Restoring Childhood Ecology: Three-Dimensional Pathways for Life-Oriented Kindergarten Curriculum from an Ecological Curriculum Perspective

Abstract

Contemporary children’s childhood experiences are increasingly confronted with three ecological crises: “de-naturalization,” the disappearance of nearby environments, and technological dominance. The life-oriented transformation of kindergarten curricula should not be limited to localized adjustments in teaching methods; rather, it requires a systematic restoration of childhood ecology. Based on an ecological curriculum perspective, this study systematically explores the motivations, theoretical logic, and practical pathways of life-oriented kindergarten curriculum development from three dimensions: nature, society, and the child as an active subject. The phenomenon of “nature-deficit disorder” reveals the rupture between children and the natural world. Life-oriented curriculum practices can restore children’s connections with nature through three pathways: sustained nature observation, unstructured nature play, and inquiry-based exploration of natural phenomena. The “disappearance of the nearby” reflects children’s social alienation from community life, which can be addressed through three approaches: institutionalizing community walks, inviting community experts into kindergartens, and implementing community participatory projects to reconstruct children’s “place attachment.” Technological dominance has contributed to fragmented childhood experiences and the proliferation of “inert knowledge.” Life-oriented curriculum practices can promote children’s transition from passive recipients to active meaning-makers through three pathways: transforming children’s personal experiences into curriculum resources, documenting and listening to children’s “powerful ideas,” and establishing technology-minimal periods.