Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 May 2023) | Viewed by 25681

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Philip Hui Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. Faculty of Education and Human Development, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
2. Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
3. Shanghai Institute of Early Childhood Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Interests: developmental psycholinguistics; developmental neuropsychology; early literacy; curriculum and pedagogy; teacher education; education policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Yong Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200050, China
Interests: teacher education; developmental psychology; philosophy of education; education policy

Prof. Dr. Xiumin Hong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Interests: children’s social and emotional learning; professional development and teacher leadership; early childhood education and care policy

Dr. Li Luo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

College of Preschool Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
Interests: early childhood special education; social and emotional learning assessment; teacher–child interaction and relationship

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the turn of this millennium, China has fallen into the trap of lowest-low fertility and has gradually become an aging society, facing the challenge of sustainable development. Hoping to tackle this developmental crisis, China has drastically changed its fertility policy, which refers to the state’s guidelines to regulate couples’ fertility, aborting its one-child policy and embracing two-child (2016) and then three-child (2021) policies. Now all married couples are allowed and encouraged to have three children, which is believed to be the penicillin to cure the aging society. However, neither society nor parents are ready for this new policy, as this paradigm shift has changed China’s fertility culture from ‘restriction’ to ‘encouragement’ (Hong et al, 2022). This change will have an inevitable impact on politics, economics, health, and other domains in aging China. For instance, the increased number of young children will demand an increased supply of early childhood education services, which means more teachers and teacher trainers, and more preschools and universities. To cope with this demand, the educational authorities at different levels have launched different policies and measures to promote the sustainable development of early childhood education.

This Special Issue aims to thoroughly explore the impact of the three-child policy on the sustainable development of children, parents, teachers, and society with economic, populational, psychological, pedagogical, and other scientific approaches. It welcomes contributions such as national surveys, group interviews, case studies, and program evaluation studies; evidence-informed reviews and opinion pieces; or other suggestions of your choice. In addition, we are interested in empirical studies using cross-sectional (national survey), longitudinal designs, and mixed methods.

In particular, this Special Issue will focus on (but is not limited to) the impact of the three-child policy on (1) the development and implementation of sustainable early childhood education policies; (2) the implementation of quality assessment, assurance, and improvement programs at national, regional, and local levels; (3) the sustainable development and supply of professional teachers; (4) the sustainable development of young children in the digital era; (5) Chinese parents and family functioning for sustainable development; and (6) the sustainable development of early childhood institutions in aging China.

Reference:

Hong, X., Jiang, Y., Luo, L., & Li, P. H. (2022). The Impact of Two-Child Policy on Early Education and Development in China. Early Education and Development, 33(3), 369-374.

Prof. Dr. Philip Li
Prof. Dr. Yong Jiang
Prof. Dr. Xiumin Hong
Dr. Li Luo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

sustainable early childhood education
sustainable young children
aging China
three-child policy

Published Papers (14 papers)

Download All Papers

Editorial

Jump to: Research

6 pages, 190 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Special Issue: Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China

by Hui Li, Yong Jiang, Xiumin Hong and Li Luo

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8579; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118579 - 25 May 2023

Viewed by 823

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has entered a period of extremely low fertility and rapid aging, which poses a serious threat to its sustainable development [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

14 pages, 1467 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Social Support on Professional Identity of Secondary Vocational Students Major in Preschool Nursery Teacher Program: A Chain Mediating Model of Psychological Adjustment and School Belonging

by Yingxin Chen, Huihua He and Yan Yang

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5134; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065134 - 14 Mar 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1843

