Research on the Cultivation of Children’s Creativity under the Background of “Double Reduction” ()
1. Current Situation of Traditional Early Childhood Art Education
1.1. Stereotypical Classroom Teaching Content and Teaching Methods
At present, children’s art education pays attention to the imparting of imitation and patterned graphics, and children’s art curriculum education is far away from children’s actual life experience, focusing on imparting knowledge and painting, attaching more importance to rational knowledge and skills, while ignoring the current psychological immaturity of children. The teaching of most teachers tends to inject some standardized patterns into children’s impressions, simplifying everything in the world into symbols, creating an illusion of “unchanging” in the minds of children. Children simply copy the examples without their own thinking, resulting in a single mode of creative thinking. The entire teaching process is mainly teacher-led, emphasizing the teacher’s skills and level. Overemphasizing form and skills fail to truly stimulate children’s original interest and the good development of creative art education. In the study “Investigation and Countermeasures on the Current Situation of Preschool Children’s Art Education in Xinxiang City”, the current situation of preschool children’s art education in Xinxiang City has been clarified [2] .
1.2. Single Evaluation Standard of Traditional Art Education
The assessment of art education, which simplifies the beauty or ugliness of form as the standard of evaluation, suppresses children’s creativity and ignores the diversity of art. Unlike the imparting of cultural knowledge, art does not have a unified answer and is inherently diverse. Children’s artistic creation has its own personality and characteristics. It is not advisable to judge the quality of a child’s artwork solely based on traditional evaluation standards set by teachers. In aesthetic education, teachers should not transmit the idea that “painting realistically is considered good”. Instead, they should creatively stimulate children’s imagination and creativity, allowing children to discover the beauty around them, feel the beauty, and create their own unique works.
1.3. Impact of Internet Big Data on Children’s Creativity in Art
In today’s social background, with the rapid development of the Internet, almost everyone uses mobile phones to search for information. Teachers also rely on searching existing courses, lacking independent creative thinking, and relying on existing works. In addition, in order to meet the requirements stipulated in the curriculum standards, the school assigns homework that exceeds the children’s ability and actual teaching level. This requires the assistance, or even complete takeover, of parents, who help young children to complete their homework through copying and plagiarism. Under the influence of family environments and teaching methods, children unconsciously adopt copying and plagiarism as the norm in their artistic activities.
2. Principles of Early Childhood Art Education under the “Double Reduction” Policy
2.1. Establishing Correct Psychological Cognition and Value Positioning
In the study of psychology, children aged 3 - 6 often rely on the shape, color, sound, and action of objects to think. They are full of curiosity about the materials that their sensory organs can come into contact with. Art education provides them with a broad world for creativity. Therefore, the free and creative art class is easier for children to love and accept.
The “double reduction” policy aims to lighten the burden on students and promote their comprehensive development. We should respect children’s true thoughts and their understanding of the world, protect their imagination and inspiration, and encourage children in times when they express their artistic creations. We should communicate with children as equals, guide them to describe their creative imagination in words, and allow each child to show their inner world and express themselves [3] . Providing artistic education to young children allows them to experience the warmth, truth, goodness, and beauty of the world. It enables them to resonate with things that are aesthetically pleasing, appreciate the beauty, and better discover more beauty.
2.2. Cultivating Children’s Art Interests Rather than Skills and Promoting Personalized Development
Children do not yet possess enough understanding and control. They have their own unique thoughts and should be encouraged to create and express themselves according to their own ideas, rather than being limited. Teachers should also adopt an encouraging approach, praising the children to make them feel satisfied and recognized, thus developing more interest in art creation. Drawing is a unique way for children to visually see their achievements and develop a sense of pride. Moreover, each person’s artwork has its own characteristics, which can enable children to perceive their own unique traits and foster their individual development, ultimately building self-confidence.
2.3. Integrating Fun Games into Children’s Art Classes and Adhering to the Principle of “Learning through Play”
The core part of early childhood education is activities. Playing is inherent to children, so teachers can carefully design some small games to allow children to experience the charm of art in the game, stimulate their curiosity and initiative, and encourage them to learn independently, so as to improve students’ enthusiasm for art and their motivation for learning. In simple terms, it means learning, exploring, and creating knowledge through games [4] .
2.4. Providing Students with More Opportunities for Aesthetic Appreciation and Creation
Create a living art appreciation atmosphere, allowing young children to be unconsciously influenced by the aesthetic and develop a correct sense of aesthetics, enriching their aesthetic abilities and experiences. Different artworks can be arranged in the children’s living area according to their understanding at different age levels, such as clay sculptures, paper cutting, and paste paintings. Meanwhile, different activity zones can be set up, including reading zone, arts and crafts zone, and construction zone, allowing students to choose areas based on their interests and providing them with materials for independent creativity [5] .
3. Prospects of Children’s Creative Art Education
The early childhood stage is a key period for cultivating creativity and imagination. The implementation of the “double reduction” policy brings new opportunities and challenges to children’s art education. Under the background of “double reduction”, teachers need to prioritize the cultivation of students’ practical creativity as the fundamental task, optimize the teaching process of art, and always adhere to student-centered teaching. Teachers should focus on creating a relaxed and harmonious classroom atmosphere, cultivating students’ sense of inquiry and humanistic feelings, with the aim of integrating art knowledge, teaching content, emotional attitude and personal values, allowing students to feel the happiness of art [6] .