The purpose of the study was to look into the past educational history of China as well as to determine the nature of the conflicts that have developed in Chinese education and the likely ways in which these conflicts will be resolved. The major inputs of educational policies at each stage of development were identified and discussed. Particular emphasis was placed on the impacts of the on-going educational innovations after Mao upon the future educational system of China. Although this "educational foundations" approach was the major methodological basis of the study, the nature of the topic and characteristics of the Chinese society required an interdisciplinary approach. In addition to historical description, the other technique used was an opinion survey of scholars in China studies regarding the future of Chinese education. Some seventy-nine recognized scholars throughout the world in the educational and related studies of China were consulted. 1. Education in China is a tool of the political leadership. The texts of educational policy reflect the values which the leadership wishes to inculcate in the citizens. 2. Education in the fields of science and technology is a basic tool for China's modernization. In these areas, China might have lost a generation, as was recently admitted by its Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao-p'ing). It is therefore likely the Chinese will continue a relatively practical and pragmatic course. 3. Mao's mass education, though necessary in the past, has outlived its usefulness, especially at the level of higher education. 1 The Maoist legacy will continue, but, as is hinted by the leadership today, it will not be the core value of future education. The forces in Chinese society that are in favor of a more ideological approach to education might find it more difficult to make their influence felt. 4. Pursuant to the stated goal, Chinese education did not develop individual talents, but aimed at producing citizens with specific levels of expertise and political commitment to the system. The current Chinese leaders were not satisfied with the rate of progress though literacy among the masses has improved. FT-he Chinese will borrow aspects of education from abroad but they will transform them into a unique Chinese style of educational system. 5. The underlying forces for the post-Mao reforms in education appear to be such that the pre-1966 trends should be chosen as the base more relevant to the study of future trends. The Cultural Revolution can be treated as an aberration in China's educational development. 6. Today, the Chinese society is being pulled forward by its own "magnetic images of an idealized future" resulting from the "Four Modernizations." This implies that the current trend toward science and technology will continue in the future.The more specific findings of the opinion survey are summarized as follows: (A) The respondents to the survey questionnaire indicate that the emphasis on science and technology education will continue in the future of China. At the same time, the increased emphasis on scientific and technological expertise is likely to open the door to the social sciences and the humanities. Admittedly, if the push for modernization in China does not prove immediately successful, the experts indicate that more radical change will be made in their educational system. (B) However, the current trend of emphasis on science and technology education or an elitist approach to education will not result in a model similar to that of the West orof the Soviet Union. Yet the likelihood of China developing a Soviet-like model of education is small but larger than that of its developing a Western model. (C) In spite of the current thrust of the elitist approach to education, the "red" versus "expert" debate will be repeated in the future of China, and there will also be a curtailment of freedom if Chinese scholars criticize their government. (D) Although the present emphasis on "ability" in the Chinese educational system will re-introduce the classic schism between intellectuals and the people, there is less possibility that the renewed respect for scholarship will bring with it a return to traditional intellectual elitism in China.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1965. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-147).

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the development of the theory and practice of education in the People's Republic of China using as much as possible the framework out of which the Chinese communists themselves view it. Part I deals with education contextually in order to establish it as an important component of modernization in transitional societies such as China. Both Western and Chinese communist concepts of modernization are considered. Chapter i of Part I is a brief historical survey of the development of education in pre-communist China. Part II constitutes the bulk of- the thesis and discusses the two main components of Chinese communist education—theory and practice. Chapter iii is an analysis of the evolution of the Chinese communist theory of education. The method used is discussion of the major documents dealing with the Chinese communist theory of knowledge and education since 1934. Most of these were written by Mao and were based on his understanding of Marxism-Leninism which is also discussed in detail. After 1949, the two most important educational documents (1950 and 1958) are translated in the Appendix and discussed in the text. This chapter on theory traces common themes in the theory and bears out the proposition that in its most essential aspects the communist theory of education in China since 1934 has remained constant. Chapter iv deals with the quantitative aspects of education since 1949 and gives a general discussion of facilities, enrollment (supported in the Appendix with-tables) and changes in the practice of education. Chapter v attempts a synthesis of the sections on theory and practice by juxtaposing theoretical campaigns against the responses of various educational institutions. All of these campaigns were designed to bring about a closer relationship between the theory and practice of education. This discussion supports the main assertion of the thesis that since 1949 the Chinese communist theory of education has never been realized in practice and in fact has met stiff resistance in certain areas. This has led to the Cultural Revolution in the field of education and the kinds of educational reforms which are taking place today. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

