Abstract
Learning stories have been adopted as a form of assessment in early childhood education worldwide to assess children’s learning processes, learning dispositions, and well-being. However, a paucity of research has been done which examines the applicability of learning stories in China. This case study investigated how learning stories are used by in-service teachers who have had years of teaching experience in classrooms in a local Chinese context. Through analysing 43 learning stories in a kindergarten in Xiamen city, Fujian province, China, this study found that while Chinese teachers try to imitate the concept and form of learning stories from New Zealand, teacher-centered, negative, and non-targeted evaluations frequently appear in the teachers’ writing. This is opposite from the advocated practices of learning stories. Chinese teachers tend to pay more attention to the general development of the whole class, rather than individual students, as a consequence of a high teacher-to-children ratio in a traditional Chinese classroom and the educational policy in China. In addition, most learning stories produced by teachers seem to lack accessibility to both parents and children. Recommendations are provided which require a more localised, as well as contextualised, application of learning stories in Chinese context, and an improvement in the quality of learning stories noted down by kindergarten teachers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berk, L. E., & Winsler, A. (1995). Scaffolding children’s learning: Vygotsky and early childhood education. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Blaiklock, K. E. (2008). A critique of the use of learning stories to assess the learning dispositions of young children. NZ Research in ECE Journal, 11, 77–87.
Carr, M. (2001). Assessment in early childhood settings: Learning stories. London: Sage.
Carr, M., & Lee, W. (2012). Learning stories: Constructing learner identities in early education. London: Sage.
Carr, M., & Lee, W. (2019). Learning stories in practice. London: SAGE Publications Limited.
Carter, M. (2010). Using learning stories to strengthen teachers’ relationships with children. Exchange, 32(6), 40–44.
Chen, L. X., & Shu, J. Y. (2017). Problems and reflections on the localization of narrative evaluation “learning story”. Cultural and Educational Material Journal, 21, 212–213. (in Chinese).
Chen, S. (2015). Promoting teachers’ observation and evaluation of children’s ability improvement with “learning stories”. Curriculum Education Research, 35, 176–177. (in Chinese).
Choi, W., Shahid, K., & Savarese, S. (2011). Learning context for collective activity recognition. IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, USA. https://doi.org/10.1109/CVPR.1997.609286.
Daniels, K. (2013). Supporting the development of positive dispositions and learner identities: An action research study into the impact and potential of developing photographic learning stories in the Early Years. Education, 41(3), 300–315.
Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF). (2017). The statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Nottingham: DfES Publications.
Epstein, A. S. (2007). The intentional teacher: Choosing the best strategies for young children’s learning. Washington, DC: NAEYC.
He, T. T. (2018). The expolration and reflection on the indigenization of learning stories. Education and Teaching Research, 32(1), 20–24. (in Chinese)
He, X. F. (2019). Study on the problems and countermeasures of kindergarten teachers’ use of “learning stories”. Retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure. (in Chinese)
Jacobs, G. M. (2001). Providing the scaffold: A model for early childhood/primary teacher preparation. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(2), 125–130.
Karlsdóttir, K., & Garðarsdóttir, B. (2010). Exploring children’s learning stories as an assessment method for research and practice. Early Years, 30(3), 255–266.
Knauf, H. (2018). Learning stories: An empirical analysis of their use in Germany. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(4), 427–434.
Kos, J. M., Richdale, A. L., & Jackson, M. S. (2004). Knowledge about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A comparison of in-service and preservice teachers. Psychology in the Schools, 41(5), 517–526.
Li, M., & Grieshaber, S. (2018). Learning stories as cross-national policy borrowing: The interplay of globalization and localization in pre-primary education in contemporary China. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50(12), 1124–1132.
Løkken, I. M., Bjørnestad, E., Broekhuizen, M. L., & Moser, T. (2018). The relationship between structural factors and interaction quality in Norwegian ECEC for toddlers. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy, 12(9), 1–15.
Lu, H. (2019). Analysis of the role of learning stories in improving the ability of preschool teachers to observe and record. Basic Education Forum, 22, 56–58.
Lu, Q. (2016). The enlightenment of New Zealand's “Learning Story” experience to the implementation of the guide in China’s kindergarten. Preschool Education Research, 9, 70–72.
