tate children’s creativity in visual arts. The study also indicates the relationship among the visual arts teacher training and their teaching. The inclusion of visual arts to the teacher training programmes is highly recommended for enhancing teachers' creativity as a vital part of their professional development. To conclude, visual arts in the curriculum for children, and professional trainings for teachers are essential to enhance their creativity for improving the quality of early childhood education in Hong Kong.

Acknowledgement I would l ike to thank Professor Reza Hoshmand for his comments on the early version of this paper and students for their participation in this study from Certificate in Visual Arts for Early Childhood Educators, Early Childhood and Elementary Education Division, Hong Kong Baptist University.

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運用視覺組織圖表開展幼兒藝術綜合課程的理論與實踐Using Graphic Organizer to Deliver Early Integrated Arts

Curriculum: Theory and Practice

劉永慈香港教育學院幼兒教育學系

摘要綜合課程是香港幼稚園的主流模式，但音樂及其他藝術科目的學習卻未被有效的綜合與融入現有課程之中。本文以藝術範疇中的「音樂」科目作為核心，以綜合藝術中的音樂活動為例，詳細介紹在幼稚園運用「視覺組織圖表」(graphic organizers) 進行綜合藝術課程的理論與方法。透過「視覺組織圖表」及相關教學範例的展示，與教師分享如何以趣味的音樂活動來推動幼兒的綜合藝術學習，從而促進本港幼稚園實施有效的綜合藝術課程，確保兒童全面和充分的發展。

AbstractIntegrated curriculum and curriculum integration are the mainstream in the field of early childhood education in Hong Kong. The disciplines of music and other arts, however, have often been separated and less integrated. To enhance young children’s integrated learning and to promote early integrated curriculum, this paper introduces a new approach to incorporate music and other arts activities into early childhood curriculum: graphic organizer. A set of integrated music activities is showcased to demonstrate how to integrate music, movement, arts, language, and some other disciplines (subjects) into the existing early childhood curriculum. Hong Kong early childhood educators can try out this approach to develop an effective integrated curriculum to ensure the all-round and holistic development of young children.

藝術是人類文化生活的一部分，只要有人的地方就有藝術 (Jalongo & Isenberg, 2010)。藝術主要包括音樂、文學、繪畫等，是審美教育的重要組成部分，而早期藝術教育也主要包括美術、音樂、舞蹈、文學等內容 ( 李岱玲，1997，頁 12)。藝術教育非常重要，因為它能強化幼兒的知覺能力、表現能力和語言交流能力，促進其他學科的學習，更讓兒童情緒情感得以宣洩和表達，並促進其創造力發展 (王援，2007)。藝術教育生動活潑，不僅教懂兒童畫畫和唱歌，還使兒童的文化素質得到提高，當兒童沉浸在藝術中，就能找到安慰、臨時的平靜，或在心靈上良好的經驗，進而塑造完美的人格（黃樹誠、劉永慈，2008)。

綜合課程或課程整合目前雖然已經成為香港幼教界的主流，但藝術學科與其他學科之間的教學往往是分割且綜合度較低 ( 劉永慈，2010；李輝，2007)。由於香港幼稚園多屬半日，每天只有 3 小時的上課及活動時間，而在這有限的時間內，要完全涵蓋所有要學的學科內容，確有困難。課程的趕迫為教師帶來趕進度的壓力，使他們慌亂的結束舊課以進入新課的內容，在課程的安排上較少考慮以兒童學習為中心，更加忽略了藝術學科的學習與綜合

（李輝，2007)。有鑑於此，筆者特別冀望透過本文章向學前教育工作者介紹一種新的統整幼兒藝術課程的方法：「視覺組織圖表」(graphic organizers) (Mosco，2005)，讓教師學會透過



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「視覺組織圖表」的形式將音樂律動、故事、語言、藝術與其他學科融入現有課程之中，促進幼兒綜合的學習。

幼兒藝術綜合課程甚麼是幼兒藝術綜合課程

《學前教育課程指引》( 課程發展議會，2006) 提出學校可透過六個不同的學習範疇來達致全面發展的教育目標，而音樂則屬於六個學習範疇 ( 體能與健康、語文、早期數學、科學與科技、個人與群體、藝術 ) 中「藝術」範疇內的藝術活動之一。幼稚園的藝術綜合課程除了具備整合的音樂、舞蹈、戲劇、美術、文學 ( 故事、詩歌、語言 ) 等因素之外，還著意於藝術 (音樂、美術 ) 與其他學科的綜合 (劉永慈，2010)，例如：音樂與美術的綜合、音樂與語言的綜合、藝術與數學、常識、社會、科學等其他各科的綜合」(資利萍，2004)。近年來，有學者對幼兒音樂綜合教育作出了一些研究，提倡音樂教育應以統整及綜合來進行，打破學科界線，開展綜合音樂藝術活動，讓幼兒的認知經驗與藝術表現整合 ( 汪耀麗，2004)。實行學科綜合已是課程改革的趨勢，在學前教育領域，因為音樂本身不僅是值得教和值得學，更重要的是它還為其他學科的學習帶來好處，「兒童不僅在綜合教育裡學到應學的知識，而且學得更自然、更愉快，也強化了兒童的知覺能力和表現能力，批判性的思維，和解決問題的能力」 ( 劉永慈，2010，頁 60)。透過藝術綜合教育，各種藝術形式也能有系統地聯系起來，形成一個整體，以促進兒童全面協調的發展 (蔡黎曼、薛婷婷，2004)。要把藝術課程綜合，可透過

「視覺組織圖表」的形式進行規劃和展示，使師生對所教所學的綜合藝術概念更加清晰。

幼兒藝術綜合課程的範疇一個有效的藝術課程是一個綜合的課程，它與藝術、音樂及其他具創意和樂趣的學科是可以互相連繫的。Broudy (1988) 曾提出藝術是有關於一切的連繫，這種關係可以被視為與三種象徵性的圖象有關：語言、思想、情感 / 感覺。對年幼的兒童來說，這些連繫可被歸納為三個廣泛而相互關聯的範疇：(1)美藝和工藝，

這包括所有的視覺藝術作品，如圖片製作（素描、繪畫）和物件造形（建模與粘土、紙張的建設、織物）等；(2)音樂和動作，這包括聆聽音樂、唱歌、創作音樂，以及用身體透過創造性的舞蹈來對音樂作出回應；(3)故事扮演，這包括布偶運用，故事及文學的寫作，創意戲劇，和戲劇表演等，當這些學科相連繫時，就會產生不一樣而具效能的綜合藝術課程 ( 劉永慈，2010)。而教師的責任，在於將音樂動作元素、故事扮演元素，並藝術創意材料的準備，綜合在課程的設計裡，從而為兒童創設一個富創意及趣味性的綜合藝術課堂。

美藝和工藝。藝術是使用符號和工具作為溝通和表達的一系列過程 (Jalongo & Isenberg, 2010)。在幼稚園裡，兒童常參與在一連串不同的視覺藝術活動中，包括了單面（繪圖、水彩畫、印刷圖片、板畫、拓印等）、雙面及三面立體（如木偶建設、砌立體模型、用紙黏貼模型、或搓堆圖泥、揑膠泥等）形式的藝術活動。這些視覺藝術活動都是適合兒童發展的課程活動。Baker (1990) 認為這些反映出他們所能看到、感受到和理解的最初期方法，所以藝術和工藝活動均有其清晰的表徵 (representation)功能。另方面，廣義來說圖畫製作和物件造形的活動可以被看作為一種語言，一種溝通的方式(Jalongo & Stamp, 1999)。通常兒童在運用文字來朗讀故事之前，會先透過圖片來講述故事，而在物件造形之前，他們先用說話描述整個造物的過程。

音樂和動作。對教育者來說，音樂、律動和舞蹈是豐富天然的教學資源，Isenberg & Jalongo (2010) 強調音樂和律動不單是一個教學內容，亦有其獨特的溝通方法，也是智慧的元素。音樂和肢體律動均列入 Gardner (1993) 所倡導的八個智能中。其中的音樂智慧是指對聲音和聲音模式的敏覺度，令人產生鑑賞能力，以致投入參與，並在音樂上作出的表演或演繹 (Jalongo & Isenberg, 2010)。兒童聽到音樂而做出的身體動作 / 律動，是對音樂作出最初步的回應和自我表達。「創造性運動 / 律動」、

「律動」和「創意舞蹈」這些詞彙通常是互換地



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作出的回應 (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2006)。在幼兒期，兒童漸能意識到身體的敏覺度和對律動的探索，這提升他們對自我的認同和對他人的欣賞 (Consortium of National Arts Education Associations, 1994)。對於兒童來說，律動和他們的理解能力的是高度相關的，兒童的律動和舞蹈的表達，多依賴肢體動覺的智能，因身體動作和舞蹈表達的能力需與「空間」和「時間」作出協調，兒童的舞蹈傾向於一系列較有組織和形式化的動作，是思想和身體對綜合律動的回應。兒童的創造性律動也始於他們對其身體的動作和創造潛能的意識度。

故事扮演。故事扮演是運用文字的表徵系統，用身體及手勢作為溝通思想和感情的工具。兒童的語言有其獨特的型式及節奏，他們在成長的各階段學會用動作配合一些兒歌，看圖書後，能指出及說出簡單的故事或類似的事件，他們開始看到自己也可以運用語言成為讀者、作家和講故事者。透過故事扮演，能發展兒童閱讀、聆聽、說話、寫作和演戲的技能 (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2010) ，且建立他們在思想上分析的能力，增強他們在專注力、合作性和與他人洽談的能力，在各種不同的形式上顯示出他們的知識 (Crawford, 2004; Hennings, 2003; Tompkins, 2006; Wilhelm & Edmiston, 1998)。李之光及潘宇倢 (2011) 亦支援「運用戲劇教學可以幫助兒童建構知識、增進語言的發展的能力，且豐富兒童的想能像能力」。所以當教師提供兒童更多故事戲劇扮演的機會，兒童藉著扮演遊戲，比在其他任何的環境中，更能引發兒童更多和更豐富的語言 (Furman, 2000; Tompkins, 2006) 。

視覺組織圖表「視覺組織圖表」是一種使思維可視化的方法，就是把建構的資訊和重要的概念或標題以文字形式的標記變成可視的模式展示 (Mosco, 2005)。「視覺組織圖表」有各式各樣的形式 , 它們都是將一些概念、想法等資料以適合的圖表來呈現，透過組織圖表，能幫助兒童瞭解學習內容並將操作的歷程步驟化，便於他們理解。當教師與兒童一起進行有組織和具概念的藝術

綜合活動時，「視覺組織圖表」可以幫助兒童在心理上構建一個具體及相互關聯的模式」( Isenberg & Jalongo, 2010, p. 9)，使藝術綜合的學習更具意義。本港實踐經驗表明，視覺組織圖表能幫助兒童整理資料，把結構、關係、過程等資訊有系統地表達，且可輔助兒童理解內容、組織、和加強對整個活動的記憶」 (香港教育城，2009)。

簡要來說，「視覺組織圖表」有以下六種常見形式：( 一 ) 六何表：即以六種提問的形式分析或組織內容 ; (二 )時序表 /流程表：即用事件發生先後的次序或時間流程來分析和組織內容 ; ( 三 ) 分類圖：用分門別類的形式來分析和組織內容 ; (四 )樹形圖 /網形圖：用樹狀圖或網狀圖來分析和組織內容 ; ( 五 ) 因果圖：用因果關係來分析和組織內容 ; ( 六 ) 比較圖：用分析異同的形式來組織內容 ( 香港教育城，2009)。例如，附件一所示的「視覺組織圖表」，就是一種分類圖的形式，各學科分類下面其實暗含著活動的流程。這就讓教師透過展示的可視化資料，幫助兒童去組織學習的內容。

教師在培養兒童的藝術表達能力時，為提高他們對整個綜合藝術活動的認識，可著意採用「視覺組織圖表」，先與兒童討論活動的內容，讓他們明白整個活動的內容，提起他們的學習興趣。「視覺組織圖表」可以幫助兒童將想法和概念分類，並能促進兒童之間的溝通。在運用這一方法進行綜合學習的過程中，幼兒和教師都能清楚掌握學習各學科的重點，並對各學科的綜合安排加深了認識。

為使教師對藝術綜合課程有更進一步的認識，筆者特意編寫了一個藝術綜合活動的教案範例 ( 詳見附件二 )，以展示如何透過「視覺組織圖表」的記事形式去支援兒童跨學科的綜合學習 (Baxendell, 2003; Gallenstein, 2005; Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek, & Wei, 2004)。



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實施幼兒綜合藝術學習的方法近年來，筆者嘗試開展了對學前兒童藝術綜合教育的研究，將文學、音樂、美術、舞蹈等藝術中的共同審美元素加以整合，來啟發兒童的美感發展。就附件一展示的「視覺組織圖表」，筆者把重要的概念和主題「以文字形式標記變成可視的模式」(Mosco, 2005)，展示教師如何透過組織圖表的形式去支援兒童在各學科上綜合的學習 ; 並引用附件二的教學內容，以藝術範疇中的音樂作為主線，如何將繪畫、舞蹈、音樂、語言等各藝術學科綜合起來。以下筆者就幼兒藝術綜合教育的實施方法簡單介紹一些做法和體會，並就實施綜合藝術課程的「選材」、「教學方法之實踐」談及一些具體的做法：

生活化的選材在音樂教學實踐過程中，教師透過主題

《我愛春天好》(附件二 ) 有效地以兒童的興趣和愛動的特性為切入點，選擇了生活化的教材作為教學內容，劉永慈 (2010)提出「在訂定綜合音樂活動的主題時，需考慮兒童的興趣和已有的經驗」(頁65)，例如：從歌曲《春天來到啦》(趙鈞鴻，2009) 的歌詞到旋律、從意景到內涵、從結構到風格……等都貼近兒童的生活。教學時，教師巧妙地將兒童喜愛的肢體律動 (拍手、踏跳、青蛙跳、小鳥飛……)與他們理解並出現相同的節奏音形和旋律 (sl s sl s︱sl mf s-︱mf m mf m︱sf mf m -︱) 互相結合，透過視覺組織圖表 ( 附件一 )，兒童在音樂唱歌活動中，能瞭解其他的學習範疇 ( 體能、語文、識數 )，他們能將操作的歷程步驟化，從視覺的組織圖表中理解學習內容。「兒童能清楚掌握學習各學科的重點，並對各學科的綜合安排加深了認識」(TeacherVision, n.d.)。在認識綜合藝術的同時，也提升他們的學習。在過程中，教師能尊重兒童的各種想法，讓他們按自己的想法，在較寬闊的環境中盡情地邊唱出歌詞 ( 語文 )，邊扮演在春天出現他們心中喜愛的昆蟲、動物，邊做出各種律動 (體能 )，且敲擊樂器 (木棒、馬鈴 )配合歌曲節奏，教師亦鼓勵兒童戴上他們自己創作的葉子、花頭飾和葉子手套 ( 美術 )，隨著旋律節奏以不同的舞步或用各種舞姿擺動身體

