A Study on the Development of a Model for Integrating Aesthetics into the Curriculum at Vocational Schools in Jilin Province, People’s Republic of China, from the Perspective of Local Cultural Guidance, Using Preschool Education as an Example

Abstract

Background: In Jilin Province, vocational preschool education is supposed to train teachers who will be in a position to transform local cultural resources into appropriate age-related aesthetic experiences. However, we can still find curricula reform that is either culture-better and pedagogically weak or professionally rich but culture-thin. Purpose: In this study, a Two Driving Wheels + Four Dimensions of Synergy model that incorporates the Jilin local culture in the curriculum of aesthetics was developed and empirically evaluated in vocational preschool education.

Methods: An adapted ADDIE sequence was used for the research-and-development design. The model combined local cultural guidance, industry-education integration, curriculum redesign, project-based learning, museum-kindergarten practice, and process/outcome assessment. The mixed-methods protocol included expert validation, paired comparison, correlation, multiple regression, and Miles-Huberman thematic analysis.

Findings: The expert validation was strong in six model dimensions (V=0.83-0.94, according to Aiken). The mean scores of cultural cognition, aesthetic innovation, industry-needs fit, and practical teaching design (all p<0.001; Cohen dz=1.55-2.56) increased between the pre- and post-implementation. Cultural cognition (r=0.72), project engagement (r=0.79), and practicum feedback (r=0.74) had the strongest relationships with aesthetic innovation. The regression analysis revealed that cultural cognition (β =0.34), project engagement (β =0.21), practicum feedback (β =0.22), and industry alignment (β =0.22) had independent relationships with post-test aesthetic innovation (adjusted R2=0.78). Qualitative themes revealed that while the display of aesthetics of authentic local resources was teachable, sustainable integration hinged on assessment rubrics, partner feedback, and teacher mediation.

Conclusion: The model presents a viable curriculum model, but its richness does not reside in the fact that cultural content is included as much as the fact that it is a cycle where creative production should be based on evidence, cultural cognition is enhanced by and through evaluation, and the same is true throughout all disciplines.