This qualitative study shared the voices of parents, students, and teachers and their perspectives on and experiences at community-based Chinese heritage schools (CHSs) in Southeast Texas. Their voices can be seen as critical inquiries that truly represent the phenomenon of after-school Chinese language education in the United States. With in-depth interviews and content analysis, this dissertation sought to provide greater understanding in: (a) creating a dialogue among the unique perspectives and voices of parents, students, and teachers; (b) documenting how teachers, first-generation parents, and second-generation students negotiate their own unique roles within the CHS system; (c) providing recommendations to school leaders, administrators, and teachers regarding particular methods of working with parents, to make students' heritage language (HL) learning more meaningful; and, (d) underscoring the contention that HL learning is a critical component of a functioning in pluralistic society.

This thesis explores recent trends in Chinese international relations scholarship from the perspective of post-colonial and critical international relations theory. It begins by interrogating the now widespread view that ‘the discipline’ of international relations is profoundly Eurocentric. The claim to parochialism in international relations discourse is explained and substantiated through a critical re-reading of enduring myths in international relations discourse, which shape not only what we know to be international relations but how we mightknow it and who indeed the ‘we’ is that does the knowing. This research adopts a methodology of ghost hunting inspired by Avery Gordon’s work on ghosts and hauntings in the sociological imagination (Gordon 2008). It follows the meandering trail of a ghostly journey through international relations discourse, telling of multiple and conflicting encounters between Chinese international relations and the wider parochial/global discipline. In particular it examines recent debates surrounding the need for a distinctively Chinese approach to international relations research: a Chinese School of IR.Debates about the place of Chinese international relations research in the wider (parochial/global) discipline remain the focus of this research project. A close (re)reading of these debates reveals the many ways in which Chinese international relations discourse actively constructs ‘the discipline’ of international relations, singing it into life, whilst simultaneously unsettling the myths that make international relations possible. These trends are explored further through the use of two case studies of leading scholars – Yan Xuetong and Qin Yaqing – and the enduring debate between them (and between Chinese scholars in general) over whether or not China needs its own theory of international relations. The work of these two individuals has had a huge impact on wider trends within and about Chinese international relations. The thesis concludes with a return to the question of identity in international relations discourse and questions who is Chinese in the Chinese School and what are the implications of constructing ‘Chineseness’ through international relations discourse. I argue that the Chinese School project is perhaps best understood as an expression of contemporary Chinese nationalism.

Detta är en kvalitativ studie, och syftet är att undersöka och få en djupare förståelse för Kinas skolsystem. Resultat från internationella jämförande studier, exempelvis PISA-undersökningen och TIMSS-studien, visar att kinesiska studenter har de högsta matematiska poängen. Detta väckte vårt intresse och ledde till början av denna studie. Forskningsmaterialet kommer från observationer vid tre skolor och intervjuer med aktiva lärare, blivande lärare och en rektor i Hohhot, Kina. Resultaten och slutsatsen av denna studie visar att innehållet i den kinesiska läroplanen är omfattande och ger inte mycket tid att individualisera lektionerna. Det kinesiska skolsystemet är mycket provorienterat, och tillsammans med pressen från samhället och deras föräldrar, är eleverna tvungna att tillbringa en hel del tid att studera.En annan slutsats till denna studie är att blivande lärare i Kina inte har mycket praktik på skolor, men de studerar en hel del matematik och metodik vid universitetet. / This is a qualitative study, and the purpose is to examine and gain a deeper understanding of China’s school system. Results from international comparative studies, such as the PISA survey and the TIMSS study, show that Chinese students have the highest mathematical scores. This evoked our interest and led to the beginning of this study. The research material comes from observations at three schools and interviews with in-service teachers, pre-service teachers and a head teacher in Hohhot, China. The results and the conclusion of this study shows that the content in the Chinese curriculum is comprehensive and does not give much time to individualize the lessons. The Chinese school system is very exam-oriented, and together with the pressure from the society and their parents, the students are forced to spend a lot of time to study. Another conclusion to this study is that pre-service teachers in China do not have much teacher practice at schools, but they study a lot of mathematics and methodology separately at the university.