( 音樂、律動 )，扮演大樹和花朵，將自己展現成春天的景色，把自己佈置在寬闊的環境中，盡情表現自己，讓兒童找到與生活中看到的蝴蝶、昆蟲在寬闊花間飛舞，進而主動地學習和表演相關的內容，他們仿佛真的成了活潑的昆蟲動物，盡情在花間裡飛舞和採花蜜，有助於實踐音樂藝術中的綜合，朱萍 (2007) 指出「[教師 ]選擇富有生活韻味的教材作為教學內容，有利於實現音樂藝術的綜合」(頁13)。這與學者葉明芳 (2008) 提出「以幼兒經驗和生活為基礎」(頁 46) 的見解大致相同。在活動中，兒童透過參考展示的「視覺組織圖表」( 附件一 )，讓他們能「透過文字標記的模式，在視覺上看見重要的概念和主題，而這有程式的文字圖表亦按部就班地展示每一個活動進行的步驟，幫助構建兒童的思想及其相互關係的思維模式」(Isenberg & Jalongo, 2010, p. 9)。

綜合化的教學方法在主題《我愛春天好》(附件二 ) 活動中，教師根據自身的教學特質和教學風格，運用「綜合化的方法」讓兒童透過親身的體驗和表達，把知識性、藝術性與趣味性的內容融合於教學方法之中，來引發他們的學習興趣。劉永慈 (2004) 強調綜合的音樂活動不單是以「音樂」、

「美術」、「舞蹈」等藝術形式單一體現出來，而是要體現更強的綜合性。在聆聽故事的活動中 ( 附件二 )，教師先用鳥鳴器吹出長短節奏不同的鳥聲，引起兒童的學習興趣，再利用故事繪本，讓兒童透過配聲的故事欣賞《花鳥》( 陸趙鈞鴻，2001b)，幫助他們初步理解《花鳥》故事中的『音樂語言』( 朱萍，2007，頁 13); 然後配合背景音樂《海瓊斯小夜曲》，鼓勵兒童運用絲巾模擬小鳥的翅膀，做出小鳥飛舞的律動，再戴上小鳥頭飾，進行故事扮演《花鳥》，增強他們專注力、合作性和與他人洽談的能力，顯出他們的知識 (Crawford, 2004; Hennings, 2003; Tompkins, 2006; Wilhelm & Edmiston, 1998)。在附件的故事扮演遊戲中，教師先與兒童討論及提問故事的內容，這不單讓他們明白整個戲劇扮演的過程，也提起他們的學習興趣，兒童透過視覺組織圖表內展示的資料 ( 附件一 )，他們



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學習去組織和記著故事的對話內容，這視覺組織圖表「幫助兒童整理資料，把結構、關係、過程等資訊有系統地表達，且輔助兒童理解內容、組織、和加強對整個活動的記憶」( 香港教育城，2009，頁 1)。透過各項的活動環節，在音樂、美術、語文、文學等不同藝術綜合中，兒童學會感受樂曲《海瓊斯小夜曲》ABA 形式的音樂，透過《花鳥》故事的聆聽和扮演，他們學會了人是需要朋友的，花鳥最後還是回到他朋友的身旁……，最後教師引導兒童進行童詩《春曉》欣賞和誦讀，他們學會感受童詩中節奏與韻律味道 ( 劉永慈，2001)。兒童透過這種綜合化的教學方法，直接參與在有組織的教學活動中，大大提高了他們學習音樂的成效。由此可見，「綜合化的教學方法」本身就能實現了藝術的綜合。「當教師綜合兩個或多個學科領域，它不僅更有效地避免了重覆」 (Isenberg & Jalongo, 2010, p. 122)，更為孩子們開發更好的方式，使他們在學習上得到更深度的理解 (Burnaford, Brown, Doherty, & McLaughlin, 2007)。從附件一整體的視覺組織圖表來看，兒童理解學習的內容，明白其操作歷程的各步驟，這樣的應用方式不單引發兒童學習的興趣，且給他們新的刺激，因他們在學習上接觸到一種新的視覺方法，使他們更多隨意思考並在日常生活和學習上應用出來。

透過以上的音樂活動的實踐，藝術綜合的價值和作用被重視了。教師只有把融合音樂、美術、文學、語言等藝術知識的音樂活動，透過展示視覺組織圖表，引入「選材生活化」和「方法綜合化」於幼稚園課室內進行，就能帶出綜合藝術學習的成效。劉永慈 (2010) 建議教師可考慮「將所選擇的音樂、舞蹈、戲劇、美術和文學的內容及其他共同的審美元素，配合兒童各方面的發展，帶出音樂、律動、創意、美藝及其他學科的綜合」( 頁，66)，因「視覺組織圖表能引發兒童學習的動機、幫助理解、創造利益，和組織想法和意念」(Graphic Organizer Index, n.d.)。

實施藝術綜合課程的注意事項加強藝術教育範疇內相互之聯繫

要實施幼兒藝術綜合教育的最佳的方法，除了引入「選材生活化」和「方法綜合化」於活動中，也要加強藝術教育範疇內各種藝術表現的互相聯繫和結合。幼稚園的綜合藝術課程除了具備整合的音樂、舞蹈、戲劇、美術、文學 (故事、詩歌、語言 ) 等多種表現之外，「還需著意於音樂與其他學科的綜合」( 劉永慈，2010，頁 59)，例如：「音樂與美術的綜合、音樂與語言的綜合、藝術與其他各科 [ 數學、常識、社會、科學等 ] 的綜合」(資利萍，2004，頁55)。課程發展議會 (2006) 在學前教育課程指引中，強調「利用主題作為靈活性的綜合課程設計」( 頁 19)，認定和落實各學習領域之間連繫之重要性，提出應「以遊戲形式貫穿各學習範疇內容，以綜合方式 [ 為兒童 ] 去設計課程」( 課程發展議會，2006，頁 34)。例如：從不同藝術形式中提取相關性的要素或概念，用同一個主題來組織教育活動，以附件二活動為例，教師可用某一內容作為切入點，如以「音樂」中的音樂欣賞 [例：春之曲 ] 切入，讓兒童感受和理解音樂作品的旋律和節奏，繼而發現「文學」中的童詩 [ 春曉 ] 之節奏及韻律性，及從手工圖形拼貼和文字 / 句子對故事創作的「美術」活動中，看到兒童能就各種顏色和色彩對春天意境的表達。蔡黎曼、薛婷婷 (2004) 認同綜合的音樂活動，

「不但能有效地加強藝術學科內部之間的聯繫，還能很好地把藝術學科與非藝術學科整合起來」(頁60)。

組織圖表是教師在教學上很有價值的工具，因為它在運用上具備靈活性和多樣選擇性，「展示兒童在思維過程上的順序性和完整性，將他們理解度變得顯而易見，能讓兒童一次性看到大量的彙總資訊，使他們更理解」 (Graphic Organizer Index , n.d.)；再者，透過圖表的展示，兒童能把綜合學習的內容拆解，這樣對操作的歷程步驟更加瞭解 (Peishian，2003)。



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注意兒童特性整體來說，幼兒的綜合藝術活動應是有趣和歡樂的，他們的性格較活潑快樂，特性愛動，「他們與生俱來就有好動的特性」( 陸趙鈞鴻，2002; 劉永慈，2002)。當他們遊戲時，會自然地朗誦兒歌或有節奏地反覆背誦兒歌 ( 例如：春天到，有紅花，有綠草，風景好 )，身體則隨著兒歌內容而配合適當的律動 ( 劉永慈，2000); 他們也喜歡一邊聆聽音樂，一邊隨著音樂哼出旋律、或跟著歌曲的節奏、做出各種律動和韻律遊戲 ( 例：邊唱《唱歌和跳舞》( 陸趙鈞鴻，2012 [初版1998]) 邊跳舞慶祝春天到來 )( 附件二 )，以不同形式展示其身體美的形態。當兒童看見以視覺格式摘要列出的資料時，他們對活動的內容、方法和步驟就會有更清晰的了解，從而能夠靈活地應用以發揮更大的效能 (TeacherVision, n.d.)。故此在活動內容的編排上，教師宜運用生動活潑的教學方法，配合他們的特性，讓幼兒從遊戲中學習，亦是幼兒學習音樂最自然的活動方式 ( 劉永慈，2002)。如能配合兒童的興趣和發展而編排活動，對幼兒在藝術方面的認知上會有更統整的概念，讓兒童在遊戲中體驗綜合藝術活動帶來的愉快，並且提兒童的審美情趣和能力 (蔡黎曼，2002)。

按兒童能力經驗特性來設計活動通常，每次的綜合音樂活動的編排上，總是穿插著一連串 ( 幾個 ) 不同形式和不同內容的音樂活動環節，其實每個活動的環節 ( 內容 )，都應按照幼兒的能力，並他們對各個活動環節的熟悉程度，新教的要求多少和難易程度等情況，分別安排在整個綜合音樂活動的最開始、主體活動、和結束活動三個環節之中，幼兒會較易掌握。教師宜注意：

• 活動的模式—以綜合形式帶出文學、音、體、美各元素和概念

• 活動的組織—綜合活動內容編排上要有層次 • 選擇具體的教學活動材料—包括歌曲的選

材、樂器的配合、體能儀器及用具的選材、美勞物料的配合

• 活動內容編排之趣味性及創意性

總結教師在訂定藝術綜合教育活動的主題時，除考慮兒童的興趣和他們已有的相關經驗外，需特別考慮所選的文學 (故事、童謠、童詩、兒歌 )、音樂 ( 包括音樂欣賞、唱歌、節奏樂、音樂遊戲 )、舞蹈 ( 韻律操、肢體韻律活動、即興舞蹈 ) 和美術內容，及它們之間內在的共同審美元素。在內容的選擇上，如能根據兒童的年齡特性，選擇一些藝術性較高和富有教育意義的優秀教材，和各種不同風格的世界名曲，優美的童謠、兒歌、詩歌……等，這可作為兒童進行綜合藝術的主要內容。如果再透過視覺組織圖表，就能更加促進幼兒學會整理資料，把結構、關係、過程等資訊有系統地表達，且輔助他們理解內容、組織、和加強對整個活動的記憶 ( 香港教育城，2009)。此外，教師亦扮演一個重要的角色，需要根據不同學習年齡層的兒童對各主題的興趣，確定一系列的藝術綜合教育活動主題，引入「選材生活化」和「方法綜合化」於課堂中，根據這些主題為他們選擇適合的兒歌或詩歌，讓他們透過綜合的藝術活動去感受韻律美、色彩美和語言美。總之，師生共同運用視覺組織圖表進行活動的主題確定和內容的選擇，可以有效保證藝術的綜合和課程的統整，奠定良好的藝術教育基礎，並促進兒童的全面發展。



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Education, 56(4), 12-18.Dyson , A. H. (1998). Social worlds of children learning how to write. New York: Teachers College Press. Furman, l. (2000). Using drama and theatre to provide literacy development: Some basic classroom applications.

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Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Weinberger, O. (1998). The music in our minds. Educational Leadership, 56(3), 36-40.



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主題

藝術 (視覺美術、音樂、戲劇 ) 體能語文社會、常識、科

學

我愛春天好

—播放悠揚背景音樂《春之曲》—請兒童穿上用美勞用品製成的蝴

蝶翼 /小鳥 /蜜峰翼服飾，戴上頭飾飛出來互相對話

幼兒隨音樂扮演喜愛的昆蟲 ( 蝴蝶、蜜峰 )、動物 (小鳥、青蛙 )

配合字卡 [春天來到了 ] 及音樂

—以對唱形式進行音階 /答問遊戲隨旋律節奏以不同的舞步及各種舞姿擺動身體，扮演大樹和花朵

以「下行音階」創作有關春天的語文句子(ii77665– 4433221-)

—背誦兒歌 -帶出語言節奏—欣賞春天景色圖片—欣賞 [春之曲 ]

兒歌誦唱[春天到 ]及句子創作

運用簡短兒歌簡介春天天氣的特徵

—部分幼兒戴上自創作的葉子頭飾、手套及花頭飾

—邊唱歌邊敲擊樂器 (木棒，馬鈴 )

扮演不同動物昆蟲，按角色分組做出肢體律動

唱歌:《春天來到啦》(趙鈞鴻，2009)

數與量 : 數數不同動物 /昆蟲數目

唱歌：《種子長大了》聆聽配聲故事：《種子生長》故事書

講述故事種子生長的過程及需要養料 ( 太陽和雨水 )

配合音樂CD：. Clayderman—音樂停 -定形—兒童互相欣賞姿態， —用顏色筆記錄創作形態

請兒童進行肢體律動創作：小種子從泥土中漸發芽

兒歌誦唱：種子長大了

故事扮演遊戲—製作小鳥頭飾—戲劇

—利用鳥嗚器作為小鳥唱歌聲音—唱歌：《小麻雀》—運用樂器配合歌曲旋律敲出節奏

—欣賞童詩《春曉》

扮演小鳥在樹林裡遊戲之韻律動作 (2或4人一組拉手 ) ( 高低水平 )小鳥飛 ( 利用絲巾作小鳥翅膀

—故事講述《春天來到了 -花鳥》

—提問故事內容戲劇扮演《花鳥》 (兒童進行對話 )

聆聽 / 背誦 . 欣賞童詩《春曉》

透過戲劇扮演，故事帶出人際、內省智能 ( 人需要朋友 )

—邊聆聽音樂，邊進行花鳥圖案拼貼創作

—圖畫紙上創作有關春天的句子 /文字 /故事

唱歌：《唱歌和跳舞》律動：舞蹈創作 ( 踏跳步、腳尖步、開合步、馬跑步……)

