Citizenship Education in Chinese Schools

Abstract

E ducation for citizenship has become a key concern of educational policy and debate in economically advanced countries as well as in developing countries. The question of what constitutes education for citizenship in different nations is critical in both national and international contexts. China is no exception as it emerges from its most recent era of self-enforced isolation, and much can be drawn from China's transformation from the classical idea of its people being subjects of an absolute monarchy claiming divine right to rule in an authoritarian and arbitrary way to the modern democratic concept of citizenship of a country where people enjoy essential equality as human beings and the fundamental freedoms of conscience, religion, opinion, expression and the right to vote. In China 'citizenship' and citizenship education have their roots in the late nineteenth century. Their history can be divided into three major periods: that of social transformation prior to 1949, the period of socialist construction between 1949 and 1978, and the period of innovation from 1978 to the present. This article critically reviews historical developments in the field of Citizenship Education in schools, illustrates some of the issues in contemporary developments, and puts forward some suggestions for future development. A historical review Citizenship Education in China has experienced numerous difficulties of selfidentity but its development eventually reached a stage where it was based on similar understandings to its Western counterparts.

Examining the role of ideological and political education on university students’ civic perceptions and civic participation in Mainland China: Some hints from contemporary citizenship theory

“…In particular, it aims to foster obedience, socialism and communism among university students, but ignores the importance of personal development and civic rights. In other words, curriculum development in ideological and political education at university level has failed to keep pace with the demands of the times, due to its long-term neglect of research on theoretical issues and curriculum design (Chen and Reid, 2002). The participants in the interviews have expressed their definite dissatisfaction towards current ideological and political education, and the most striking argument proposed was that the university curriculum could not provide relevant civic opportunities according to students' ideal notions of civic participation.…”

Social change and teaching and learning citizenship education: An empirical study of three schools in Guangzhou, China

“…Many studies (e.g., Chen & Reid, 2002;Lee, 1996;Lee & Ho, 2008) showed that, while still emphasizing patriotism, collectivism and the leadership of Communist Party of China (CPC), since the 1978 Open Door reforms China has gradually reduced CE's political/ideological content and broadened its focus to include children's personal growth; their family, community, national and global roles; family, social and vocational ethics; and global awareness. Law (2011) and Wang and Tan (2014) showed that Chinese CE's ideological dualism (capitalism versus communism) has been gradually replaced by a more accommodative multidimensional framework centered on students' community spheres (family, school, local, national and international).…”

Controversial Issue Instruction in Context: A Social Studies Education Response to the Problem of the Public

“…Although the revised moral education embodies an increased focus on the individual and is more reflective, one obstacle for reflective morality has been a lack of focus on contemporary topics, which may be a lasting effect from previous iterations marking a struggle for change (Chen & Reid, 2002). A challenge of reconceptualizing moral education in many post-communist countries is that the education teachers and parents received is quite different from new iterations (BukBerge, 2006).…”