En France, de nombreux chercheurs s’intéressent à la question de l’expression du corps dans le processus d’apprentissage. En classe, le corps de l’enseignant comme celui de l’élève, est en mouvement continuel, ce qui peut entraîner des ruptures dans la communication maître-élève lors de l’apprentissage. Ces mêmes discontinuités peuvent également être des atouts pour renforcer la communication dans un apprentissage.Dans le cadre de l’école primaire contemporaine chinoise, la recherche que nous avons entreprise, s’efforce de comprendre le type de relations que le sujet apprenant établit avec son environnement à l’école, qu’il soit en situation de réussite ou en situation de difficulté. C’est un domaine assez nouveau en Chine où la recherche sur l’expression du corps dans l’enseignement a commencé seulement au début du XXIème siècle. En nous appuyant sur les théories occidentales sur la communication non verbale, nous avons entrepris en Chine une étude de terrain. Cette étude prend en compte des dimensions multiples empruntant à divers domaines tels que la psychologie, la philosophie, la sociologie, l’anthropologie, et ceux centrés sur la communication non-verbale.La recherche part de ces trois questions. Qu’apporte l’expression du corps dans les interactions en faveur de l’existence d’un lien entre langage corporel et relation pédagogique ? À partir du point de vue de Janine Lafon (1991) exposé dans Vers une gestion de la séduction dans la relation pédagogique, quelle est la place du corps dans les relations pédagogiques ? Dans quelle mesure et comment l’expression du corps dans l’interaction entre l’enseignant et les élèves conditionne-t-elle l’existence d’un lien entre langage corporel et relation pédagogique ?Les questions sont abordées à partir de l’organisation de l’enseignement dans l’école primaire de Chao Yang, section de la ville de Pékin en Chine. La recherche étudie le corps dans la classe, du point de vue de l’enseignant et du point de vue de l’élève : identifier, expliciter la place du corps et des gestes dans des situations d’enseignement en Chine. Pour mener à bien cette recherche dans cette école primaire de Pékin, nous avons construit deux questionnaires soumis à un échantillon de 204 élèves et 16 enseignantes et réalisé deux vidéos de quarante-cinq minutes chacune. Nous avons filmé un cours de mathématiques et un cours de langue chinoise. Dans la mesure où, dans le contexte de la culture chinoise, il n’est pas habituel de montrer ses émotions par des expressions gestuelles, nous avons mis en évidence que les gestes de l’enseignant 1 - jouent un rôle pour favoriser les interactions entre lui et les élèves (relation pédagogique),2 - incitent les élèves à suivre les cours avec plus d’attention,3 - sont indispensables pour accompagner l’expression verbale orale du maître dans sa pratique pédagogique. Autrement dit, les élèves chinois seraient influencés par la voix de la maitresse pendant les cours en classe, par les gestes et la posture physique de l’enseignant. Les élèves chinois seraient plus attentifs pendant le cours quand l'enseignant utilise les gestes non-verbales dans l'enseignement. Nous avons identifié une tendance à la cohérence entre les avis des élèves et ceux des enseignants vis-à-vis de l'influence de la voix de l'enseignant sur l'élève, de même qu’entre les avis des élèves et ceux des enseignants entre la communication non verbale et l’efficacité pédagogique. / Expression of the body language in learning processes in class between pupils and teachers in primary school in ChinaIn France, many researchers are interested in the issue of body expression in learning process. In class, teacher's body student’s body is in a continual motion, which may cause breaks in teacher-student communication in learning. These discontinuities can also be assets for strengthening communication in learning.In the context of contemporary Chinese primary school, the research we have undertaken efforts to understand the type of relationship that the learner subject establishes with its environment at school, when it is an experiencing success or a difficult situat²ion. This is a fairly new area in China where research on the expression of the body in the teacher started only at the beginning of the XXIst century. Building on the Western theories of nonverbal communication, we undertook experimental studies in China. This study takes into account the multiple dimensions borrowing from various fields such as psychology, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and those focused on non-verbal communication.Research starts from these three questions. What does the expression of the body in the interactions in favor of the existence