唱出《唱歌和跳舞》歌詞

識數：2 人 / 4 人一組社交人際：拉手圍圈

附件一「視覺組織圖表」概念圖



96


活動藝術綜合活動內容/步驟

教材/物料/資源

綜合藝術學科

音樂欣賞

引起動機旁白

音階 /答問遊戲

句子創作

美勞創作

律動

兒歌誦唱

語言節奏

句子創作

唱遊活動

播放悠揚背景音樂

• 幼兒穿上用美勞用品製成的蝴蝶翼 /小鳥 /蜜峰翼服飾，戴上頭飾飛出來互相對話，帶出： [春天來到了 ] (配合字卡 )

• 對唱 i i 7 7 6 6 5, 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 春天已經來到了，春天已經來到了 *(紅花已經開放了，紅花已經開放了 ) *(蝴蝶密蜂飛來了，蝴蝶密蜂飛來了 ) *(蝴蝶密蜂你好嗎？小鳥青蛙我很好 )

• 請幼兒製作葉子及花頭飾 , 喜愛的昆蟲 (蝴蝶、蜜峰 )、動物 (小鳥、青蛙 )

• 邊做美勞邊聆聽《春之曲》

• 請部分幼兒隨音樂扮演喜愛的昆蟲 (蝴蝶、蜜峰 )、動物 (小鳥、青蛙 )

• 部分幼兒戴上自創作的葉子頭飾，手套及花頭飾，隨著旋律節奏以不同的舞步或用各種舞姿擺動身體，展現 /扮演大樹和花朵

• 以簡短的兒歌簡介春天天氣特徵，適合幼兒在郊外遊玩幼兒唸出兒歌：

i) 春天到，有紅花，有綠草，風景好。

ii) 春天到，百花開， *(蝴蝶蜜峰 )都飛來。 *(小鳥、青蛙 ) --句子創作

教師示範唱：《春天來到啦》• 幼兒分成4組• 唸《春天來到啦》歌詞

CD《春之曲》

昆蟲、小鳥頭飾、翼字卡、春天圖畫/Powerpoint

節奏圖卡

頭飾邊帶 (花瓣、葉子、各昆蟲動物頭飾 ) CD《春之曲》

CD海瓊斯小夜曲

布偶

兒歌歌詞春天景色圖樂器：木魚

歌詞及CD音樂我愛唱歌 (2)：

《春天來到啦》 (陸趙鈞鴻，2009)

音樂

語文

音樂語文

美術

音樂

體能

音樂體能 /舞蹈

語文

音樂

音樂

附件二活動範例

主題：我愛春天好班級：幼高班 (5-6歲 ) 時間：一天課堂地點：唱遊室

學習目的： • 讓幼兒體驗及參與藝術綜合活動，體現藝術的美 • 認識及表達音樂方面的元素，如：旋律、節奏、曲式的概念 • 在各種活動中能有不同的創作 (如：律動、舞步、語言節奏、美勞、節奏模式 ) • 認識及用身體表達體能方面的概念，如：方向、水平、路程、移動性動作、非移動性動作 • 促進幼兒語言發展及表達能力



97


節奏律動

樂器敲擊

聆聽故事

教師範唱

創意、音樂、肢體律動

音樂唱遊

引起動機

聆聽故事

故事扮演遊戲

童詩欣賞

美勞創作

語文句子創作

音樂唱遊

敲擊樂器

律動舞蹈創作

• 唱歌：《春天來到啦》，所有昆蟲、動物唱出《春天來到啦》，讓幼兒扮演不同動物昆蟲在花間飛舞，按角色分組做出肢體律動

• 樂器配合：木棒，馬鈴

• 講述故事「種子生長的過程、我愛太陽和雨點」引起幼兒的興趣

• 示範唱 (種子長大了 ) 種子落在泥土裡，一天一天長大了，太陽雨水幫助你，上帝計劃真奇妙。

• 肢體律動：溫暖的太陽令小種子發芽了。請幼兒戴上葉子手套，將身體收縮模仿小種子在泥土中，聽音樂慢慢將身體伸展，音樂停，作定形，互相欣賞姿態。(記錄創作的形態 )

唱遊歌曲：《太陽公公》《雨點》幼兒邊唱邊做出雨點，配合樂器：木 /沙槌 /搖鼓 /馬鈴

• 故事引發： • 引起動機：聆聽鳥嗚器聲音• 講述故事《春天來到了 -花鳥》• 提問故事內容• 律動：小鳥飛 (利用絲巾作小鳥翅膀 )

• 幼兒扮演《春天來到了 -花鳥》故事

• 童詩欣賞及誦讀《春曉》

• 手工：幼兒邊聆聽音樂，邊進行花鳥拼貼創作 (利用各種圖形 / 紙碟 )

• 在紙上創作句子 /故事 /文字唱遊：《小麻雀》

- 利用絲巾作小鳥翅膀- 幼兒隨著歌曲節奏 /節拍扮演小鳥在樹林裡遊戲之韻律動作

- 樂器：幼兒一邊進行活動 , 一邊運用樂器配合歌曲旋律敲出節奏

• 幼兒2人 /4人成一組• 唸、唱《唱歌和跳舞》歌詞

慶祝春天到來，幼兒用舞蹈自由表達，邊唱歌邊創作舞步

樂器

《種子生長》故事書 /Powerpoint歌詞

葉子頭飾、手套音樂CD：R. ClaydermenA4紙，水筆

我愛唱歌 (1)：《太陽公公》、《雨點》(陸趙鈞鴻，2009) 雨點膠衣，樂器

鳥嗚器故事配聲繪本 -花鳥 Powerpoint絲巾、音樂CD

《海瓊斯小夜曲》

小鳥頭飾

《春曉》童詩

A4紙張各種圖形( )

CD樂曲：我愛唱歌 (3)：

《小麻雀》(趙鈞鴻，2012)

我愛唱歌 (3)：《唱歌和跳舞》(趙鈞鴻，2012)

體能

常識科學音樂語文

音樂體能視覺欣賞美術

音樂

節奏圖畫卡

音樂文學語文體能

文學戲劇

語文文學

美術

文學語文音樂語文 (歌詞 )體能音樂

音樂語文體能 (舞蹈 )

附件：歌曲來源——取自《我愛唱歌》第二集 (陸趙鈞鴻，2009)、及第三集 (陸趙鈞鴻，2012) (承蒙陸趙鈞鴻博士允許使用 )



98


香港幼稚園推行「幼兒故事劇場」的個案研究Case Study on the Implementation of Kinder-Theater in

Hong Kong Kindergarten

劉秀清香港教育學院幼兒教育學系

摘要本研究旨在延續之前學校課改支援的行動研究路向，嘗試在幼稚園恆常教學活動中推行「幼兒故事劇場」。首先通過文獻分析以探討幼兒戲劇活動以及「幼兒故事劇場」的發展適切性及教學價值，再選取一間普通本地幼稚園展開先導性個案研究。我們通過問卷調查以瞭解試驗學校的課程發展現況與教師教學信念，然後組織及建立「幼兒故事劇場外展隊」（簡稱「外展隊」）進校推行「幼兒故事劇場」。研究發現，「外展隊」進入幼稚園內作教學的實踐與演繹，既可增強隊伍成員自身的信念與技巧，更可刺激原任老師於恆常教學活動中積極實踐「幼兒故事劇場」。

AbstractAs the follow-up of the previous school-based support curriculum improvement project, this study aims to build up an Outreach Team to implement the Kinder-Theater project in Hong Kong kindergarten. The developmental appropriateness and educational implications of Kinder-Theater are systematically analyzed, and a local kindergarten was invited to pilot this project. We surveyed all the teaching staff to understand their beliefs and practices, and established the Outreach Team that went to the kindergarten to deliver the Kinder-Theater. This case study found that there were some positive impacts of the Outreach Team and that the Kinder–Theater project deserves further advocacy and development.

在 2010 年學校課改支援的行動研究中，筆者探討了以兒童為本的、將遊戲、建構、藝術和語文綜合在一起的校本課程發展路向，並嘗試推行了以「幼兒故事劇場」為核心的「藝術語文綜合課程」( 劉秀清，2010)。但是，在推行

「幼兒故事劇場」的過程中，筆者遇到了一些問題與困難，例如：幼稚園教師對「幼兒故事劇場」的教學是否具備適切的認知、認同與實踐的自信度？若要倡導「幼兒故事劇場」教學活動於各幼稚園內，又應如何發展及增強教師應用與實踐「幼兒故事劇場」的教學信念及興趣？為解答這些問題，筆者嘗試展開進一步的個案研究。本文將首先進行文獻綜述，從兒童發展觀、教師教學角色與應用、幼兒學習特性等方

面探討「幼兒故事劇場」的適切性，然後詳細滙報個案研究的過程與結果，最後進行分析與討論。

文獻綜述戲劇與「幼兒故事劇場」

戲劇是創作及表演的藝術，是安排演員在舞臺上扮演給觀眾看的事宜，也是一個集體分工的表演藝術，活動流程多元、全方位而又片段獨立。幼兒戲劇是根據故事或劇本而由成人演給兒童觀賞的藝術活動，它具有行為上的

「無目的性」，有不可或缺的藝術精神，亦具遊戲活動的特質，其重點還是在於故事 (王添強、麥美玉，2002)。戲劇教學則運用了戲劇、劇



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場、創作與教育等多項技術整合與應用（張曉華，2004）。幼兒戲劇教育並非才藝教育，它亦極具創意，是每一個意念、每一個構思或每一個有形產品的創造力表現（Wallas, 1996）。

幼兒戲劇具有娛樂、心靈成長、教育發展、美學欣賞及未來觀眾培養等功能，而「幼兒故事劇場」的教學取向亦正是針對此五項價值。「幼兒故事劇場」是由老師或成人演出以作教學模式或方法，目的是希望能幫助孩子們瞭解及欣賞這類由對白及動作來敘述故事的藝術活動。對兒童文學而言，從講故事到變成戲劇的安排手法，及至歌舞遊戲成分較多的「幼兒故事戲劇」特別受兒童歡迎，也是藝術成就之所在 ( 曾西霸，2002)。幼兒認知有限，教材道具則越簡明及越符號化便越適宜有趣，若成人及老師善用教室及生活裡最簡便的現成道具 ( 黑、白板可變背景板，桌椅可變 ……)，在表演中達到兒童在遊戲中所達到的真實與信念的時候，就成為偉大演員了。

「幼兒故事劇場」的兒童發展適宜性每孩子都充滿了感性、主動性和無限精力，擅長肢體活動與創造，天天寓遊戲於生活。兒童藉著戲劇和角色把他們所讀、所說、所體驗或幻想以藝術形式表達出來，及發展其協作、溝通、創造、批判性思考、運用資訊科技、運算、解決問題、自我管理及研習等九項共通能力 (Judith O’Hare，王添強、麥美玉譯，2002)。「幼兒故事劇場」的教學活動能提供孩子語言 ( 身體及知覺語言 )、文字、情緒與社交等各項學習及應用機會而認知事物。幼兒的身體、心靈、感官、聲音、經驗、記憶和想像力等都是他們進行扮演的原始工具；而動作、形狀、感覺、知覺、溝通和角色都是其進行創造性肢體活動的基本要素。

戲劇也是孩子假設性的「替身」、「代入身份」或生命的另一面，而讓他能對事物的情緒( 喜歡、害怕、恐懼、哀傷或潛在情感）表露無遺。發展幼兒戲劇，可讓幼兒以自己的情感及觀點為發揮基礎，展開自由自在地想像，滿足其模仿性、虛構性、象徵性，並進一步地培養

其戲劇概念、認知與潛能。正如曾西霸所言：「兒童戲劇是站在兒童的立場，以兒童的觀點，從兒童角度去觀察兒童世界；在作品中反映兒童的心理狀態，尊重兒童的思維邏輯和思想，並充滿著兒童情感」 (曾西霸，2002，P.10)。在幼稚園倡導「幼兒故事劇場」教學活動是符合兒童發展適宜性的。

「幼兒故事劇場」的教育意義幼兒學習亦是幼兒生活經驗與實踐，而戲劇的最基本定義也就是「實踐生活」（Brian Way,1967，陳仁富譯，2001)。幼兒本性愛聽故事、說故事、創作故事、扮演故事（李輝，2007）。「幼兒故事劇場」的內容來自個人廣闊的生活經驗，包括每個人所接觸的家庭、社會、人、動物、大自然和事件。幼兒教學元素中常見的學習活動，如辦家家酒的角色扮演及音樂遊戲中所模仿的動物及人物等，又如主題教學中老師引導下的模擬活動等。不難發現孩子對這些活動的參與、投入及興奮度都很高。箇中原因便是：當表演者假裝它是真的，它就會真的發生了。不只是因為表演者正在假裝，而是表演者努力地演繹而使其他人瞭解到它是真的存在（林玫君、林珮如，2010）。對幼兒而言，還要考慮一種把藝術與遊戲融入劇情的戲劇 ( 岡田正章，1989)。若在教育過程中融入戲劇元素，幼兒便更能從戲劇欣賞、戲劇參與及戲劇遊戲中而實踐、經歷與學習。其實幼兒就是從戲劇創作、辦家家酒、角色扮演及模仿遊戲中不斷膨脹與延伸其有意義的學習 ( 胡寶林， 1994)。

「戲劇是關懷著每個人的獨特性及其人格的特質」( 王添強、許娜娜，2007，p.85)。幼兒能力尚淺，未能全面把故事全面演繹，而只可做到局部扮演，他們還需要老師在耳儒目染下以戲劇活動施教方式而把戲劇教育的價值、技巧與方法引入幼兒的學習生活與思維中。老師若是本著教育是關懷著每個人的發展（全人發展）的理念，其教學方法便應轉移及融入戲劇元素，以達致藝術語文綜合的課程內容與施行適宜性的教育價值。這情況下，老師便可成為學習者的學習首要教材，身教言教、行為典



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範、靈活變通、因材施教、因時制宜、關注個別差異者及倡導終身學習。

戲劇活動能夠達成教育意義，是因幼兒本身能在各種場合及關係中及在日常生活與學習過程中培養出來的 ( 岡田正章，1989)。老師若能讓幼兒從「幼兒故事劇場」的教學中掌握各學習範疇與內容、懂得欣賞「幼兒故事劇場」所推動的藝術教育元素，並從中掌握內容所帶出的各項知識、技能與態度，便能實踐有意義的教學了。

