Free Play and "Loving Care": A Qualitative Inquiry of Chinese Kindergarten Teachers' Professional Ethics

Autor/inn/en	Zhang, Jie; Clark, Mollie R.; Hsueh, Yeh
Titel	Free Play and "Loving Care": A Qualitative Inquiry of Chinese Kindergarten Teachers' Professional Ethics
Quelle	In: ECNU Review of Education, 5 (2022) 4, S.664-682 (19 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Clark, Mollie R.)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2096-5311
DOI	10.1177/20965311221121677
Schlagwörter	Play; Caring; Foreign Countries; Kindergarten; Preservice Teachers; Work Ethic; Teacher Attitudes; Teaching Methods; Teacher Student Relationship; Psychological Patterns; China + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Spiel; Care; Pflege; Sorge; Betreuung; Ausland; Arbeitsethos; Lehrerverhalten; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Teacher student relationships; Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung
Abstract	Purpose: Chinese kindergarten teachers commonly held "loving and caring for young children" as a core professional ethic, but many reported fatigue and burnout because of this ethical practice. This study presents a unique account of how children's free play has helped transform teachers' professional ethics and increased their professional satisfaction. Design/Approach/Methods: Following a purposive sampling, we interviewed eight Chinese teachers who actively promoted children's free play. The analysis of the interview transcripts led to an in-depth interpretation of the teachers' experiences through a dialogue with various concepts and theories. Findings: A major finding was that children's free play facilitated the change in teachers' understandings of their professional ethics. Their observation and support of children's free play brought them the unprecedented joy of teaching, which helped them redefine loving and caring for children and gave rise to a new code of professional ethics. Originality/Value: This study was the first to assess the Chinese kindergarten teachers' ethics in the free play movement in China. It reveals, in the teachers' own words, how their growing commitment to supporting children's free play has transformed their beliefs and understandings of what a loving and caring teacher means. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01