Since August 2021, with the support of Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group , the Preschools of the Future project supported 30 early childhood classes in six townships townships, including Dazhai and Maoteng townships in Qiaojia County.

Over the past two years, the project has focused on improving the hardware and facilities of preschool classes, building teachers' capacity, and carrying out a rich variety of game-based teaching activities covering the five domains of health, language, society, science and art; focusing on the comprehensive and all-round development of young children while raising parents' awareness of early childhood education and improving the quality of pre-school services for young children aged between 3 and 6 in rural areas.

    In June 2023, based on the pre-test assessment of child, parent, and teacher competencies in the preschool classrooms by the project in the previous year, a second post-side assessment was conducted with the following results:

1、49 % increase in early childhood competencies

The result compares pre- and post-side assessments of children's language and communication skills, learning methods skills, number and concepts, reading, writing, cultural identity, social and emotional skills, and physical well-being, and results show the children's abilities have improved significantly compared to the previous year.

Among other things, with the support of the Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group, the project added tables, chairs, and nap beds appropriate to the height of the children, and renovated, decorated, and furnished some of the preschool classes. Teachers of the preschool classes, led by project staff, created indoor and outdoor activity and play areas for the preschool classes, adding age-appropriate toys such as picture books, blocks, snowflakes, etc., and constructing indoor areas such as a reading area, an art and crafts area indoors; they also built their own outdoor activity areas in the outdoor venues, and the project staff made their own play and teaching aids such as tyre swings, etc., and together with the teachers, they created a green park for the preschool classes and opened up planting gardens.

At the same time, on the basis of improving the classroom facilities and taking into account the characteristics of the organisation, the Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group distributed iFunNote electronic pianos, computers and other equipment to the preschool classes it supported.

Once the equipment was complete, under the guidance of the project staff and the Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group, teachers make use of the completed indoor and outdoor play areas to carry out colourful and diversified play-based learning activities for the children. Through indoor corner play activities, such as in the reading area, teacher led children to read or children to read on their own, in order to cultivate the comprehensive quality of reading and enhance the ability to perceive books; in the building area, through the construction of building blocks, snowflakes and other tools, young children's imagination and hands-on skills get fully cultivated; In the outdoor activity area, in accordance with the Child Development Guidelines for 3-6 year olds, teachers guide children to engage in daily play activities, and through outdoor cycling vehicles, hula hoops, rainbow umbrellas and other tools, children fully exercise the coordination of their limbs.

In addition, teachers also pay great attention to cultivating good behavioural habits such as discipline, hygiene and good health.

Based on the China Children's Competency Index questionnaire, the project staff assessed the children in the program through a pre and post-test comparison. The assessment data showed that children enrolled in DadiKid's early childhood classes improved their overall performance by 49 per cent between 2022 and 2023.

2、Teacher capacity enhancement 15 %

Through 1.5 days bi-monthly trainings 6 times a year, semi-annual 2 times vacation training of 5 days per year, the project supports the professional development of teachers' skills and attitudes: ethics and morals, how to create the environment and set up the corners of the preschool classroom, how to manage the preschool classroom, how to use Orff musical instruments and dances, and how to guide the children's development by using picture books. Combined with children's daily routine activities, the project invites training instructors to conduct competency enhancement activities for teachers to develop their overall competencies and to continuously improve their childcare skills. In addition, the project has arranged incentives for teachers, encouraging them to obtain teaching qualifications and giving them certain incentives to enhance their capacity and motivate them to work. The project leader regularly visits the preschool classes to answer questions and help teachers to solve their problems, and applies for opportunities for rural teachers to go out to observe and learn, so as to improve teachers' abilities. Meanwhile, Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group also provides online skills enhancement courses for teachers of the supported preschool classes to support teachers' methodology and skills on iFunNote electronic piano and computer-based English initiation.

In the questionnaire on teachers' capacity enhancement, the overall performance of teachers improved by 15% in the areas of teacher ethics, teaching and learning environment, curriculum design and implementation, day-to-day teaching and learning, self-improvement and classroom management.

3、24% increase in parental capacity

Through the formation of a Parents' Committee, parents are actively involved in the management of large and small matters in the preschool Classes, taking the lead in parent training and parent-child activities to enhance their knowledge and skills in parenting, nutrition and health, children's safety and early childhood education, and to further strengthen the emotional bond with their children.

In the preschool classes supported by DadiKid, an average of 4 large-scale parent-child activities and 4 themed parent meetings are held every year. On Children's Day and other important holidays, the teachers develop relevant themes and parent-child activities and invite parents to participate in the activities with their children. Through parent-child play activities, parents are able to participate in the children's play activities at the school, learn more about the children's life at the school and the education they receive, and at the same time strengthen their relationship with the children. We hold two thematic parent-teacher training meetings per semester, and set up a parent committee so that parents can fully communicate with teachers, share their children's performance and responsiveness at school and at home, and at the same time promote parents' understanding of pre-school education, so that they can have a sense of participation, and will be more actively involved in and pay more attention to early childhood education.

Through parent-child activities, themed parent meetings, and parent questionnaires, the surveyed parents all said that they had made progress in early childhood education, increased their ability to protect their children, and provided more teaching support compared to before. From simply taking care of their children's food, clothing, and shelter, they have gradually become more observant, attentive, and attentive to their children's needs in terms of psychology and education. The result of the study was a 24 % improvement in the overall capacity of parents, as well as an improvement in their ability to protect children and in teaching support.

In the three years since the project was implemented, the capacity of children, teachers and parents has been improved in all areas. With the support of the Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group, the hardware facilities of the preschool classes have been supplemented and improved, and the children have been able to grow and develop better in a higher-quality learning environment; at the same time, the teachers' capacity has been enhanced and their comprehensive personal qualities improved; the parents in the villages have gained a different perspective on early childhood teaching, and their weak awareness of parenting has been enhanced to a certain extent.

The project has received local support from parents, teachers, and the Education Bureau, all of whom agree that the Preschools of the Future project brings better quality teaching to local children and promotes the growth and progress of children in remote villages.

Zhuhai Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group has always been very concerned about early childhood education, thank you very much to Dadikid Early Childhood Education Group for its strong support for rural children, and we look forward to continue to walk hand in hand in the future on the road of fighting for rural children’s quality education.