「幼兒故事劇場」教師的角色優質教師的教學觀是終身學習，亦要因材、因時及因情境而變通與尊重。在「幼兒故事劇場」中，教師所要準備及提供的不過是一個空間、一段時間、一組孩子、身邊隨手可得的實物或再用品。亦需要老師作為一位指導者，在時間、機會與引導方面發揮教師的主導作用。當然，教師只要放膽地引發演戲的趣味，孩子就會有出乎意料之外的回應與表現。因此，對於幼兒自行創作出的某種音樂、動作或節奏，教師應該欣賞，並讓所有幼兒一起參與一起學習 (Stecher, 1972，江惠蓮譯，1986)。

老師雖已獲教師認可資歷及已經驗無數的教學，但為了使教學理念與時並進而免至教學流於例行公事、甄循或枯竭，還要在進步中不斷求新、求變，以讓教者與學習者均樂在其中。本個案便是本著「幼兒故事劇場」的教學取向與方法，倡導老師努力實踐那活潑而樂在其中的戲劇教育於恆常的教學活動中。更重要的是幼教老師的想法應「以孩童為中心」而非「以戲劇為中心」去實踐「幼兒故事劇場」的學與教 (岡田正章，1989)。

經上述文獻分析，筆者認為，若要在本港幼稚園倡導和推廣「幼兒故事劇場」，可嘗試建立「幼兒故事劇場外展隊 (下稱「外展隊」)」，以進入幼稚園內推行「幼兒故事劇場」教學，“送戲入園”，以增強教師開展「幼兒故事劇場」的教學信念及興趣。下文將集中介紹「幼兒故事劇場外展隊」的先導個案研究及其成效。

個案研究上述文獻探討印証了「幼兒故事劇場」是符合幼兒發展適宜性及課程與教學的需要，亦是值得倡導的。但問題是：若要倡導「幼兒故事劇場」，應如何發展及增強各位幼師應用與實踐相關教學活動的自信及興趣？為此，筆者便以一所幼稚園作先導探討，並發出問卷以瞭解受試學校沿用的教學模式，老師的施教概念與方式及老師對開展「幼兒故事劇場」的認知、認同及興趣等，以作初步評估。

階段一：問卷調查研究參與的個案學校由導師於衆多相熟幼稚園中選出並致電邀請參加的。該校連校長、主任、級任老師及助理老師合共十位教學人員接受參與並填寫問卷。問卷結果顯示其中三位已修畢幼教學位，六位已修畢幼教的教育証書或高級文憑專業資歷，另一位是 QKT 的資歷。八位具十年以上的幼教年資，其餘一位幼教年資是三至五年，另一位只一年。四位任教幼兒班，兩位任教幼低班，另三位則任教幼高班。問卷的個人資料顯示了受試學校教學人員的專業資歷及教學年資屬理想及高水平。

至於個案實踐學校十位教學人員對幼兒課程的教學理念與取向、對「藝術語文綜合課程」課程意義的認知與認同性，其數據分析結果是：

1. 十位中只有兩位是明確及正面表示非常同意或同意其對「藝術語文綜合課程」的課程意義、認知與認同性，其餘八位均表示欠缺認知與認同性 (佔大多數 )。

2. 當問及受試者對幼兒故事劇場的教學意義與運作的清晰程度，也只有三位表示非常同意或同意，其餘七位均表示欠清晰 ( 屬大多數 )。也有一位對幼兒故事劇場的教學與運作特別感興趣、是認同及有信心實踐的，其他九位均表示欠實踐的興趣與信心 (表3)。

3. 所有受試者均表示校方現時課程設計及教學模式並非基於「藝術語文綜合課程」或「幼兒



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故事劇場」而開展的。當中亦有八位表示對幼兒故事劇場的課程意義與運作仍需要更進一步瞭解與探討及加強實踐，似乎在興趣、認同方面亦感覺良好。但在開展信心方面亦欠經驗及自信。

筆者對上述反應的分析是：以此個案幼稚園為例，即使全體老師已具良好的幼教專業資歷與經驗，亦從不同培訓課程中學習了幼兒課程及學與教的知識與技能，他們對校本課程發展仍欠彈性、發揮與創意，誤以為把藝術綜合及以「幼兒故事劇場」融入其恆常教學活動會是另一種新的課程取向或新的教學法，因此會偏於保守及未能大膽嘗試。

當以開放式提問其對實踐幼兒故事劇場教學與運作的最大顧慮是什麽時，十位老師的主要顧慮包括：對「幼兒故事劇場」的教學認識不多，較難推行。既顧慮其對學校的辦學理念及宗旨是否配合，又建議先有適切的培訓給各教師。至於資源、時間、老師人手安排及課程緊密度等亦成為其中的顧慮。部份老師更認為學校已有固定的校本課程及教學模式，亦顧慮到某些主題會否難以採用「幼兒故事劇場」表達及傳授，對推行技巧亦欠信心。筆者的分析是：採用任何的課程及教學法也是要投入資源、時間、人手與培訓等，問題是以何種課程及教學取向對幼兒最有利的，便要放膽嘗試及積極探索與實踐。正如本章文獻概述中所帶出的觀點：每孩子都充滿了感性、主動性和無限的精力，並能源源不斷地施展這份心靈的魔力，編織成多采多姿、變化萬千的奇妙世界。時間、空間、機會與引導也是需要老師的提供，成人只需要一個空間、一段時間、一羣孩子、身邊隨手可用的實物或再用物料和作為一位模範者及指導者便可實踐（Stecher, 1972）。而動作、形狀、感覺、知覺、溝通和角色等，都是進行

「幼兒故事劇場」及創造性肢體活動的基本要素。老師應該欣賞並開展「幼兒故事劇場」的教學活動，讓所有的幼兒參與其中並愉快學習。

最後，十位受試者亦回應了對實踐「幼兒故事劇場」的課程與運作的其他意見，如：需

事前仔細安排每位幼兒的角色、工作，編排及分工需詳細考慮，以便活動流暢進行。學校的資源，各方面的配合是相當重要，急趕的課程和活動時間令幼兒或老師亦無法投入及享受教學活動當中。筆者非常同意要仔細安排及詳細考慮，但認為課程急趕可能是欠創意、欠彈性及未能重整固有的課程及教學內容與方法。若課程設計與施行能「拆牆鬆綁而不致架牀疊屋」，則實踐「藝術語文綜合課程」及「幼兒故事劇場」的教學活動既符合兒童發展適宜性，亦是課程指引所倡導的音、體、美綜合的統整課程，更是活動教學及藝術教學的交流。

上述問卷調查與分析討論顯示了受試學校教師對「幼兒故事劇場」的認知、認同與實踐的自信度屬低，對相關教學信念、興趣及技巧亦欠缺。這亦衍生了筆者另一想法及建議：若要倡導「幼兒故事劇場」教學活動於各幼稚園內，可考慮組織及建立「幼兒故事劇場外展隊」進入幼稚園內開展「幼兒故事劇場」教學，注入新思維、活潑及可塑性高的「準教師團隊」以支援及增強教學人員的認知、認同與實踐的教學信念及興趣。筆者於是設計、組織及建立「外展隊」作先導個案探討，並報告其過程及分享其實踐成效。

階段二：建立「外展隊」 1.組隊因應第一階段問卷調查結果，我們建議組織「外展隊」進入幼稚園內，以應用及演繹「幼兒故事劇場」的綜合統整教學。本「外展隊」的組織是由筆者於香港教育學院所教班級中動議並甄選具素質的學員 ( 準老師 ) 為義務參與者而作實踐的起點。目的是藉「外展隊」而進入幼稚園內作教學應用、實踐與演繹，藉此鼓勵

「外展隊員」將課堂所學知識轉化到「幼兒故事劇場」的教學模式中。他們既掌握了各項幼兒課程及學與教的基本知識、技能與態度，亦屬可塑性高及具新思維。因此，只需要導師加以統籌、組織、指導及與各幼稚園作運作上的聯繫，他們便可順暢有效地開展整個行動。



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2.選材導師首先與「外展隊」商議及選取坊間故事材料並共同改編故事而成劇本，過程中一起創作、排練及到幼稚園課堂中作教學活動的演繹。題材以故事改編或自創原則，內容則環繞著幼兒生活 (衣、食、住、行 ) 、自理、常規、情緒、行為、品格操守、健康安全、認知與生命教育及道德教育等。為平衡各隊伍成員的工作量，計劃設定每隊每學年只安排到校實踐一或兩次。每月只安排一隊到學校實踐一次。連同到校實踐與反思，每「外展隊」與導師面談、會議、設計及排練合共三次，每次約兩小時便完結，部份工作則可在網上或電話聯絡，或個別於家中自行完成 (例：資料搜集、熟讀及練習劇本、準備及製作道具等 )。實踐場地及情境為接納參與是項計劃幼稚園的活動室。實踐對像是參與是項計劃幼稚園的高班學生。這亦反映了個案行動可以非常精簡收效，務求實際可行及達標率高。

(表1：幼兒故事劇場 - 先導計劃 )

階段三：實施活動以本文分享的個案為例：導師先統籌「外展隊一」的三位學員進行首次會議以確定活動的意義、目標、期望及各工作與各人角色的分工等。經商議達成共識後，筆者便選取有關故事繪本並按故事內容而編寫劇本「大雨嘩啦啦」(表4 - 劇本 ) 。再以電郵方式寄出劇本的確定版本讓隊員各自在彈性時間及地點閱稿及練習，設計、預備及製作各自相關的道具、物資與場景。再於下次會議時 (約兩星期後 ) 共同商議、提出改善之處及作集體排練與跟進下次彩排及到校實踐的細節 (包括場景、音響、拍攝、反思及評估的分工與準備 - 詳情參閱表 1/ 表2)。具體的教學內容、藝術元素及演繹方法與流程則可參閱附件劇本的首部份及演出部份 (表4)。

本個案是於二零一三年一月完成的「幼兒故事劇場 -大雨嘩啦啦」，其運作流程與方法正如上述所言：是由筆者以個案形式而漸進地探究、倡導、培訓及強化「外展隊」於幼稚園實踐

「幼兒故事劇場」的教學技巧。「外展隊」若懂得拿捏幼兒那好奇好幻想的學習心態，必能於恆常教學中開展那活潑的「幼兒故事劇場」。在完成「幼兒故事劇場」演繹後，筆者亦與原校老師及「外展隊」作成效評估及演繹分析 ( 表 4 反思部份 )，通過交流及互動而向學校帶出「幼兒故事劇場」的教學理念與可實踐性。以「外展隊」引入「幼兒故事劇場」的教學方法亦是希望老師們能有自信及興趣地經歷「從講故事到變成戲劇」的過程，從而掌握各教學範疇與內容的開展及演繹，懂得欣賞校本推動的藝術與教育元素。

個案反思於幼稚園恆常教學中發展「幼兒故事劇場」，本應是幼兒課程、教學及兒童發展適宜性的實務，這亦獲得不少文獻的引証與支持。然而，因本港幼兒課程與教學均較偏重學術學習、教師主導及家長填鴨，亦造成了不少幼師對「幼兒故事劇場」教學的認知、認同與實踐自信度偏低，更加缺乏應用與實踐的信念及興趣。要影響這些幼稚園及教師，「外引式的課程領導」(筆者的角色 )及「外展隊」(正在培訓的準老師 ) 的介入、刺激與引証亦是可行的方案。若三方面配合及協作良好，「幼兒故事劇場」的教學便能按部引入各幼稚園的恆常教學中。

從計劃完成及演繹後的反思內容顯示「外展隊員」非常有創意與衝勁，不但對場景、道具的設計及製作簡單適切，運作收效，亦演繹活潑到位。原任老師們已經過正規培訓並具備豐富的教學經驗，若配合個人藝術素質的整合而應用所學於實際教學中是自然及可行的。如此看來，「外展隊員」及原校老師亦應有良好的溝通及協作，以發揮一己的興趣、能力與強項，更要勇於嘗試及敢於創新而充份開展「幼兒故事劇場」及「藝術綜合課程」於校本課程及學與教 (詳見表4反思部份 )。

若老師的信念是享受教學過程中的經驗與視野，認同能從嘗試創意教學中可掌握更多與

「幼兒故事劇場」及「藝術綜合課程」的相關知識、技巧與方法，那麽幼兒對學習亦會感到新



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奇專注，可能會有更多的參與及互動，亦能學習到學校及老師所設定的相關知識、技巧與態度。高班的幼兒更能從中學習作為觀衆的態度與禮儀，懂得欣賞而享受箇中樂趣與興奮的感覺，久而久之亦會不由自主及有自信地參與其中作演出者。再者，具素質的小觀衆及小演員並不單是課堂中的講述或訓練，應是在老師的

「幼兒故事劇場」教學演繹中及平日的「藝術綜合課程」學習情境中而經歷及享受著那潛移默化的薰陶與成長的樂趣。

從個案觀察評估可見，在場參與及協作的原校老師亦同意「幼兒故事劇場」及「藝術綜合課程」對幼兒的課程及學與教是適切及達到遊戲、藝術綜合與愉快學習的效果。他們的顧慮反而是對於校本的開展尚欠自信。為何這群已具專業培訓與教學經驗又每天都與幼兒生活的原任老師反而會對開展「幼兒故事劇場」及「藝術綜合課程」欠信心呢？又為何「外展隊員」反而具有如此的衝勁、興趣、能力與自信呢？這可能是校本因素吧。在這情況下，校長及課程主任等校內課程領導團隊便要加以思考、處理及支援。

參與個案的各持份者對「幼兒故事劇場 - 大兩嘩啦啦」的實踐過程、劇本內容與情節、藝術元素、學習方法、演繹手法與效果，及演繹者與觀眾間彼此的互動均感覺良好、合作愉快並樂在其中 ( 見表 4 反思部份 )。若幼稚園每天的課程、老師的教與幼兒的學都能融入遊戲、藝術綜合及「幼兒故事劇場」等元素，必能實現那愉快學習與樂在其中的校園生活了。

總結「幼兒故事劇場」切合兒童心理、關心衝突問題及素材選擇與轉換，極具多元教育意義與作用。「幼兒故事劇場」的教學模式則是由成人演繹給兒童觀賞的戲劇，是有序地編排、以發展性形式而又要合乎邏輯性的開始、中段、結束等起、承、轉、合的鋪排。劇本則由主旨、情節、人物、對白的四大要素所編構而成。建議老師在開展「幼兒故事劇場」的教學活動時，對劇情與內容的選擇可由故事改編，亦可自行