of a link between body language and pedagogical relationship? From the point of view of Janine Lafon (Vers une gestion de la séduction dans la relation pédagogique, 1991), what is the place of the body in the pedagogical relationship? To what extent and how does the expression of the body in the interaction between teacher and students determine that there is a link between body language and pedagogical relationship?The issues are addressed from the organization of teaching in the primary school Chao Yang section of the city of Beijing. The research examines the body in the classroom, the teacher's point of view and from the perspective of the student: identify, explain the place of the body and gestures in teaching situations in China.To carry out this research, tin the same primary schools in Beijing, we built two questionnaires to a sample of 204 students and 16 teachers and produced two videos forty-five minutes each, a mathematics course for one, a Chinese language course to the other.To the extent that in the context of Chinese culture it is not usual to show emotions with gestural expressions, we believe that the teacher's gestures:1 - Play a role in furthering the interaction between him and the students (pedagogical relationship),2 - Encourage students to take courses with more attention,3 - Are essential to accompany the oral verbal expression of the master in his teaching practice.In other words,Chinese students would be influenced by the voice of the mistress during class lessons.Chinese students would be influenced by the actions and the physical posture of the teacher.Chinese students are more attentive during class when the teacher uses nonverbal gestures in teaching.There would be a consistency between the opinions of students and those of teachers facing the influence of teacher’s voice on the student.There would be a consistency between the opinions of students and teachers between those nonverbal communication and teaching effectiveness.

The thesis explores Chinese teachers’ conceptions of teaching and learning Chinese at Chinese complementary schools in Scotland. The teachers taught either Cantonese or Mandarin, the two main Chinese languages spoken by Scotland’s Chinese communities; teaching took place on a voluntary basis at weekends; the teachers were drawn from a variety of occupations; most of the pupils were of Chinese ethnicity, with in addition some non-Chinese children. The research mainly draws on phenomenography, a research approach that investigates variation in conceptions of different phenomena as these appear to particular groups of people – in this case, teachers of Chinese in Scottish complementary schools. The variation refers to the different conceptions of teaching and learning that were identified in the group of teachers as a whole. Semi-structured interviews with each individual teacher were devised, conducted and analysed according to phenomenographic procedures. From the group as a whole six key conceptions of teaching were identified, and likewise six key conceptions of learning. In addition, the research focused on a smaller number of teachers in order to identify individual profiles in greater depth. The teacher interviews also elicited the metaphors that the teachers considered represented good teaching and learning. The interviews also served to identify the factors that the teachers considered had most influenced their conceptions, and they were complemented by qualitative classroom observations designed to identify factors that would allow the researcher to better understand the context in which the teachers had formed their conceptions. The findings showed that Mandarin and Cantonese teachers had much in common, but that also there were clear differences in particular areas that seemed to be explained both by differences in culture between Mandarin-speaking Mainland China and Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong, and also by emerging differences in power and status, with Mandarin assuming a dominant role and Cantonese showing some decline in numbers and in optimism, with some parents switching their children over from Cantonese to Mandarin. More generally, the findings suggested that the teachers were dedicated, adaptable, and different from the stereotypical perception of Chinese teachers of the sort that emphasises examinations, rote-learning and authoritarian teaching style. The teachers in the present study generally understood their pupils had multiple identities and they sought to teach in a child-centred way, and to help their pupils preserve moral values and a Chinese component of their identity through learning Chinese language and experiencing Chinese culture.