Design and application of a CBVE-BOPPPS teaching model for higher vocational infant and childcare curriculum in China

Higher vocational and technical colleges bear the responsibility of cultivating professionals aligned with the development of the infant and childcare industry, and curriculum design serves as the direct pathway for nurturing such talent. Therefore, this study employs the Design and Development Research (DDR) methodology, integrating the ADDIE instructional design model under the Competency-Based Vocational Education (CBVE) and BOPPPS teaching model (CBVE-BOPPPS), to systematically design and implement the Infant and Childcare Curriculum (ICCC). Based on the Research Objectives, the study proposes a closed-loop research question framework encompassing: how to design and develop the ICCC based on CBVE- BOPPPS; whether differences exist between the CBVE-BOPPPS group and the traditional teaching model group in terms of Student Academic Achievement (SAA), UWES-S scores, and Enterprise tutors' scores (ETS) of infant and childcare sevice skills; and what challenges and coping strategies teachers encounter when designing and implementing ICCC based on CBVE theory using the BOPPPS model. To validate teaching effectiveness, this study sampled 32 students (CBVE-BOPPPS group) and 30 students (TTM group) from NP College for a three-month investigation. The results show that the ICCC teaching design and the core CBVE indicators, determined through a systematic literature review and expert interviews, achieved remarkable results when applied to the CBVE-BOPPPS group. Parametric tests revealed that the post-test SAA of the CBVE-BOPPPS group was significantly higher than that of the TTM group (t=3.18, p<0.05, d≈0.80). Regarding learning engagement, the CBVE-BOPPPS group demonstrated greater Vitality (t=2.580, P<0.05, d≈0.656), concentration (t=3.744, P<0.05, d≈0.952), and Dedication (t=3.695, P<0.05, d≈0.939). However, no significant difference existed in pre-test and post-test Absorption scores for CBVE-BOPPPS (t=1.725, P>0.05, dₖ≈0.459). Regarding the ETS dimension, the CBVE-BOPPPS group demonstrated significantly higher post-test scores than the TTM group in Safety and Security (t=3.063, P<0.05, d ≈ 0.78), Life Care (t=4.617, P<0.05, d ≈ 1.17), Early Development (t=4.617, P<0.05, d ≈ 1.03), Daily Health (t=5.118, P<0.05, d ≈ 1.34), and Environment Creation (t=4.056, P<0.05, d ≈ 1.05). Finally, teacher interviews corroborated the CBVE-BOPPPS group's coping strategies for addressing implementation challenges from an instructional design optimisation perspective. They also explained why Absorption did not improve significantly in this group. Teachers employed strategies such as multi-centred teaching concepts to resolve the tension between CBVE competency standardisation and BOPPPS openness in the design. They addressed implementation challenges, such as excessive workload, by clarifying professional roles. Thus, quantitative findings validate the model's effectiveness, while qualitative research further elucidates and supplements its practicality. This study not only establishes implementation pathways for the ICCC system design and CBVE indicator tools but also innovates a research framework integrating theory and models. It also provides a competency-based perspective on cultivating high-quality childcare talent in China's vocational education.