Ministry of Education. (2012a). Guidelines for the learning and development of children aged 3–6. China: Beijing. (in Chinese).
Ministry of Education. (2012b). The Professional standards for early childhood teachers (trial). China: Beijing. (in Chinese).
Ministry of Education. (2016). Kindergarten work regulations. China: Beijing. (in Chinese).
Niu, W-y, & Li, M. (2019). Study on educational value and application of “learning stories” in kindergartens: Taking Shaanxi Normal University experimental kindergarten as an example. Journal of Shaanxi Xueqian Normal University, 35(4), 91–95. (in Chinese).
Nixon, G. (2017). Bringing learning to life—why learning stories. Retrieved from https://www.geteduca.com/blog/the-magic-of-learning-stories/#:~:text=Learning%2520stories%2520are%2520key%2520methods,learning%2520by%2520their%2520own%2520volition.
Nyland, B., & Alfayez, S. (2012). Learning Stories-crossing borders: Introducing qualitative early childhood observation techniques to early childhood practitioners in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Early Years Education, 20(4), 392–404.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2015). Starting strong IV: Monitoring quality in early childhood education and care. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Pack, J. (2016). Learning stories. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/dec2015/learning-stories.
Perry, B., Dockett, S., & Harley, E. (2007). Preschool educators’ sustained professional development in young children’s mathematics learning. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 8, 117–134.
Qi, X., & Melhuish, E. (2017). Early childhood education and care in China: History, current trends and challenges. Early Years, 37(3), 268–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1236780.
Rojas-Drummond, S., & Mercer, N. (2003). Scaffolding the development of effective collaboration and learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 39(1–2), 99–111.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1994). Grounded theory methodology: an overview. In K. D. Norman & S. L. Y. Vannaeds (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 273–285). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Wang, J. (2017). Using “learning stories” to promote the improvement of children’s observation ability. (Master’s dissertation), Shanghai: East China Normal University. (in Chinese).
Wang, L. (2016). Evaluation of early childhood development from “learning stories”. Journal of Basic Education, 20, 89–90. (in Chinese).
Xiong, H., & Lu, Q. (2017). Using New Zealand “Learning Story” as a model to build a new way for cooperation in China’s national kindergartens. Journal of Shaanxi Preschool Teachers College, 33(10), 37–40. (in Chinese).
Yan, Y. (2017). Promote the common growth of teachers and children with the help of “learning stories”. Contemporary Research and Development, 2, 133. (in Chinese).
Yu, L., & Fu, G. (2015). New learning ideas in kindergarten curriculum construction in New Zealand. Education Science Forum, 23, 5–8. (in Chinese).
Yu, L., & Liu, Y. Y. (2017). The possibility of improving children learning by assessment: The reflection of learning stories. International and Comparative Education, 39(11), 70–75. (in Chinese).
Yu, Y. P. (2005). Improving kindergarten’s curriculum construction quality in the classroom management practice-Taking Xiamen Experimental Kindergarten as an example. Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 10, 24–27. (in Chinese).
Zhang, Q. (2017a). Do learning stories tell the whole story of children’s learning? A phenomenographic enquiry. Early Years, 37(3), 255–267.
Zhang, Y. (2017b). Case study on improving the practical wisdom of kindergarten researchers based on “Learning Stories”. Journal of Shaanxi Preschool Teachers College, 33(08), 83–87. (in Chinese).
Zhang, Y., & Cheng, X. (2016). The influence of action research based on “Learning Stories” on the generation and development of kindergarten teachers’ practice wisdom. Journal of Preschool Education, 6, 50–59. (in Chinese).
Zhou, X. (2014). Create opportunities for children to learn independently. Guide to Early Childhood Education, 9, 27. (in Chinese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendix
Appendix
Three samples of learning stories composed by our Chinese teachers are presented in this section, respectively representing the three different forms of evaluation in the Chinese context we mentioned in this paper. Since the original learning stories are in Chinese, here we have translated them directly into English so that our readers can understand. The teachers and the children’s names are all pseudonyms. Mosaics are used to protect the children’s identity.
Teacher-centered evaluations
Negative evaluations
Non-targeted evaluations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, S., Hou, Y. Learning Stories as an Assessment: A Case Study Exploring Its Local Application in China. Early Childhood Educ J 49, 693–710 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01092-y
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-020-01092-y