College teacher visits China

An Early Years teacher from Bridgwater College, who won a Continuing Professional Development Award from the University of Plymouth's HELP CETL scheme, recently returned from her travels in China.

Janet Harvell, who has worked at the College for eight years, won the award to examine the range of Early Years provision in China. During two visits in April and December she visited 14 different kindergartens in three different regions, including Beijing, Qingdao and Chongqing. She explains "The nurseries ranged in size from 250 children (the smallest) to 1,000 being the largest, which is very different from the sort of numbers we are used to in the UK. There were some similarities in the range of activities and resources provided but the daily routine is very different to ours, with at least two hours of directed outdoor activity planned for every day, whilst even the most creative of activities required an ‘end product'. We were able to compare our different practices and the kindergarten staff were very interested in hearing about how we plan for a much more child-led environment, which encourages learning through play, with less emphasis on results! However, no matter where I visited, the friendliness of the staff and children was overwhelming, and I was frequently reminded that ‘children are children', wherever they are in the world."

Bridgwater College is a pioneer in Early Years education and the curriculum is very supportive of global perspectives when it comes to the teaching of the subject, with modules already focussing on European and New Zealand outlooks. It is hoped that this project will at some point involve the exchange of resources, peer/mentor support and ultimately potential student exchange.

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