或集體創作 (幼兒及家長也可參與其中 ) 。老師可與幼兒先讀或講事，再把故事改編為劇本，亦可與幼兒進行集體創作或組織親子創作。內容、流程及結局要符合懸疑、驚奇、意外、滿足等原則，亦要兼顧幼兒的年齡、時代、經驗、心理需要及審美等能力與因素 ( 以本個案

「外展隊一」為例 )。

以戲劇教育而言，筆者亦建議教師有堅定與堅持的信念及態度，充份發揮個人的課程設計理念與教學技巧。例如：教師應在計劃時能按課程及學生能力、興趣與需要；更要考慮班級需要、學生背景及團體動力而設定教學目標、進度與成效標準；然後作出適度執行機制及流程的安排 (從問卷調查可見部幼教師仍須鼓勵推動及剌激 )。因此，課程領導的鼓勵、支持與配合，教學團隊的創意思維、開放式的課程觀及勇於創新與嘗試便是成功開展「幼兒故事劇場」的關鍵因素 (「外展隊一」的實踐 )。若學校資源許可，可聘用藝術專業老師以統籌及領導校本的戲劇教育與課程。其他建議就以「外展隊一」的經驗為例吧！當經驗了大雨嘩啦啦的「人戲」演繹後，亦可承接著隊員、老師對劇本的熟練而作再演策劃，以同一劇本而製作成

「布偶」、「戲偶」、「皮偶」……等多元的表達方法。這樣，無論對演繹者 (老師 ) 及觀賞者 (幼兒 ) 都會有新的學習、體會與啟發 ( 表4反思部份 )。

最後，筆者亦很感謝各方面的協作，使計劃的起、承、轉、合及整體運作均順暢與達標，計劃團隊亦能按計劃而開展及達至所設目標。參與幼稚園的最大問題是對著目前的課程及教學而日忙夜忙、欠新思維與全面性的反思，這次「外展隊」的方案便是問題解決的參考。「外展隊員」的最大問題是很忙 ( 可能是兼顧上課、學習、交功課及實習事宜 )，然而筆者能把個案設計與運作以簡易程序的處理，及引導各方協作良好而解決了這存在的問題。幼稚園的原任老師與「外展隊」計劃的互動互補、彼此交流及進行持續性的支援與協作，對「幼兒故事劇場」及「藝術語文綜合課程」的持續發展與推廣，亦必能產生正面性的成效！



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參考書目劉秀清(2010)。藝術語文綜合課程初探-兒童為本、遊戲、建構與藝術語文綜合的校本課程發展。香港：香港

教育學院。江惠蓮譯(Katrina Van Tassel, Millie Greimann著)( 2010)。創造性肢體活動。臺北市：信誼基金會。林玫君、林佩如譯 (Barbara Salisbury Wills著)( 2010)。創作性兒童戲劇進階教室中的表演藝術課程。臺北市 :

心理出版社股份有限公司。王添強、許娜娜(2007)。戲劇教育計劃資料冊。香港：明日藝術教育機構：香港浸會大學兒童發展研究中

心。王添強、麥美玉(2002)。戲偶在樂園。臺北: 成長文教基金。李輝(2007）。故事綜合活動教學法:課程與教學。香港：牛津大學出版社。陳仁富譯 (Ruth Beall Heinig著)(2001)。即興表演家喻戶曉的故事:戲劇與語文教學的融合。台北市 : 心理出

版社股份有限公司。張曉華(1999)。創作性戲劇原理與實作。臺北：成長文教基金。岡田正章(1999)。幼稚園戲劇活動教學設計。臺北：武陵出版社。曾西霸(1988)。兒童戲劇編寫散論。臺北：富春文化。胡寶林(1994)。戲劇與行為表現力。臺北：遠流出版社。嚴吳嬋霞(1987)。繪圖：辜昭平。大雨嘩啦啦。香港：新雅文化事業有限公司。



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項目重點及步驟備註

對象幼稚園及學前機構的幼兒 (2 - 6歲 )、教師及家長：先以一校作先導個案

方法問卷、觀察及訪問：瞭解學校沿用的課程取向及教學模式 /老師的施教方式、概念與信念。

目標引入「幼兒故事劇場」而改變其課堂教學文化；啟發老師對教學的彈性及靈活性；與學校一起開發「幼兒故事劇場」表演藝術的教學文化；藉著：選取坊間故事而改編或創作劇本、設計及製作導具等，並

編寫劇本而發展幼兒故事劇場。定期排練；到校施教 ( 演出 )；藉此先導研究經驗而發展其他更多個案 ( 約 5-6 個 )；再把過程及結果結集成文章或書刊；向業界發報及分享。

導師引導團隊建構與共識

題材/內容

以故事改編或自創原則，內容則包括幼兒生活 ( 衣、食、住、行 )、自理常規、情緒行為、品格操守、健康安全、認知與生命教育及道德教育……等。

可配合幼稚園的教學主題或本土節日、時令與習俗

時段/進度

個案 (一 ) xxx幼稚園行動1：筆者到校觀察訪談 - 見訪談問題及統計數據行動 2：與「外展隊一」會議 1 - 共同計劃、準備、劇本編寫及排

練，跟進會議 2 - 道具場景設計與製作、準備及整體排練行動3：採排、到校實踐 (演出 )、拍攝、觀察記錄、評估反思及內

容文本化。

會議：項目：介紹 / 試能力/分工故事：大雨嘩啦啦其他：……

團隊筆者及「外展隊一」HD職前學生：三位 (梁xx/ 余xx/ 方xx) ；義務及自願性

註：每個案進行兩次會議作策劃的溝通、共識、故事取材、劇本編寫、分工、基本排練及綵排等工作；亦同步進行反思的設計、組織與聯繫各幼稚園以情商其參與意向及安排細節，跟著便是「外展隊」到校開展「幼兒故事劇場」的教學實踐。到校實踐時亦同步安排拍照、錄影、觀察、記錄、課後反思及成品製作等會議與工作。

表1：幼兒故事劇場-由先導計劃到全面推廣



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會議日期場地成員(職前HD組) 重點其他

會議1 6/11/2012 (2-3:30)

B4/1-F/05 劉導師 /方 /梁 /余

計劃簡介 / 影片欣賞 ( 白雪公主 )/ 瞭解故事及劇本內容 / 試講故事

《大雨嘩啦啦》/角色分配 / 導具創作設計、分工與建議

每成員已取劇本初稿

會議2 19/12/2012 (3-4:30)

B4/1-F/05 劉導師 /方 /梁 /余

《大雨嘩啦啦》- 角色揣摩、演繹與掌握 / 導具製作的跟進及完成、確定與一些樣版產出 / 排練

更新劇本

資料搜集1

Dec/2012 Jan/2013

劉導師 / 訪談 / 觀察記錄 / 問卷調查 - 校長/ 教師

資料分析

演出 /演後反思

16/1/2012 PM

大埔KG 劉導師 /方 /梁 /余(演員 )/ 潘 (錄影 )

導具製作 / 最後對稿 / 綵排 / 演出前的物料檢視 / 實地演出 / 故事錄音 / 戲劇錄映演後檢討及下回計劃 (校長 / 教師 / 幼兒 / 外展隊 )

費用支付 / 準備錄音/ 錄映機 / 所有導具

表2：職前培訓組(HD)-大雨嘩啦啦工作備忘

表3：



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表4-劇本劇本(首部份)

「幼兒故事劇場」個案實踐一：音、體、美綜合(話劇/歌劇)-大雨嘩啦啦

原著：大雨嘩啦啦 (人戲 + 紙偶)

目標：本計劃與活動的發展動機是探討：幼教老師在實踐「藝術語文綜合課程」中，對採用「幼兒故事劇場」作為恆常教學活動的信念/認同/興趣/能力與自信度。

劇團組織：導師及三位職前培訓HD.ECE準老師共四人。

故事：大雨嘩啦啦 (故事取材) 作者：嚴吳嬋霞繪圖：辜昭平

出版：新雅文化事業有限公司 (香港) 年份：1987年11月成員：職前培訓組 (HD)

演出： 16 Jan 2013 地點：大埔xxx幼稚園

故事簡介：嘩啦啦是雷神的女兒，她每天吃很多碗飯。吃飽了，嘴巴髒髒的，又不抹乾淨便跑去玩。她最喜歡玩泥巴，把一雙手弄得又黑又髒也不肯洗。風哥哥和太陽伯伯勸她把臉洗乾淨，她也不肯洗。突然，有閃閃電光出現，嘩啦啦就立刻去洗臉了！為甚麽呢？

主旨：注意健康飲食及清潔衛生習慣，聽長輩說話。初步給幼兒帶出風雨雷電/雨後天睛/七色彩虹的概念。

對象： 5-6歲班 (K3/ 29位)

課程領域：藝術/文化/語文/常識

教學目標：聆聽/參與/互動/回應/提出角色/從中掌握相關知識、技能、態度/ ……「幼兒故事劇場」是由老師/ 成人演繹給幼兒欣賞及學習為主

編劇：劉導師 (人物/動作/對白/劇情結構/主題/場景/時間 ……)

導演：劉導師 (任何動作都是導演的工作，他會根據現場決定，編劇無需過慮)。

場景：導師+演員 (天宮吊掛4x6藍白色布幕/ 面譜 -風/太陽/雷神；地舖天藍色薄布/台前一大片白卡紙白雲/乾冰/風扇輕吹動布幕與雲層)

演員：大雨嘩啦啦/(余-中國服飾) /風哥哥/藍色(梁-頭飾/薄膠片+絲帶/薄藍披肩)/太陽伯

角色：伯/紅色(方-卡紙頭飾)/雷神爸爸/灰黑色(方-鬚+胸前閃電標誌+電光聖誕銀飾物)/嘩啦啦媽媽(方-中式棉背心)/七位紙版彩虹姐姐/七彩(方/梁/余)/小朋友(現場全體)

道具：方/梁/余- 面譜 (風/太陽/雷神) /黑白布巾多條(雲) /七色彩虹布條(吊掛)/一片大雲彩(白膠袋)/ 布偶(嘩啦啦/媽媽/風/太陽/雷神)/飯碗/洗臉盤/下雨(紙碎/條) 噴水壺/ 飯碗/ 輕巧鞋跟角色配色

音樂：余 (風/雨/雷/電)的配音或音樂《xxx》/嬉戲玩樂的背景音樂《xxx》/高興及的完滿結局音樂《xxx》/沉思無奈的音樂《xxx》/驚恐的音樂《xxx》。

配音：余 (行雷閃電/大雨/風/七色彩虹的出現)

燈光：劉導師(神秘幽暗-關燈/風雨雷電-電筒+灰藍光紙/雨後天清-亮燈/彩虹+七彩色紙)



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劇本(演出部份)

「幼兒故事劇場」個案實踐一：音、體、美綜合(話劇/歌劇)-大雨嘩啦啦

演出時段：16/1/2013 (15-20分鐘)

演員互動/引入演出：

自我介紹 (角色的個性特徵) /一群小朋友(小雞/鴨)在嬉戲玩樂(背景音樂《氣氛及景況》- 現場互動體能/律動/舞蹈/歌唱(出示字圖卡)：健腦操/ 手指操。互動提問：什麽情況才會下雨？(軍𠾐軍𠾐雷聲響/嘩啦嘩啦大雨下/呱呱呱呱青蛙叫)啲啲嗒/落大雨啦…。怎麽很久都沒有下雨呢 (求雨舞)？帶出了(風/雨/雷/電)的話題；並提議到天宮看一看(而準備這兩首歌作見面禮)。

開始演出：舞臺中央前排擺放一大片雲彩(嘩啦啦坐在上面邊玩邊吃)，在舞臺的旁邊擺放一些泥堆、石塊、田地、植物等道具。同時播放背景音樂《xxx》。嘩啦啦吃完再嬉戲玩樂。

旁白方：很久很久以前，天上住著一個雷神的女兒，名字叫嘩啦啦。(嘩啦啦出場及扮演以下行為)嘩啦啦每天吃很多碗飯。吃飽了，嘴巴髒髒的，也不抹乾淨，便跑去玩耍。嘩啦啦最喜歡泥巴，把一雙手弄得又黑又髒，也不洗淨，便往臉上擦。(離場)

風哥哥：（看不過眼），「大花臉，不洗臉，羞不羞」？(出場)

嘩啦啦︰唔羞，唔羞。你吹得動我，我才肯去洗臉！

旁白方︰風哥哥拼命的吹吹吹，但係嘩啦啦就好似一座小山，動也不動。

(風哥哥/嘩啦啦扮演行為/現場互動)

風哥哥︰（氣呼呼地）「哼！我請太陽伯伯來對付你，睇你怕唔怕？

旁白方︰太陽伯伯出來了，他露著笑臉對嘩啦啦說 ……(太陽出場)

太陽伯伯：好孩子，乖乖的把臉洗乾淨，讓我親親你。(太陽扮演行為)

嘩啦啦︰不要，不要，我偏不愛乾淨，看你能把我怎樣？

太陽伯伯︰ (有點生氣，漲紅著臉）唉！你這孩子真不聽話，我請你爸爸來教訓你。

雷神：「隆！隆！隆！」(遠處傳來雷聲/再走出來舞動閃電) / (隆聲完後進場)

旁白梁︰雷神爸爸生氣的時候，便發出使人害怕的聲響。他還揮動著一條鞭子，每拍打一下，便發出閃閃的雷光。(雷神出場扮演行為)

旁白梁︰嘩啦啦遠遠聽到爸爸的吼叫聲，又睇到一閃一閃的雷光，知道爸爸在發怒，不禁害怕起來。(嘩啦啦扮演行為)

嘩啦啦︰ (輕輕地說)爸爸，我立即就去洗臉啦。(雷神離場)

嘩啦啦︰ (順手拉下天空一塊白雲，往臉上擦一下，白雲立即變了黑抹布)。咦，真的很髒呢！(嘩啦啦扮演行為)



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旁白梁︰嘩啦啦把每塊白雲都在臉上擦一下，於是滿天的白雲都變了黑雲。媽媽看見了，向她招手說 ……(媽媽出場扮演行為)