Abstract

Background: In the context of the high turnover rate of preschool nursery teachers, the preschool nursery teacher program in secondary vocational schools has been an important channel for sending qualified nursery teachers to early education institutions, and fostering students’ professional identity, which is key to their future career construction and development; therefore, this study aims to investigate the mechanism of social support on professional identity, with a chain mediating effect of psychological adjustment and school belonging. Methods: 377 third-year students from secondary vocational schools majoring in nursery and preschool teaching were surveyed with the Social Support Scale, Professional Identity Scale, School Belonging Scale, Well-being Scale, Discrimination Perception Scale and Self-Identity Scale. Results: (1) Correlation analysis showed that social support, professional identity, school belonging, and psychological adjustment (well-being, self-identity) were significantly and positively correlated with each other. A significant negative correlation was found between discrimination perception and other variables. (2) School belonging played a partially mediating role between social support and professional identity, and psychological adjustment and school belonging showed chain mediating effects between social support and professional identity. Conclusions: Social support not only directly influences professional identity, but also indirectly affects professional identity through the chain mediating effect of psychological adjustment and school belonging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Challenge of Chinese Children’s Emotion Regulation: Child Number, Parental Emotion Regulation, and Its Relationship with Reactions to Children’s Negative Emotions

by Xiumin Hong and Mei Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 3812; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043812 - 20 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2252

Abstract

In the context of China’s three-child policy, more and more families have been changing from a one-child family to a two-child or three-child family. Both changes of family structure and the increase in child number may bring new challenges to children’s social development, emotion regulation, and parent–child relationship. This study aims to deal with the comparison of children’s emotion regulation for families with different child numbers and its relationship with parental emotion regulation and parental reactions to children’s negative emotions. We examined children’s emotion regulation, parental emotion regulation, and parental reactions to children’s negative emotions through a questionnaire survey. A total of 7807 parents from Guangdong Province in China participated in this study. The results show that: (1) A significant difference exists in children’s emotion regulation for families with different child numbers. Both one-child and two-child families present significantly higher children’s emotion regulation than three-child families; (2) There is a significant difference in parental emotion regulation, and supportive and non-supportive reactions in these families. The more children in each family, the worse the parental emotion regulation, the less supportive the reaction, and the more non-supportive the reaction; (3) Parental emotion regulation exerts a significant positive impact on children’s emotion regulation, and both supportive and non-supportive reactions play the partial mediating role. The findings emphasize more potential risks for children’s emotion regulation with the increase in family’s child number and suggest that special attention should be paid to children’s and parental emotion regulation in three-child families. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 727 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development and Validation of Chinese Kindergarten Teachers’ Learning and Development Scale

by Qingru Duan, Yong Jiang, Yifang Wang, Chuchu Zheng, Jing Liu and Xin Liu

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 1992; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031992 - 20 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1862

Abstract

This study examined Chinese kindergarten teachers’ learning and development (CKTLD) using a newly developed and validated instrument, the CKTLD scale. Altogether, 1170 kindergarten teachers who were randomly sampled from ten provinces in China participated in the survey. First, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed a seven-factor structure: motivation, information literacy, cultural literacy, reflection, career planning, teacher collaboration, and belief and mission, thereby indicating that the CKTLD scale was reliable and valid. Second, descriptive statistics showed that the overall status of kindergarten teachers’ learning and development was below average in China; meanwhile, the level of motivation ranked the highest, while that of information literacy and cultural literacy were lower. Third, hierarchical regression analysis revealed that job position and teaching experience were critical predictors of teachers’ learning and development, after controlling for personal and family factors. The findings indicate the necessity of reforming teacher education and providing school support to enhance kindergarten teachers’ learning and development. Further, this study broadens the research framework and provides a valuable tool with which to evaluate kindergarten teachers’ learning and development in China and other countries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 698 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Preschool Out-of-Kindergarten Tutoring Improve Approaches to Learning for Children? Evidence from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2012 to 2020

by Haiping Xue, Chenchen Fang, Jin Shi, Xiaoqing Hu and Fang Qian

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1246; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021246 - 09 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1595

