The development of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in China has spurred some transitions in cultural education related to English curriculum development. Notwithstanding researchers have discussed cultural education in the field of English language teaching, there is still a dearth of study in Chinese academia about the diachronic analysis of…

Numerous studies have noted the difficulties in promoting a common national identity curriculum due to increasing tension between the concepts of local autonomy and national cohesion. Hong Kong's promotion of Moral and National Education provides an interesting case to examine two aspects of this tension -- what national identity education goals…

Nation-states have concerns about the health and wellbeing of their citizens and these concerns have directly or indirectly influenced educational reform and curriculum development. In 2000, China issued a directive of 'Health First' which applied to all elements of the education system. In its scale and scope, this represented a significant and…

As China increasingly engages in global human rights mechanisms, it has demonstrated a commitment to reforming its national curriculum. Through examining textbooks published during Xi Jinping's tenure, this study investigates how China embeds human rights issues in the English language curriculum. The findings indicate that the human rights issues…

This paper analyses the current situation of English as a foreign language (EFL) writing in basic education in mainland China with a focus on the English curriculum standards, instruction and assessment. The National English Curriculum Standards launched by China's Ministry of Education ratified a general framework for EFL writing instruction and…

Using the comparative case study (CCS) method, this article compares the findings from a longitudinal ethnographic research project of rural children in Northwest China (2005-2012) and a second longitudinal study of migrant children in eastern China (2015-2019). It examines rural and migrant students' and educators' (re)interpretations and uses of…

Curriculum material use is an agentive, reciprocal and innovative practice, involving multiple stakeholders such as teacher, students and assessments that mutually shape one another. While it is generally acknowledged that teachers' knowledge and skills deeply shape the way they use materials, little is known about how material use can possibly…

National curriculum standards for different countries mean some International Baccalaureate (IB) schools must often balance IB and national standards. Literature on how schools find this balance is limited. Using a qualitative case study design, we examined the perspectives of teachers of English in a Chinese IB school that recently employed a…