媽媽：嘩啦啦，你把所有的臉巾都弄髒了，快來幫我洗乾淨吧！(媽媽離場？)

嘩啦啦︰得啦！好野，連忙把臉巾洗淨，起初把洗臉巾的水扭下地上。(繼續洗/繼續扭/噴水)

小朋友︰嘩下雨啦！開心雀躍地玩水又唱歌(動員全體觀衆互動：啲啲嗒小/大雨落下來/啲啲小/大雨落下來)共2次

嘩啦啦︰等我來倒水呀！然後再把水盆的水傾倒而下。(繼續洗/繼續倒水/嘖水)

小朋友︰水從天上倒下來(地上的小朋友拍手呼叫)下大雨啦，下大雨啦，我們可以玩水啦！開心雀躍地玩水又唱歌(落大雨啦，雞仔貪玩冷到傷風真真慘！‘論盡’鴨仔開心生猛‘論盡’撐開小雨傘。雞仔貪玩(吱吱)、鴨仔生猛(呷呷)、青蛙水裏跳高欄(咯咯)。又遇著母雞今天生蛋(咯咯)，五隻小雞通處逛(吱吱/呷呷/呱呱/咯咯)。(預先錄音/再現場互動/出示字圖卡)

旁白梁︰嘩啦啦看到小朋友玩得那麼高興，便把一盆一盆的水倒下來，直到媽媽說 ……(媽媽出場扮演行為)

媽媽︰好啦，夠了，夠了，不要浪費有用的水。(繼續整理物料)

旁白梁︰這時七位彩虹姐姐也出來了，她們搭成一個彎彎的大衣架，讓嘩啦啦把臉巾掛上。(出示相關道具/掛臉巾)/(風/大陽出場)

風哥哥和太陽伯伯：

看見嘩啦啦把臉洗乾淨，都稱讚她好看得多了。乖，好乾淨呀，讓我們親親吧！(全體繼續站場)

導師︰可是，從此以後，嘩啦啦是不是每天都洗臉呢？那就不知道了。只知道每隔一段時間，天上就會嘩啦啦的下一場雨！七位彩虹姐姐也都會出現。我仲知道，每當嘩啦啦聽話並能自己洗臉及合作洗淨臉巾時，雨水就會落在地上，而小朋友就可以痛快地跑到戶外玩水啦！

謝幕：全體演員 + 戲偶，持導具

反思： (現場觀察、面談與互動的重點撮寫)

幼兒：幼兒對本個案的演繹懂得欣賞，能專注對白與動作的表達並作出適切的回應與互動。對內容所帶出的概念：風/雨/雷/電 …… 等亦感好奇及有更多提問。

導師：若是原任老師實踐此個案，必能更方便於授後的跟進活動(例如：與幼兒再創作與改編劇本，以皮偶或布偶再演而讓幼兒也參與部份演出；亦可按內容而創作兒歌、歌唱、謎語等遊戲及學習活動)……



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原任老師：明白這教學方法會更生動有趣，幼兒亦更可專注及愉快學習。我們有時也用這方法，但不全面，值得參考！可是學校的課程很多、很急趕，人手亦有限。「外展隊」因沒有這些局限，可以更順暢有效地開展 ……

導師：若對幼兒及幼教專業有意義及有興趣的，校本課程領導及各持份者便需要正視問題，看如何在有意義的課程與教學取向及現況的問題中作出平衡、取捨及給予更多嘗試的鼓勵與支援……

「外展隊」：

此經驗能把學習與理論轉化於實踐中，導師在當中作全天候的引導、參與及支援，是一次難得的機會！當中學習與體驗了很多 (例如：故事的取材、劇本的編寫、以戲劇發展為教學活動的基本知識與技巧、如何是兒童中心的表達與演繹、如何與不同教學團隊協作、道具及場景的製作、準備與安排) ……

導師：「外展隊」的行動與介入是順暢收效的。期望他們從中對課程及教學技巧能鞏固、體驗及掌握更多、更深及更廣。「外展隊」在參與教學時的局限性低、可塑性及發揮性大，易收到預期成效與滿足感，而對原校老師也起著刺激性的作用。再者「外展隊」成員若能正向地應用所學於他日入職的幼稚園恆常教學中，對業界而言，此計劃也是一項長期性的課程及教學素質的培育(新思維的投放) ，值得持續發展與推廣……

當經驗了大雨嘩啦啦的「人戲」演繹後，亦可承接著隊員、老師對劇本的熟練而作再演策劃，以同一劇本而製作成「布偶」、「戲偶」、「皮偶」…… 等多元的表達方法。這樣，無論對演繹者 (老師) 及觀賞者 (幼兒) 都會有新的學習、體會與啟發。



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Negotiating the Meaning of the Green School 綠色學校意義的研討

Ailin IWAN


AbstractThis paper aims to discuss and analyze different interpretations of green school. Green school is a negotiable and debatable concept that there is no universal definition or set of criteria for a green school (Moore, 2008). There are two main streams of understanding of green school. One-stream views green school as architecture that is constructed in an environmental-friendly manner (Kobet, 2009; Nykos, 2012). Another stream views green school as green education (Zhang, 2004; Jiao & Zeng, 2004; Tang, 2004). Examples of organizations that follow these diverging perspectives such as United States Green Building Council and Environmental Campaign Committee Hong Kong are presented in this paper. The benefits of green school physical building and green education are also discussed.

摘要本文旨在討論和分析對綠色學校的不同理解。綠色學校是一個有待探討的概念，此概念目前沒有通用的定義或標準(Moore,2008）。對於綠色學校主要有兩種不同的解釋。一種觀點將綠色學校視為以環境友好的方式構造的建築（Kobet,2009；Nykos,2012）。另一種觀點將綠色學校解釋為綠色教育（Zhang,2004；Jiao & Zeng,2004；Tang,2004）。本文例舉了遵循這些不同觀點的機構，如美國綠色建築委員會和香港環境運動委員會；並分別討論了綠色學校建築和綠色教育的好處。

Introduction The “green school” is a negotiable and a debatable concept with no universal definition or set of criteria (Moore, 2008). In America, the green school movement is influenced strongly by major initiatives such as the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools, Collaborative for High Performance Schools, and the Department of Energy’s Rebuild America Schools Program (Kobet, 2009). These initiatives focus on building’s energy consumption. In China, the concept of green school is loosely defined as a school that progresses its management continuously, updates its teaching tools, and reduces its operating expenses to improve its energy efficiency gradually under the direction of sustainable development (Zhang,

2004). This paper aims to discuss and analyze various interpretations of the concept of the green school from the perspectives of different scholars and organizations.

The Overlapping Interpretation The understanding of the green school in terms of the physical building often overlaps with the understanding of green education in terms of curriculum. The interpretation of a green school varies based on different organizations that propagate its establishment. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) defines “green” as the physical hardware of the school. This is usually referred to as the school premises, which is designed to be environmentally friendly and to follow the LEED rating scale. On the other hand,



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the Environmental Campaign Committee Hong Kong (ECC-HK) defines green school with an understanding similar to green education, that is the practice of sustainable education through curriculum, environmental management, and parents’ participation.

The Interpretation of the Green School as Green Building

According to USGBC, green schools are educational institutions designed in accordance with LEED requirements. LEED is the leading U.S. green building standard that has been adopted by many federal states and local governments and private developers, not only in the U.S. but also worldwide (Nyikos et al, 2012). The idea of green schools derives from the design of green buildings. Apart from the aesthetic point of view, the architecture of a green building is the practice of assembling structures in a process both environmentally responsible and resource efficient. The building will be operated in energy-efficient manner throughout its life cycle. The building’s life cycle respectfully analyzes and integrates site selection through design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction.

LEED can be applied to any building at any point in the building’s lifecycle. In order to measure whether a building has reached the requirement of a high performance green building, as defined by LEED, every LEED rating system has performance criteria in seven major areas:

• Sustainable site ~ is the selected site able to maximize sustainability?

• Water efficiency ~ what can one do to save on landscaping water use and interior water use?

• Energy and atmosphere ~ how can one save

energy, reduce energy costs, and encourage green energy development and use?

• Materials and resources ~ are the building materials sustainable for the environment, and where does the waste go?

• Indoor environmental quality ~ how can one increase the productivity, satisfaction, and health of the occupants?

• Innovation in design (or operations) ~ what can one discover that is not in the rating system to add even further value to the project?

• Regional priority ~ are the regionally important issues such as water conversion in the region? (Green Building Education Service, 2009).

The above major areas form the benchmark for the LEED rating system. The USGBC awarded LEED credits for incorporating sustainable designs features into the building site, energy efficiency, material use, in-door environment quality (IEQ) and water. Depending on the number of credits earned, a building can achieve a bronze, silver, gold, or platinum certification level (USGBC, 1999). The procedure stars when developers register their buildings before the commencement of the design phase to comply with the USGBC certification level. For instance, the Centennial Campus at the University of Hong Kong received LEED platinum certification.

The term “green building” is often used as a synonym for sustainable construction and high-performance building. High-performance buildings are designed and built to minimize resource consumption, reduce life cycle costs, maximize health and productivity for the building’s occupants and improve environmental performance (Green Building Education Service, 2009). The practice of green building aims to reduce negative impacts on both the environment and human health and is therefore more sustainable than conventional construction methods (Johansson, 2011). The California Sustainable Building Task Force and the U.S. Green Building Council highlight the benefits of sustainable building as a cost-effective investment. They observe that:

“Integrating sustainable or ‘green’ building



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practices into the construction of state buildings is a solid financial investment and that a minimal upfront investment of about 2 percent of construction costs typically yields life-cycle savings of over 10 times the initial investment” (Chapman, 2012, p.42).

Nykos et al. (2012) found that the operating costs in LEED certified buildings were US$0.70 per-square foot less than those in non-LEED buildings; energy costs were 31 percent lower, and cost premiums ranged from 2.5 to 9.4 percent with a mean of 4.1 percent. This means that LEED buildings are more energy efficient in comparison with non-LEED buildings.

The LEED for schools is the recognized third party that evaluates the standard for high performance schools that are healthy for students, comfortable for teachers, and cost-effective. Its rating system was developed to address design and construction starting with K-12 schools. Based on LEED for New Construction, it focuses on classroom acoustics, master planning, environment site assessment and other issues important to these buildings. The LEED for schools provides a comprehensive tool for designers who build green with measurable results by recognizing the uniqueness of school spaces and their occupants (www.usgbc.org). Even though the upfront cost in maintaining a green building may be more expensive than for a regular building, the benefits out weight the upfront cost. The practice expands and also complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort (Green Building Education Service, 2009). Research shows that environmentally sustainable schools can increase academic achievement, decrease behavior challenges and attrition, improve morale, and prepare students for the 21st century workforce, while helping to restore the environment (Chapman, 2012).

Green schools can also be laboratories for children to learn in, because the building themselves can display sustainable development. Schools that are built as green buildings can provide healthier environments for children to learn in. Kobet

(2009) points out that high-performance green schools should be seen as assets to the community. According to Kobet (2009), there have been several studies indicating energy efficiency and lowering operation and maintenance costs as major factors in a district’s decision to invest in a high performance green school. If the school is energy efficient, in part because it is replete with effective day lighting, and enjoys superior indoor air quality, the potential for healthier, more productive children increases (Kobet, 2009). Kobet also suggests that we should invest in high performance green schools realizing that the facility and its site can be used as an extension of the curriculum. It can be more effective to teach children about sustainability by having them experience attending a green school (building).

The Interpretation of the Green School as Green Education

Published articles on green schools from Chinese scholars have indicated that their interpretation of green school is green education. The environmental education and “green school” establishment are an important means and basic tool to enhance students’ environmental awareness (Tang, 2004). According to Tang, the green school movement started more than a decade ago in China. The effort to promote green schools consists of teaching and launching environmental education, environmental protection campaigns in the community, inviting experts to visit schools to exchange experiences, offering guidance, delivering lectures and present reports, and providing resources for environmental education.

Jiao and Zeng (2004) highlight the major characteristics of green schools in China as follows:

1) Students must be able to master environmental protection related content in their study materials

2) Teachers and students should be highly conscious of the environment



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3) A school ought to be an active participant in activit ies related to environmental surveillance, communications, and education that involve the entire society

4) Campus environments must kept clean and pleasant

Jiao and Zeng (2004) also believe that the green school campaign will play a pivotal role in raising environmental awareness in young people through establishing excellent role models in environmental ethics and behaviors through improving the quality of education in China. There are activities to introduce sustainability to children such as growing vegetables and building butterfly sanctuaries. Tang (2004) suggests that teachers should not only organize students to be involved in “green” or cleaning work but that they should also pay attention to the environmental awareness concept. She elaborates her point by arguing that only in this way students be able to internalize sustainable concepts into voluntary environmental protection behavior and sound moral quality.

One organization that interprets the green school as green education is the Environmental Campaign Commit tee , Hong Kong (ECC-HK). Established in 1990, ECC-HK aims at arousing public awareness and enhancing public understanding of environmental issues as well as encouraging people’s active participation in working together for a better, livable Hong Kong. Over the years, ECC-HK has organized numerous territory-wide environmental activities, including the Green School Award (http://www.ecc.org.hk). The objectives of the Hong Kong Green School Award are to encourage schools to formulate a school environmental policy and environmental management plan for a green school; enhance environmental awareness, develop environmentally friendly attitudes and promote green practices among school managers, teachers, non-teaching staff, students, and their parents.

The winners of green school awards hosted by the ECC-HK often have nothing to do with the building design but rather with their green

education curriculum and how they create a green environment. One example is the ABC Kindergarten that won an outstanding green preschool award in 2013 for environmental management and environmental education. The three criteria they fulfilled to get the award are:

1) There were guidelines on waste reduction, green purchasing, water and electricity saving and no idling engine.

2) Environmental charters were signed by the students and teachers, and displayed in the classrooms.

3) Different environmental elements were incorporated into teaching according to specific grades. (http://school.ecc.org.hk/english/highlights/highlights_1.php?id=86)

Clearly, ECC-HK interprets the green school as a green curriculum, because the winners of their green preschool award are evaluated based on how they implement green education and not based on whether their building constructions follow the LEED guidelines.

