This paper describes how the way the concept of learning is identified and managed in a societal context can provide a crucial clue to explaining how a form of culture as a complex mental organism is constructed and interwoven. Specifically, I argue the point by illustrating that the discourse of Confucianism has fabricated a specific form of…

Ma Xiangbo was born in 1840 and became a pioneer of educational reform during the republican period. He was responsible for introducing the idea that science and humanities should be valued equally in liberal arts education, a concept that became key to the model of university education. Ma's view of education combined Western humanism and science…

Despite its close geographical, economic, and political ties with mainland China, Hong Kong has not followed the same trajectory on gifted education but instead has preferred to adopt a more Western approach to the definitions and provision for gifted learners (Shi & Zixiu, 2000; Zou, Yang, & Greene, 2007). Hong Kong is, on most measures…

This paper addresses the complex relationship between Confucian values and music education in East Asia, particularly its history in China. How does one account for the present "cultural fever" of Western classical music that has infected more than 100 million Chinese practitioners? It is proposed that Western classical music finds…

The intensified competition of the global, market-based knowledge economy requires change leadership in universities and colleges throughout the world. National policy makers increasingly see knowledge as a core resource of modern economies and a prerequisite for global competitiveness. By implication, the quality of university leadership becomes…

The following describes the philosophies of Confucius (Confucianism) and John Dewey (pragmatism/instrumentalism/experimentalism) and their views toward vocational, technical, general academic instruction, and the development of morals and values as espoused throughout Asia and America during a span of history from 551 BCE to 1949 CE. This is not…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the leadership values and practices of Confucius in the light of transformational leadership theory. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is literature based. Findings: The paper discusses four key dimensions of transformational leadership theory: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual…

Historically, Chinese educational philosophy has been dominated by Confucianism and, since 1949, by Marxism. However, rapid industrialization, ideological demands, and loyalty to traditions have now led to a situation where various Western philosophies have been adopted into vocational education in hopes of moving the country forward without…

The primary aim of this paper is to explore a common dichotomy that characterizes debate about what has come to be termed "appropriate methodology". It is that between "traditional" and "communicative" approaches to language teaching, a distinction that persists despite arguments by some that the term…

This is the second of four essays discussing Wu's "Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation: Chinese pedagogic discourse in a cross-cultural perspective" (JCS, 43(5), 569-590). The essay is interesting against the background of recent debates, both inside and outside China, about the relationship between the Chinese and Western…

The author calls for scholars of rhetoric and composition to become familiar with the cosmology, language, educational attitudes, speech genres, and intellectual debates of a specific culture other than their own. For a case study, she turns to Chinese history and focuses on exchanges between three models of rhetoric: Confucian, Daoist, and…

English learners (ELs) from Confucian heritage culture (CHC) are often perceived to be reserved and conforming to the authority of the classroom. But a careful look at struggles between a CHC student and the mainstream teacher reveals that the teacher's views and pedagogical approaches shape academic and social hierarchy in the classroom.…

While increasing attention is being paid to the ideological debate on Confucian-influenced cultural values communicated in Chinese language textbooks, EFL textbooks remain under-examined since the TEFL/TESOL is typically assumed to be "technical" and "neutral". Drawing on critical theoretical perspectives on curriculum,…

It is argued that it is unnecessary to propose that Confucian values explain the high achievements in math and science of the North East Asian peoples, and that these can be satisfactorily and more parsimoniously be explained by their high IQs.

The theory of transformative learning has been explored by different theorists and scholars. However, few scholars have made an attempt to make a comparison between transformative learning and Confucianism or between transformative learning and andragogy. The authors of this article address these comparisons to develop new and different insights…