Abstract

Based on data from the China Family Panel Studies in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020, this study used propensity-score matching to investigate whether preschool out-of-kindergarten tutoring impacts children’s approaches to learning. We discovered the following: (1) approximately one sixth of the preschool children in the sample participated in out-of-kindergarten tutoring, and the participation rate increased year on year; (2) preschool children with a higher family socioeconomic status and a higher level of urbanization in their local area participated more in out-of-kindergarten tutoring; and (3) the effect of preschool out-of-kindergarten tutoring on improving children’s approaches to learning was very limited. In particular, participation in subject-based tutoring to prepare for elementary school failed to improve children’s approaches to learning. Based on the above findings, we recommend that parents make rational choices concerning preschool out-of-kindergarten tutoring, based on a comprehensive understanding of their children. In addition, the government should increase the systematic supervision and strict regulation of institutions that provide preschool out-of-kindergarten tutoring, while actively constructing a collaborative parenting system involving home, school, and community to promote children’s healthy comprehensive development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 1094 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship between Childcare Services Participation and Parental Subjective Well-Being under China’s Three-Child Policy—Based on the Mediation Effect of Parenting Stress

by Xiumin Hong, Jingyuan Wang and Wenting Zhu

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16425; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416425 - 08 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1453

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between children’s participation in childcare services from birth to 3 years of age and their parents’ subjective well-being, as well as the mediating role of parenting stress. In total, 990 parents of children aged 0–3 years from Beijing were surveyed. First, independent samples t-tests after propensity score matching revealed that parents who participated in childcare services may have significantly higher overall subjective well-being and life satisfaction than those who did not participate. Second, a descriptive analysis and an analysis of variance results indicated that remote location, low quality, and high price may be the major reasons for parents’ dissatisfaction with childcare services, and a regression analysis of childcare dissatisfaction showed that high-priced childcare services had a significant negative relationship with parent’s subjective well-being. Third, the results of a mediation analysis of parenting stress revealed that childcare services have significant direct effects on parents’ subjective well-being, and a small mediating effect of parenting stress on parent’s childcare service participation and parental subjective well-being. The findings demonstrate the importance of childcare services, especially for the provision of affordable childcare to improve parents’ subjective well-being and relieving pressure on parents. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 268 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Developmental Trajectories of Symptom-Specific Anxiety in Chinese Preschoolers: The Role of Maternal Anxious Rearing Behaviors

by Siyu Zhou and Xiaowei Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16402; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416402 - 08 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1033

Abstract

Although developmental trajectories of anxiety have begun to be explored, most research has focused on total anxiety symptom scores in middle childhood and adolescence. Little is known about the developmental trajectories of specific anxiety symptoms in early childhood. This three-wave longitudinal study investigated (1) the developmental trajectories of four specific anxiety symptoms (separation anxiety, special fear, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety) during early childhood, and (2) the association between maternal anxious rearing behaviors and these four specific anxiety symptoms concurrently and over time. Mothers of 105 Chinese children completed the Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS) and the “Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran” for parents (EMBU-P) to report their child’s anxiety symptoms and their own anxious rearing behaviors when their child was 2–4, 3–5, and 6–7 years old. The results of latent growth curve modelling (LGCM) showed that participating children exhibited a slight linear decrease in special fear and social anxiety across three time points, whereas the trajectories of separation anxiety and generalized anxiety remained stable. Maternal anxious rearing behaviors were significant and positively related to children’s separation anxiety at T3 and specific fear at T1 and T2 but unrelated to social anxiety and generalized anxiety at any time points. These findings help us better understand how various types of anxiety problems develop in early life and isolate the risk factors (e.g., maternal anxious rearing behaviors) contributing to the emergence and continuity of anxiety problems as early as possible. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

14 pages, 780 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parenting Stress, Parent–Child Literacy Activities, and Pre-Schoolers’ Reading Interest: The Moderation Role of Child Number in Chinese Families

by Jia Yang, Wanlin Xie, Xunyi Lin and Hui Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15783; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315783 - 27 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2170

