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 present...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:Followinga purposivesampling,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 andgave risetoa new codeof professional ethics.展开更多
基金This work was supported by"Chenguang Program",granted by Shanghai Education Development FoundationShanghai Municipal Education Commission,China(grant number 11CG27).
文摘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:Followinga purposivesampling,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 andgave risetoa new codeof professional ethics.