G r e e n e d u c a t i o n a l s o e m b r a c e s t h e understanding of sustainable development. Sustainable development was defined by the World Conversation Union as “improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems”, which highlights enhancing the quality of human life while protecting the Earth’s capacity for the next generations (Ozturk, Olgan, and Gulder, 2012). The term “triple bottom line” has emerged as a way to describe sustainable development. It is the approach that is encouraged and supported by the United Nations and other organizations. The triple bottom line consists of three aspects: economic, environment, and social responsibility; these are also known as the three pillars of sustainable development and can be interpreted widely to mean people, profit, and planet. The focus on “people, profit, and planet” suggests that all organizational activities should take into account the human or social impacts, economic benefits,



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Organizations Supporting Green Education

There are many non-profit organizations that support the green education objectives. These organizations provide green education curricula to teachers and students. Some of these organizations are Facing the Future, Eco-Literacy, the Cloud Institute for Sustainable Education, and the Green School Initiative. Facing the Future allocates resources to 29 states in the United States and 42 other countries, and their curricula are used widely across several subject areas (Moore, 2008). Their mission is the creation of tools for educators who equip and motivate students to develop critical thinking skills, build global awareness, and engage in positive solutions for a sustainable future.

Eco-literacy is another non-profit organization that supports and advances education for sustainable living. It is known best for its work in school food reform and the integration of sustainable concepts into K-12 curricula. They claim to engage with educators from across North America and six other continents. Eco-Literacy offers books, film guides, and studies. It also conducts seminars, offers presentations at conferences and other events, and provides strategic consulting services to schools and neighborhood. Another organization, known as the Cloud Institute for Sustainable Education, aims to prepare K-12 school systems and their communities to educate sustainable future leaders. They try to inspire educators and engage students through meaningful learning objectives.

Lastly, the Green School Initiative is a non-profit organization with aims to support green actions by children, teachers, parents, and policy makers to reduce environmental footprints of schools by eliminating toxins, using resources sustainably, creating green schoolyards and buildings, serving healthy food, and teaching environmental literacy and stewardship.

Benefits of the Green School: Green Building and Green Education

Moore (2002) argues that the quality of the physical environments of early childhood centers

and consequences for the environment (Chapman, 2012).

The environmental pillar of sustainable development deals with “the drawbacks of depleting natural resources, increased greenhouse gas emissions, overflowing landfills, rising sea levels, and polluted waterways, focusing on how the poorest countries are the worst affected by these challenges in terms of poverty, migration, food, water scarcity, and health problems” (Siraj-Blatchford, Smith, & Pramling Samuelsson, 2010). The social and cultural pillar of sustainability contexts are, “Social, cultural, and political issues regarding participation, emancipation, freedom, security, solidarity, equality, and fairness that affect the quality and continuity of people’s lives, between individuals and groups within and beyond national borders and between generations” (Siraj-Blatchford et al.).

The OMEP (Organisation Mondiale pour l’ Education Prescolaire) World Assembly also promoted three integrated pillars into more specific dimensions (7Rs), namely: “Reduce, Reuse, Respect, Reflect, Rethink, Recycle, and Redistribute” (Duncan, 2011). OMEP promotes the 7Rs because they are essential to the application of Education for Sustainable development (ESD) in a preschool setting. Ozturk, Olgan, and Guler (2012) question whether ESD, with the three pillars and 7Rs, can be applied in early childhood centers. In their research, Ozturk, Olgan, and Guler (2012) found that preschool children were able to express ideas about reduce, reuse, recycle, and respect but did not mention redistribute, reflect, or rethink. According to these authors, it is the responsibility of the teachers and the early childhood educators to increase children’s familiarity with all 7Rs aspects. Ozturk, Olgan, and Guler (2012) recommend the need to further develop existing early childhood education approaches that offer experiences for young children regarding education about sustainable development issues and involve the active participation of teachers, parents, and society in this process.



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has an impact, specifically on cognitive and social developmental behaviors. Schools that are green in terms of the physical buildings, in particular provide good and healthy learning environments for young children. Green schools are healthy for children because they improve students’ performances and teachers’ satisfaction (Gutter, 2009). Green schools save 30 to 50 percent more energy and up to 47 percent more water than traditionally designed schools. They have excellent indoor air quality, good acoustics, and classrooms filled with sunlight. The best of all green schools educate students to become sustainability natives who are fluent in the language of sustainable technologies and thought in environmental consciousness (Gutter, 2009). The building itself acts as a teacher, offering the kinds of hand-on learning that are most effective for students. Although green schools may cost 1 to 2 percent more to build, experts say that the payoff of cheaper utilities and better student achievement far exceeds the initial expenditure. The building of green schools across the United States is expected to save $30 billion in energy costs over 10 years and to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 33.2 million tons, according to Hooley (Newsleader, 2009). These are the advantages that our society can gain from building green schools.

Schools that incorporate green education can introduce the concept of sustainability to these young minds. Pancheri-Ambrose and Tritschler-Scali (2013) point out that when we introduce recycling to children, we invite them to think about the effects of people’s actions on the earth and on other people. They suggest setting up the classroom to encourage the daily practice of reducing, reusing,

and recycling. Green schools benefit both students and teachers and the more people realize this, the more support they receive from the community. This occurs not only in the U.S and China, but also in other parts of the world. The hardware (green building) and the software (green curriculum) of a green school both benefit the children. Green school in terms of physical building provides a healthier environment for teaching and learning activity while green education will help students to gain awareness about protecting the environment.

Conclusion The overlapping interpretations might create some confusion with regard to the implementation of the green school concept in the education field. At the same time, the open interpretation of the green school makes this field a fertile ground for research. Future research can explore the various interpretations and implementations of the green school through questionnaires and interviews. Despite the fact that there are different emphases on the architecture (hardware) and the teaching curriculum (software) of different green schools, the green school is an important concept for educators and school designers to grasp. Scholars and practitioners should be more specific about what they mean by “green school” when they propose articles or projects. At the moment, people need to evaluate green school criteria after reading further explanations of the concept, since the green school can be interpret as both green buildings and a green curriculum. Despite the ambiguous definition, the various interpretations and implementations of the “green school” concept benefit young children.

ReferencesChapman, P. (2012). The benefits of green schools. Independent School, 1, 40-47. Duncan, E. (2011). Report Part 2 – ESD in practice. Norwary: OMEP (Organisation Mondiale PourL’Education

Prescolaire).Environmental Campaign Committee: about us. Retrieved November 20, 2013 from http://www.ecc.org.hk Green Building Education Services (2009). LEED Green Associate Study Guide. Retrieved April 17, 2013 from www.greenexamprep.com



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Gutter, R. (2009). New Reasons to Hope. American School Board Journal, 196(4), 46-48.Hong Kong Green School Award: Introduction of the programme. Retrieved November 20, 2013. Retrieved November

20, 2013 from http://school.ecc.org.hk/english/highlights/highlights_1.php?id=86 Jiao, Z. & Zeng, H. (2004). Status analysis of “green school” development in China, Chinese Education and Society,

37 (3), 55-63.Johansson, O. (2011). The Spatial diffusion of green building technologies: The case of Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design (LEED) in the United States. International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development, Vol.10 Number 3.

Kobet, R.J. (2009). Go for the LEED: Why green represents more than just money for imaginative, innovative, school districts. American School Board Journal. April 2009.

Moore, D. (2008). It’s easy to be green. Independent school, 67 (3), 76-84.Moore, G. (2002). Designed Environments for Young Children: Empirical Findings and Implications for Planning and

Design. In M. Gallop & J. McCormack (Eds), Children and Young’s People Environment, 5, 53-63. Nyikos, D.M., Thal, A.E., Hicks, M.J., & Leach, S.E. (2012). To LEED or Not to LEED: Analysis of Costs Premiums

Associated with Sustainable Facility Design. Engineering Management Journal, Vol.24, No.4. Ozturk, D.K., Olgan, R., & Guler, T. (2012). Preschool children’s ideas on sustainable development: how preschool

children perceive three pillars of sustainability with the regard to 7R. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice – Special Issue, Autumn, 2987-2995.

Pancheri-Ambrose, B., & Tritschler-Scali, J. (2013). Beyond Green: Developing Social and Environmental Awareness in Early Chlidhood. YC Young Children, 68(4), 54-58, 60-61.

Siraj-Baltchford, J., Smith,K., & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2010). Education for Sustainable Development in the Early Years. Organisation Mondiale Pourl’ Education Prescolaire (OMEP).

Tang, Z.G. (2004). Establishing “green school” and enhancing teachers and students’ environmental awareness. Chinese Education Society, 37(3), 94-96.

United States Green Building Council (USGBC), “LEED Green Building Rating System: 1.0,“Washington, D.C. (1999).

Zhang, Y.Z. (2004). Special issues on “green schools”. Thoughts on issues concerning “green schools”. Chinese Education and Society, 37(3), 64-70.



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Providing Cognitive Advantages for Economically Disadvantaged Children: Is High Quality Preschool the Best

Way or Does Family Also Matter? 促進貧困家庭兒童的認知能力發展：

優質學前教育是最好的方法還是家庭教育仍至關重要？

ZHANG Li

East China Normal University

AbstractDevelopment of children from economically disadvantaged families has received increasing attention from researchers and educators. Research indicates that high quality preschool facilitates the development of children, especially for those from disadvantaged background. However, family also matters for these children. This article summarizes the studies that explore the influence of preschool setting and both preschool setting and families on cognitive development of children from economically disadvantaged families. Findings show that the best way to promote the cognitive development of disadvantaged children might be a good combination of high quality preschool education and family education. In addition, more support should be provided to parents of these children.

摘要近年來，經濟貧困家庭兒童的發展逐步引起了研究者和教育者的關注。大量的研究表明，尤其對貧困家庭兒童而言，優質學前教育能夠促進他們的發展。然而，家庭對這些兒童的認知發展仍至關重要。本文就學前教育以及學前教育及家庭兩者對於貧困家庭兒童認知發展影響兩方面的文獻進行了綜述，並得出結論：提升貧困家庭兒童認知發展的最佳方法是優質學前教育與家庭教育的有機結合。研究者及教育者應該為這些兒童家長提供更多的支持。

The family is the primary context in which children grow and develop and low socioeconomic status has deleterious effects on children in preschool years (Brooks-Gunn, Duncan, & Maritato, 1997). Economically disadvantaged families are more likely to provide children with limited educational resources, less responsive stimulation, less optimal learning environments and poorer parenting at home than other families (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). These factors have adverse impacts on children’s development and educational outcomes (Engle & Black, 2008; Kiernan & Mensah, 2011). Compared with more affluent children, those growing up poor are more

likely to be faced with early learning problems and have lower levels of cognitive skills and academic achievement as well as higher levels of socio-emotional problems (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997; McLoyd, 1998; Stipek & Ryan, 1997).

The issue has raised much concern of the government, scholars and researchers in the global world. Various preschool programs have been implemented to help children and parents compensate for the deprived environmental contexts due to poverty (Engle et al., 2011). Cognitive development in early years is “most frequently associated with children’s readiness



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for school” (Kagan, 2003; Rouse, Brooks-Gunn, & McLanahan, 2005) and has been found to contribute greatly to their later academic learning and development (Duncan et al., 2007; Pagani, Fitzpatrick, Archambault, & Janosz, 2010; Paro & Pianta, 2000). Therefore, the development and enhancement of cognitive abilities is one of the major aims of many preschool or early intervention programs (Reynolds, Mavrogenes, Bezruczko, & Hagemann, 1996). Numerous studies have been conducted to examine the associations of quality of early childhood care and education programs and children’s cognitive development and found with consistency the close link between these two (Connell & Prinz, 2002; Dearing, McCartney, & Taylor, 2009; McCartney, Dearing, Taylor, & Bub, 2007; Votruba-Drzal, Coley, & Chase-Lansdale, 2004). Even lower quality preschool is associated with relatively higher early achievement (e.g. language outcome and cognitive readiness) of children from low-income families (McCartney, et al., 2007; Rao, Sun, Zhou, & Zhang, 2012). The higher the quality the preschool programs that poor children attend have, the more cognitive advantages they are able to gain (McCartney, et al., 2007). Compared with non-poor peers, children from poor families are more likely to have cognitive gains in high quality preschool programs and catch up with them (Belsky et al., 2007). It seems that high quality preschool may be a critical factor for sound cognitive development of the low-income children. But is high quality preschool the only best way to provide cognitive advantages for economically disadvantaged children? Does family, no matter how disadvantaged is, also matter for cognitive development of children living in poverty?

A large body of research has explored the influence of preschool settings and quite few have examined the combined influence of both preschool settings and home on cognitive development of low-income children. The paper will review studies focusing on these two aspects and then put forward implications for enhancing child development accordingly.

High quality preschool programs especially have positive and powerful influences on cognitive development for children undergoing economic

disadvantages. In most cases, studies have concluded that high quality preschool buffers children from at-risk backgrounds and produces more cognitive advantages than low quality ones (Dearing, et al., 2009; McCartney, et al., 2007; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001). The study on developmental outcomes of children in the Head Start project showed that no matter what kind of home environment, children in higher quality classrooms had better pre-academic skills (Bryant, Burchinal, Lau, & Sparling, 1994). Another study on rural Chinese families also documented that for those at-risk children, the higher quality of early child care program they attended, the better performance they had on school readiness (Rao, et al., 2012).

In addition, among children attending high quality preschool programs, poor children record more gains than their non-poor peers (Belsky, et al., 2007; Magnuson, Ruhm, & Waldfogel, 2007; Sammons et al., 2008; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Votruba-Drzal, Coley, Koury, & Miller, 2013). Magnuson and colleagues (2004) demonstrated that children who attended center or school-based preschool programs which were deemed as of high quality performed better on pre-academic skills at school entry and the advantage was maintained in first grade. The disadvantaged children gained the most benefits. Similarly, by evaluating the impact of a universal pre-K program on children’s cognitive readiness, Gormley and Gayer (2005) found that the program increased cognitive/ knowledge and language scores of children from economically disadvantaged families to a large extent. children from Hispanic and African American families or low-income families qualified for free lunch had more benefits in terms of readiness skills than those from white American families or families. A more recent study by McCartney and colleagues (2007) revealed that children from families with a lower level of income performed notably better in cognitive readiness and language skills if they received higher quality child care than lower quality care or maternal care. In contrast, children who were from more affluent families performed similarly regardless of the quality of child care they received.