Abstract

China replaced the Two-Child Policy with the Three-Child Policy in 2021 to raise birth rates, but the potential effects of the increased number of children on family life and child development have not been empirically explored. This study examines the moderating role of child number in the relationships between parenting stress, parent–child literacy activities, and young children’s reading interest in the new Three-Child Policy context in China. A sample of 895 Chinese families was randomly recruited from a coastal city in southeastern China: one-child families (N_one-child = 359, M_age = 5.0, SD = 0.9), two-child families (N_two-child = 469, M_age = 5.1, SD = 0.9), and three-child and above families (N_{three-child and above} = 67, M_age = 5.2, SD = 1.0). The participants completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, the Parent-Child Literacy Activities Scale, and the Children’s Reading Interest Questionnaire. The results showed that (1) parents with more children had higher levels of parenting stress; (2) no significant differences existed in children’s reading interest between families with different numbers of children; (3) parent–child literacy activities mediated the relationship between parenting stress and children’s reading interest; (4) child number moderated the mediating effect of parent–child literacy activities in the relationship between parenting stress and children’s reading interest, even after adjusting for child age, gender, and family socioeconomic status (SES). Overall, this study demonstrated how the increased number of children would interact with the family system concerning early childhood literacy development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 596 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Game-Based Formative Assessment of Analogical Reasoning in Preschool Children: Support from the Internet of Things Technology

by Xue Lv, Li Li, Liping Guo, Ting He and Sirui Liu

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 13830; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113830 - 25 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1544

Abstract

Emerging information technology such as Internet of Things (IoT) has been continuously applied and deepened in the field of education, and the learning analytics technology based on children’s games is gradually moving toward practical application research, but there are few empirical studies on the micro level of emerging information technology and learning analytics methods in the evaluation of young children’s learning process and learning effects. As the research content, the study examines preschool children’s analogical reasoning abilities, reflecting their thinking levels and processing abilities. Using a decision tree model in learning analytics, the process data and result data of children’s analogical reasoning games based on Internet of Things technology are analyzed, and the classification model of preschool children’s analogical reasoning is constructed. The study found that the learning analysis of analogical reasoning based on games mediated by IoT technology is feasible and effective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 898 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Preschool Teachers’ Accurate Analysis of the Development Trajectories of Children’s Preconceptions Ensure Their Effective Response? Evidence from Situational Judgement Tests

by Li Li, Xue Lv, Yaqin Xi and Liping Guo

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11725; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811725 - 19 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1570

Abstract

In early childhood science education, analyzing and responding to children’s preconceptions are essential professional skills possessed by preschool teachers. This study aims to evaluate the level of preschool teachers’ skills of analyzing and responding to the development trajectories of children’s preconceptions (DTCP) and explores the relationship between them in different science disciplines as well as between teachers with different teaching experiences from a Chinese teachers perspective. A newly developed and validated instrument, the Situational Judgement Tests of Preschool Teachers’ Skills to Analyze and Respond (SJTs-PTSAR), is adopted. Altogether, 1084 Chinese teachers from three cities in China were surveyed, and analysis of the psychometric properties indicated that SJTs-PTSAR was a reliable and valid scale. The means and standard deviations of preschool teachers’ analysis skills were

1.04

and

0.31

, and those for responding were

1.02

and

0.26

. There was no significant difference between the scores of the two skills (

t = - 1.842, p > 0.01,

Cohen’s d =

0.068

). Correlation analysis showed that the preschool teachers’ analysis skills were positively related to their responding (

r = 0.353, p < 0.001

), and there was a significant correlation between the skills of teachers of different teaching ages. These results showed that preschool teachers’ skills to analyze and respond to the DTCP were at a medium level, and an accurate analysis could not guarantee a high-level response based on the DTCP. The correlation coefficient between these two skills with teachers of different teaching experience was nonlinear. A number of suggestions for teacher training and professional development are provided to promote the sustainable development of teachers’ analysis and response skills. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 653 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can After-School Tutoring Sustainably Empower Preschoolers’ Development? —A Longitudinal Study

by Jin Shi, Haiping Xue, Chenchen Fang and Li Luo

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10144; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610144 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1641

