ERIC Number: EJ1056157
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0068
EISSN: N/A
Education Policy Borrowing and Cultural Scripts for Teaching in China
Tan, Charlene
Comparative Education, v51 n2 p196-211 2015
China's recent education reforms are a result of selective policy borrowing from "the West". Although comparativists have highlighted the importance of cultural context in policy borrowing in China, what remains relatively under-explored is the epistemological basis for cultural views that mediate policy transfer. This article argues that the dominant cultural factors ("cultural scripts") for teaching in China--students' respect for the teacher, student attention and discipline in class, and the importance of practice--find their genesis and justification in a Confucian worldview. Focussing on a Chinese classic text, "Xueji" (Record of Learning), this article elucidates the ancient Chinese views on the nature and transmission of knowledge and explains why the "teacher-dominated" pedagogy is believed by many Chinese educators to be indispensable for "good" teaching. An appreciation of the epistemological foundation of culture, it is argued, is salutary in enhancing our understanding of policy divergence across societies despite their apparent convergence of global/"Western" educational ideas and practices.
Descriptors: Educational Policy, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, Western Civilization, Policy Formation, Cultural Context, Epistemology, Confucianism, Educational Practices, Asian Culture, World Views, Teacher Student Relationship, Technology Transfer, Discipline, Drills (Practice), Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A