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In this sense, high-quality preschool programs may help economically disadvantaged children offset the negative effects of poverty and reduce the cognitive development gaps with their non-poor peers to a large extent. However, does family still matter for cognitive development of children from poor families even if they are in high-quality child care? Findings from the influence of interaction of preschool setting and families provided with consistency a positive answer.

Preschool setting alone does not work sufficiently to improve cognitive abilities of children from economically disadvantaged families and the interaction of preschool and families exerts the most powerful influence on children (Bradley, McKelvey, & Whiteside-Mansell, 2011; Crosnoe, Leventhal, Wirth, Pierce, & Pianta, 2010). Three lines of studies have been conducted to evaluate the benefits of this combined influence on children’s cognitive development.

First, the impact of family factors on children’s cognitive development is not greatly diminished even if children experience high quality child care. Families are the first schools and parents are the first teachers for children. As the first proximal context, families provide children with drives for early development. A few studies verified that family influences on children’s cognitive outcomes were not substantially weakened with considerable amount of early child care (NICHD ECCRN, 2003). The analyses on the data from NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (NICHD ECCYD) indicated that parenting quality was more significantly related to cognitive readiness skills for children who experienced medium amount of early schooling than those who experienced full-time parental care and the association was even stronger than children experiencing high amount of non-maternal child care (Adi-Japha & Klein, 2009). The influences of family factors such as home environment and maternal sensitivity outperformed child care factors on children’s cognitive-linguistic outcomes (NICHD ECCRN, 2001). The studies seemed to suggest that associations of child cognitive outcomes with family contexts remained consistent no matter what type of

early childhood education children experienced (NICHD ECCRN, 2003). Although families exert great influence on the cognitive development of children from economically disadvantaged families beyond preschool settings, only with consistent environment stimulation both at home and preschool settings can they have pronounced benefits in cognitive achievement including early reading and mathematics (Crosnoe, et al., 2010).

Second, the interaction between high quality preschool care and stimulating home environment brings great benefits to cognitive functioning of poor children. The association of preschool quality with family factors makes great differences for cognitive development of children with economic disadvantages (Dearing & Hamilton, 2006). Votruba-Drzal, Coley, & Chase-Lansdale (2004) compared with early development of children in low and high quality child care as well as the family influences. By examining low-income children in community care arrangements, the study showed that for children in high quality child care, high levels of cognitive stimulation at home yields remarkable growth in reading skills. However, for their counterparts whose families provided low levels of stimulation on cognitive development, no significance of reading skills was found between those in low and high quality child care. The same interaction was found in Clark-Stewart and colleagues’ study (1994, pp. 144-146). Likewise, children in higher quality Head Start classrooms from more stimulating families gain more benefits from child care in skills of problem solving and reasoning (Bryant, et al., 1994). Furthermore, for low-income African American children, high quality and intensive early educational child care, responding home environment as well as higher maternal IQ worked together to promote sound development of cognitive ability (Burchinal, Campbell, Bryant, Wasik, & Ramey, 1997).

Third, high quality child care improves parenting skills and thus enhances cognitive functioning for children from low-income families. Quality child care programs involving parents make contributions to cognitive achievement for children from economically disadvantaged background



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(Lugo-Gil & Tamis-LeMonda, 2008; Miedel & Reynolds, 1999). By reviewing the efficacy of different programs, Brooks-Gunn & Markman (2005) pointed out that center-based programs with a parenting component but not home-visiting programs of relatively low quality for low-income families improved parenting behaviors through enhancing parents’ sensitivity and reducing negativity to children. Such an optimal pattern of school-home cooperation, in turn, was translated into children’s elevated IQ, math and literacy skills. The Early Head Start project that was initiated to provide high quality program for children and support the highest level of parental involvement as well as partnership was another case in point (The Early Head Start National Resource Center, 1995). When parents took parenting classes offered by the project, they were engaged in more parent-child interactive activities such as dyadic communication, play, reading bedtime routines and so on. Correspondingly, their children had higher scores in Bayley cognitive assessment in the three waves of 6 months, 15 months and 26 months than their peers whose parents did not participate in the classes (Chang, Park, & Kim, 2009; Chang, Park, Singh, & Sung, 2009). In the United Kingdom, the interaction between parental education and preschool experiences exerted the most beneficial influence on early mathematics skills of children from families with relatively low educational background parents (Votruba-Drzal, et al., 2013). The researchers assumed that the quality preschool programs might have established connection for parents from low-income families with social networks and services. The findings evidenced that low-income parents had substantial gains in parenting skills by participating in high quality child care programs and thus, together with the positive school effects, brought benefits for cognitive functioning of their economically disadvantaged children .

To sum up, although high quality preschool programs have been indicated to bring great benefits for the development of cognitive abilities for low-income children, family also matters. It was only under the joint function of high child care quality and supportive family environment

could low-income children’s cognitive skills be improved. Three strategies have shown to be effective to promote preschool-family interaction and promote cognitive development of children from economically disadvantaged families.

First, conditional cash transfer programs may help families alleviate poverty status and promote child development. In these programs, families are provided with cash transfers with conditions that parents should meet children’s health and education needs and make sure of their children’s attendance at early childhood care and education settings (Engle, et al., 2011). By reviewing seven random-assignment studies in the United States, Duncan, Morris, & Rodrigues (2011) showed that an increase of 1,000 dollars per year in family annual income led to an increase of 5%-6% of a standard deviation in young children’s cognitive performance and achievement. Another conditional cash transfer program in Mexico that required parents from low-income families to provide children with preventive health, nutrition supplementation, education and participation in the health and behavior monitoring indicated that the participant children had better cognitive performance than their poor peers who did not participate in the program (Fernald, Gertler, & Neufeld, 2008). When provided with subsidies, parents from poor and low-income families tended to choose higher quality education for their children and provide more stimulating materials at home (Fernald & Hidrobo, 2011; Weinraub, Shlay, Harmon, & Tran, 2005). Government and policy makers may consider the benefits of these cash transfer programs and provide economic support for poor and low-income families in the form of these programs. However, few studies have focused on the effectiveness of these cash transfer programs. Future research should explore the influence of conditional cash transfer programs on the development of children and examine what conditions are most beneficial to children and how to integrate early childhood care and education into the programs effectively.

Second, high quality preschool programs plus quality parenting education might be the best way to promote child development (Engle, et al.,



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2011). What aspect of parenting education should be included in the programs is critical. Research has demonstrated that what parents (e.g., parent-child interaction, parenting skills) do rather than who they are (e.g., parent education background, parent occupation) matters greatly for children (Hall et al., 2013; Kiernan & Mensah, 2011). For instance, mothers’ supportiveness in their free play with children, including positive regard, cognitive stimulation and sensitivity was predictive of cognitive development of children below two years of age even controlling family resources and continued to play an important role when children were two and three years of age (Lugo-Gil & Tamis-LeMonda, 2008). Parenting quality also moderated the relation between family income and child development (Lugo-Gil & Tamis-LeMonda, 2008). In addition, stimulating home learning environment was also important for development of low-income children and moderate the effect of early education programs (Bradley, et al., 2011). Parents’ stimulating learning activities such as talking and reading to children, teaching children simple numbers, letters, songs and going to public places including library and the provision of stimulating materials such as books and educational toys had positive effects on young children’s cognitive abilities and early school achievement (Bradley, et al., 2011; Melhuish et al., 2008).

Therefore, preschool programs should include the training of parenting including parent-child interaction and parenting skills to enhance cognitive development of children. Programs may provide parents with different teaching sessions toward how to establish stimulating learning environment for children and how to improve parental warmth and supportiveness in parents’ interaction with children. More research should be conducted to identify the effective elements in training for parenting education in preschool programs.

Third, the consistency between preschool settings and families should be kept. To maximize the effect of high quality preschool programs on the development of children, learning experiences at preschool should be supported at home (Anders et al., 2012). When both settings provide consistent support and education for children, they have the most benefits in cognitive development (Crosnoe, et al., 2010). Therefore, preschool programs should frequently communicate with parents about children’s learning both at preschools and home and provide guidance for parents to interact with their children and extend what children learn from preschools. Further research may explore the better way to keep both settings (home and preschools) consistent in order to promote young children’s learning.

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Rao, N., Sun, J., Zhou, J., & Zhang, L. (2012). Early achievement in rural China: The role of preschool experience. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(1), 66-76. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.07.001

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Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips, D. A. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, DC: National academy press.

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http://www.ehsnrc.org/aboutus/ehs.htmVotruba-Drzal, E., Coley, R. L., & Chase-Lansdale, P. L. (2004). Child care and low-income children's development:

Direct and moderated effects. Child Development, 75(1), 296-312. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00670.xVotruba-Drzal, E., Coley, R. L., Koury, A. S., & Miller, P. (2013). Center-based child care and cognitive skills

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Acknowledgment This paper is supported by the research project "The relationship among school readiness, self-regulation and academic achievement: A longitudinal Study in Rural China" approved by Preschool and Special Education School, East China Normal University.



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鳴謝學報評審Reviewer Acknowledgement

本學報蒙下列人士為第12卷第2冊擔任文稿評審，《香港幼兒學報》編委會特此鳴謝。

The Editorial Board would like to thank the following individuals for reviewing manuscripts for the Hong Kong Journal of Early Childhood during the preparation of the issues of Volume 12, Number 2.

AHN Christina (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)CHAN Rina (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)CHAU Nga Lei Lilian (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)CHENG Yuk Lin (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)CHUNG Lai Ping Ellie (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)FONG Wai Tsz Ricci (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)FUNG Kit Ho Chanel (The Chinese University, Hong Kong)HO Choi Wa Dora (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)IWAN Ailin (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)LAI Yuk Ching Eva (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)LEUNG Kit Ying Suzannie (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong)LEUNG Wai Man Vivienne (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)MOK On Nei Annie (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)POON Tsz Ying (The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)SUN Jin (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)TAI Yin Yi Tanny (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)WONG Siu Man (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)WONG Wai Yum Veronica (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)WOO Yuen Shan (The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong)ZHANG Chun (Shen Zhen University, China) ZHU Jia Xiong (East China Normal University, China)



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訂閱費用 Subscription Fee(1) 個人或機構 Individual or Corporate : 每年港幣 60 元正 HK$60 per year(2) 香港教育學院幼兒教育課程學生 ECE Students of HKIEd : 每年港幣 40 元正 HK$40 per year(3) 幼兒教育機構或小學一次過訂閱3年或以上（8折）每年港幣 48 元正 One-off subscription for 3 years or more by early (20% off) HK$48 per year childhood institution or primary school:

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the original copy of the receipt along with this form to the HKJEC Editorial Board; OR(2) 以劃線支票付款（抬頭：香港教育學院），並於支票背面寫上姓名，連同本表格交《香港幼兒學報》編委會。 Please enclose a crossed cheque payable to “The Hong Kong Institute of Education” (please write down your name on the back

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Address of the HKJEC Editorial Board: Department of Early Childhood Education, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong.

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幼兒教育機構或小學一次過訂閱3年或以上（8折：每年港幣 48 元正）

One-off subscription for 3 years or more by early childhood institution or primary school (20% off HK$48/year)

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香港幼兒學報Hong Kong Journal of Early Childhood

稿　例

《香港幼兒學報》是為香港幼兒教育工作者而設的專題刊物，每年出版兩冊。本刊專為業內同仁，特別是對幼兒教育、照顧及發展感興趣的人士，提供一個專業討論的平台。編委會歡迎各界人士提供稿件，來稿請參照以下規則。

所有論文於刊登前，均會經不記名的專業評審。來稿者請注意下述格式要求：1. 中文或英文論文均可；2. 語言應簡明易懂，雅俗共賞；3. 英文論文篇幅不可超過 3,000字，中文論文則不可超過5,000字；

4. 於論文首頁提供 100至 150字的英文摘要及不多於200字的中文摘要；

5. 英文論文的格式及附註須遵照美國心理學協會最新出版的《美國心理學協會出版手冊》制定；中文論文方面，如須加附註資料，應註明作者及著作出版年份；參考書目應放於主體文章之後，以作者姓氏漢語拼音以及著作出版年份排序。編委會備有一套慣用之學術著作引證系統，如有需要，歡迎電郵至[email protected]索取；

6. 打字： -字體：英文-Times New Roman；中文-細明體 -紙張大小：A4 -紙張方向：縱向 -字體大小：12點7. 請附另紙列明作者姓名、聯絡地址、所屬機構及職銜；每頁均須註明頁碼及論文題目；

8. 除專題論文外，編委會亦歡迎各界人士隨時提供幼教工作者感興趣的論文；

9. 論文請以微軟文字處理格式（MS-Word）儲存，透過電郵（[email protected]）送交《香港幼兒學報》編委會；或將論文儲存於電腦磁碟或光碟，寄往香港新界大埔露屏路 10號香港教育學院幼兒教育學系《香港幼兒學報》編委會；

10.編委會保留對來稿作修訂的權利，如來稿需大幅修訂，編委會將知會有關作者。

Notes for Contributors

The Hong Kong Journal of Early Childhood is published twice a year especially for early childhood educators in Hong Kong. It provides a forum for professional dialogue among educators in the field, particularly those who are interested in the education, care, and development of young children. The Editorial Board welcomes articles from authors for consideration for publication in the journal. Authors are asked to follow the guidelines below when preparing their manuscripts.

All manuscripts are subject to anonymous review and authors should take note of the following guidelines: 1. Language can be in Chinese or English;2. Papers should be written in a clear and concise style;3. Word count for papers in English should not exceed

3,000 words; for papers in Chinese, no more than 5,000 characters;

4. An abstract of 100-150 words in English and no more than 200 characters in Chinese should be provided on a separate page at the beginning of the paper;

5. Papers written in English should follow the guidelines (including the citation format) of the latest Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association;

6. Typing: - Font type: English - Times New Roman; Chinese - 細明體 - Paper size: A4 - Paper orientation: Portrait - Font size: 12 point7. Name, affiliation, position, and corresponding address

of author(s) should be listed on a coversheet only; page numbers and a running header of the title of the paper should be provided on each page;

8. In addition to the contributions on specific themes, the Editorial Board is pleased to receive papers at any time on topics of interest to early childhood educators;

9. Please send submissions to the Editorial Board of the Hong Kong Journal of Early Childhood, on diskette or CD in MS-Word format, through e-mail ([email protected]), or at Department of Early Childhood Education, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong;

10. The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit manuscripts. Contributors will be contacted if substantial revision is recommended.



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