Abstract

Participation in after-school tutoring is becoming increasingly prevalent among young children in China and worldwide. This study explores whether children aged 3 to 6 can achieve sustainable and empowered development by participating in after-school tutoring, using propensity score matching based on the data from 664 children on a baseline date and 367 children on a follow-up date. It is found that gender, age, and family socioeconomic status are major factors that affect preschool children’s participation in after-school tutoring. Baseline data reveals that participation in after-school tutoring has no significant impact on children’s learning and development. Follow-up study after one year shows that, except for the significant improvement in children’s language development, after-school tutoring has no significant impact on other areas. Further subsampled studies show that after the children in 3- to 4-year-old classrooms at baseline who have participated in after-school tutoring enter 4- to 5-year-old classrooms, they have significant improvement in social development, language, and learning quality. However, there is no such significant improvement for the children from 4- to 5-year-old classrooms to 5- to 6-year-old classrooms. In general, after-school tutoring has no immediate effect and limited lasting impact on preschool children’s learning and development. These findings suggest that parents should respect the laws of child development, and advanced or incorrect tutoring will only increase the pressure on children and the economic burden on family, without promoting the sustainable development of children. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Early Childhood Teachers’ Fertility Willingness under China’s ‘Third-Child’ Policy

by Wei Wang, Luyao Liang, Jing Luo, Hui Li and Jing Tang

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10083; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610083 - 15 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1615

Abstract

This study aimed to understand whether Chinese early childhood (EC) teachers are willing to give birth to children to embrace the new ‘third-child’ policy. Altogether, 1042 participants (44.7% teachers, 55.3% other parents) were sampled and surveyed online. The results indicated that: (1) the teachers demonstrated fertility willingness different from other parents, and a higher percentage of teachers believed that one child would suffice; (2) the teachers highly valued partner’s support (family), employers’ support (workplace), and societal support (society); (3) their fertility willingness was influenced by the public fertility system and service, economic status and health, family relationships, career development, and emotional needs; and (4) the modern parenting and fertility beliefs, spouses’ support, and the struggle between job and parenting commitments significantly predicted the EC teachers’ fertility willingness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

14 pages, 681 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Emotional Labor and Professional Identity in Chinese Early Childhood Teachers: The Gendered Moderation Models

by Sha Xie, Luyao Liang and Hui Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6856; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116856 - 03 Jun 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2287

Abstract

The sustainable development of early childhood institutions in aging China calls for the sustainable development of early childhood teachers, which should attend to the balanced development between male and female teachers. Yet this issue has not been adequately investigated in the literature. To fill this research gap, this study explored the gender differences in Chinese early childhood (EC) teachers’ professional identity (PI) and emotional labor strategies. Altogether, 250 teachers (146 female and 104 male, M_age = 30.28 years, SD = 7.81) from Southern China were sampled and surveyed. First, the independent samples t-tests revealed significant gender differences in teachers’ PI, deep acting, and surface acting. Second, the structural equation modelling results demonstrated that PI fully mediated the relationship between teacher educational attainment, years of teaching experience, and natural and deep acting. Third, multigroup analysis confirmed different mediation paths for female and male teachers. These findings suggest that male and female early childhood teachers differed in their sense of PI and use of emotional labor strategies. Therefore, future policymaking efforts should design and implement teacher professional development (PD) programs and teacher support mechanisms catering to male EC teachers’ needs, characteristics, and difficulties in the Chinese EC workforce. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 979 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Sustainability of Early Childhood Education in Chinese Teachers’ Perspective: Evidence from a National Validation Study

by Xinxin Liu, Yong Jiang and Hui Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6350; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106350 - 23 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1983

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the sustainability of early childhood education (ECE) from Chinese teachers’ perspectives using a newly developed and validated instrument, the Sustainability of Early Childhood Education Rating Scale (SECERS). Altogether, 3636 teachers nationwide were randomly surveyed. First, analysis of the psychometric properties indicated that SECERS was a reliable and valid scale with three constructs: sustainability in ecology, sustainability in management, and sustainability in policy. Second, Chinese teachers positively evaluated sustainability in ecology but negatively evaluated it in policy. Third, latent profile analysis yielded the best-fit model with four profiles: low-, middle-, upper-middle-, and high-level profiles of teacher evaluations. Last, hierarchical regression analysis found that kindergarten quality grades played a key role in predicting the sustainability of ECE evaluation. The findings demonstrate the necessity of providing effective policy and management support to promote the sustainable development of ECE in China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Sustainable Early Childhood Education for the Sustainable Development of Aging China

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (14 papers)

Editorial

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI