Elementary school teachers' attitudes towards project-based learning in China

Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered instructional approach in which learners investigate complex, real-world questions and create tangible products, fostering problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and other 21st‑century skills. While PBL benefits students, teachers’ attitudes are pivotal for successful implementation, as attitudes can shape instructional practices, student motivation, and classroom outcomes. Prior work has explored teachers’ motivation and perceptions of PBL, but little research has examined elementary teachers’ attitudes and their predictors, especially in China. This study therefore investigates Chinese elementary teachers’ attitudes toward PBL and the factors influencing them, recognizing that insights may generalize to similar implementation challenges elsewhere. The study addresses three research questions: (1) What are the attitudes of elementary school teachers towards PBL in China? (2) What factors influence elementary school teachers’ attitudes toward PBL? (3) What is needed to help teachers teach using PBL?

The literature defines PBL as engaging students in constructing knowledge through meaningful projects culminating in real-world products, characterized by driving questions, explicit learning goals, collaborative participation, scaffolding technologies, and artifact creation. Compared to traditional methods, PBL can promote deeper understanding, motivation, and achievement across disciplines, including science and mathematics, and develops 21st‑century competencies. Attitudes are conceptualized as holistic evaluations comprising both affective and cognitive components. The study draws on van Aalderen-Smeets et al.’s (2012) Dimension of Attitude toward Science (DAS), encompassing cognitive beliefs (perceived relevance, perceived difficulty, gender beliefs), affective states (enjoyment, anxiety), and perceived control (self-efficacy, context dependency), adapted here to attitudes toward teaching with PBL. Potential predictors of attitudes include personal characteristics (gender, educational level, years of teaching, subject taught, breadth of teaching experience, participation in training/professional development) and school context (social support, resources, time availability). Prior research shows mixed effects for gender; higher educational attainment is associated with greater self-efficacy and positive attitudes; experience effects can be nonlinear; subject matter may shape domain-specific attitudes; and training/professional development enhance implementation. From a contextual perspective, social support, resources, and time influence teachers’ beliefs and motivation to implement innovations such as PBL. These strands inform the study’s theoretical framework (dimensions and factors) guiding instrument design and analysis.

Design: A mixed-methods design with across-method triangulation was used. Quantitative data (questionnaire) addressed RQ1 and RQ2; qualitative data (unstructured interviews) addressed RQ3. Findings were analyzed separately and then integrated. Participants: 257 Chinese elementary teachers completed the survey via snowball sampling across various schools. Demographics: 69.26% female; 65.76% had 0–5 years teaching; 87.16% held a bachelor’s degree; 75.49% public and 24.51% private schools; 54.86% taught humanities-based subjects and 45.14% science-based; 70.43% taught one subject; PBL training frequency: 19.67% 0 times, 43.19% 1–2 times, 26.07% 3–5 times, 11.67% ≥5 times. Ten teachers (2 male, 8 female; 1–18 years experience; 4 public, 6 private; 1 master’s, 9 bachelor’s; 4 with prior PBL training) were interviewed; interviewees had varying PBL enactment levels. Instruments: The questionnaire had three parts: (1) demographics; (2) attitudes toward PBL adapted from DAS (van Aalderen-Smeets et al., 2012), translated and contextually modified to 20 items across three dimensions—cognitive beliefs (perceived relevance and difficulty), affective states (enjoyment, anxiety), and perceived control; 5-point Likert (strongly agree to strongly disagree). Reliability: total α=0.919; cognitive beliefs α=0.734; affective states α=0.825; perceived control α=0.910. Validity: KMO=0.866; Bartlett’s p<0.001. (3) Contextual factors adapted from Thibaut et al. (2018): social support, resources, availability of time; reliabilities α=0.925, 0.909, 0.718 respectively. Unstructured online interviews, preceded by a primer on PBL, probed how teachers could be supported (e.g., training, time, other supports); sessions were recorded via notes and audio. Data analysis: Quantitative analyses used SPSSPRO. Group differences in attitudes were tested via independent t-tests and ANOVAs. Hierarchical multiple regression, grounded in Bronfenbrenner’s model, entered demographic predictors in Model 1 (controls) and contextual factors in Model 2. Qualitative data were iteratively reviewed; one author created initial mind maps which were verified by a second author; a third author helped resolve discrepancies; themes were collaboratively generated.

Overall attitudes: Teachers generally held positive attitudes toward PBL. Group differences (Table 3): - Educational level: significant differences (F=17.524, p<0.001); higher degrees associated with more positive attitudes (Master’s and above M=3.52; Bachelor M=3.47; Below bachelor M=2.90). - Years of teaching: significant (F=11.383, p<0.001); mid-career (6–10 years M=3.60) most positive; longest tenure (≥20 years M=2.90) least positive. - Subject taught: significant (t=−1.988, p=0.048); science-based teachers (M=3.48) more positive than humanities-based (M=3.34). - Not significant: gender (t=−1.287, p=0.199); number of subjects taught (t=2.064, p=0.405); school type (t=0.266, p=0.790). Predictors of attitudes (hierarchical regression; Table 4): - Model 1 (demographics): R^2=0.130, F=6.242, p<0.01; educational level (B=0.233, β=0.233, p<0.001) positive; years of teaching (B=−0.075, β=−0.181, p=0.004) negative. - Model 2 (adding contextual factors): R^2=0.628, F=41.512, p<0.01; ΔR^2=0.498, ΔF=82.244, p<0.01. Significant predictors: subject taught (B=0.100, β=0.090, p=0.028), training (β=0.208, p<0.001), social support (B=0.276, β=0.404, p<0.001), resources (B=0.088, β=0.157, p=0.010), availability of time (B=0.106, β=0.195, p<0.001). Interpretation: more PBL training, stronger social support, better resources, and more available time are associated with more positive attitudes; science subject teachers more positive. Qualitative themes (interviews): - Training and professional development: all 10 emphasized importance; prior training helpful; need for ongoing PD (seminars, expert reports) beyond initial training. - Collaboration and leadership: 9 emphasized cooperation with colleagues; 8 highlighted need for a clear, supportive vision from school management and practical supports (e.g., organizing training, facilitating collaboration). - Resources and budget: 9 cited lack of technical materials; 8 noted insufficient financial support for project materials. - Time: all 10 cited insufficient teaching hours as the biggest barrier; PBL requires extended time for authentic problem-solving and product creation.

Findings show Chinese elementary teachers generally view PBL positively, aligning with literature on its pedagogical benefits. Attitudes vary by educational level, years of teaching, and subject domain: higher degrees and science subjects correspond to more favorable attitudes, and mid-career teachers are most positive, while very experienced teachers show lower enthusiasm—consistent with research on self-efficacy trajectories and resistance to new pedagogies later in careers. Regression analyses highlight that, beyond demographics, malleable school-context factors—training, social support, resources, and time—strongly predict attitudes (accounting for nearly half the additional variance). These factors likely reduce perceived difficulty and anxiety while boosting perceived control and enjoyment, thereby improving attitudes per the DAS framework. Qualitative insights corroborate these mechanisms: teachers need sustained PD, collaborative cultures, administrative vision and support, adequate technical materials and budgets, and sufficient instructional time to implement PBL effectively. Collectively, the results address the research questions by (1) characterizing generally positive but heterogeneous attitudes, (2) identifying key personal and contextual predictors, and (3) specifying supports teachers deem necessary for effective PBL teaching. The findings underscore the importance of systemic, school-level supports to translate positive dispositions into robust PBL enactments.

This study contributes a mixed-methods examination of Chinese elementary teachers’ attitudes toward PBL, documenting generally positive attitudes with meaningful differences by education level, experience, and subject domain, and identifying modifiable school-context predictors—training, social support, resources, and time—that substantially shape attitudes. Practically, schools and systems should: expand sustained PBL-focused professional development; foster collaborative cultures and provide clear administrative vision; invest in technical materials and project budgets; and allocate sufficient instructional time for authentic projects. Future research should employ more balanced samples across experience levels, examine additional determinants (e.g., student motivation and classroom composition), incorporate rigorous qualitative reliability (e.g., inter-rater reliability), and explore longitudinal links between attitudes, fidelity of PBL implementation, and student outcomes across diverse educational contexts.

- Sample composition: the survey over-represented teachers with 0–5 years of experience; fewer participants had longer tenures, potentially limiting generalizability across experience levels. - Omitted variables: while personal characteristics and school context were examined, other influences (e.g., student motivation) may affect attitudes and were not measured. - Qualitative rigor: no inter-rater reliability coefficient was reported for qualitative coding, which may affect the trustworthiness of thematic interpretations.