published_or_final_version / Chinese / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Arts in Education

published_or_final_version / abstract / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Affective domain is believed globally to be one of the main areas of human experience and development. While affective education is generally valued as a significant aspect of education, its interpretation and realization may vary across countries and cultures. The primary purpose of the present research is to investigate how affective education is conceptualized and implemented in contemporary China. To achieve such an aim, a qualitative case study was conducted in the capital city of Guangdong Province- Guangzhou. A middle school in the city with uniqueness in its practice of affective education was selected as the case school for study. Fieldwork was carried out from the year of 2005 to 2007 to investigate the perceptions of school leaders, teachers and students about the concept and practice of affective education. Multiple methods were employed in this research. Data were drawn from in-depth interviews with the present and former school principal, Communist Party Secretary at school, teachers and students of the school. Evidence was also collected via on-site observations, analysis of textbooks, learning materials and school documents. A shadowing approach of observation to the principal was also launched. A total of 42 informants were interviewed and 25 sessions of participant and non-participant observations were conducted in the campus. Different sources of the data were categorized, thematically analyzed, and triangulated. The functions, content elements and the practice of affective education were identified. Findings showed that affective education was implemented in the name of Meiyu which meant aesthetic education in its broadest sense. The salient functions and content of Meiyu as affective education were closely related to character formation and Chinese traditional values as well as political ideology. An essential feature of centralized management of affective education in a collectivistic culture was also illuminated in the study. The findings revealed the essential class teachers’ pastoral task of being role models for character development and providing comprehensive care and support to individual student and at class level. It was also affirmed that time-honoured moral values were particularly dominant for creating school climate in a Chinese context. The provision of affective education as shown in this study involved a direct concern for the moral development of students. Playing the role as an agent imparting moral values, affective education in China cultivates a unique affective experience- Chinese affect to nurture moral individuals with the ultimate goal of serving the interests of the collective. The unique approach of implementing affective education in a Chinese pastoral care structure also witnesses the tension of regulation of self versus liberation of self. While this study reaffirms mainland theorists’ framework about affective moral education, it also informs the extant theories of affective education that though affective education in the East and the West are concerned about enhancing students’ affective development, they differ much in their emphasis. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

 In the past 30 years, the inspiring progress of the basic education in China has attracted global attention, not merely for China’s determination of developing national education, but for the workable strategies adopted by the Chinese government to implement the right to education as well. The right to education, a fundamental human right recognized in both global and domestic legal system, is elaborated by United Nations human rights bodies on four key dimensions of availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability. The achievement of expanding education to all children for minimum of nine years in China, to a certain extent, is a quantitative triumph of universal access to basic education. However, beyond the statistical victory of enrollment in schools, the increasing disparity of access to good quality education among different social groups, especially between urban and rural children, remains the biggest challenge for China to fully meet the four dimensions of the right to education. The thesis attempts to explore the factors related to policy-making, institutional governance and legal protection, which may result in the gaps in qualitative development of the basic education in China. The study focuses on the development of basic education in China and scrutinizes the two aspects of implementation of the right to education: policy-making and protection of individual right. In the line with a human rights-based approach promoted by United Nations and UNESCO, the thesis evaluates how the Chinese government performs the obligations to promote, protect and fulfill the right to education in terms of availability, accessibility, acceptability, and adaptability. The thesis observes that the fulfillment of right to education in China, despite the remarkable quantitative increase in school enrollment and educational facilities, has not fully complied with the obligations required by the relevant human rights treaties. To meet with universal standards on basic education further, the study concludes that strategies for implementing the right to education in China must shift to qualitative development by applying a rights-based approach to education and an effective framework for the provision and enforcement of legal remedies for the substandard education. These analyses are crucial to inspect the development of Chinese basic education, which both presents China’s successful strategies of promoting national action plans of education, and reveals gaps remained in the enforcement of the right to education in China. The purpose of the research is not only to address the current problems existing in the field of basic education, but also to explore the adoptable measures to further improve the enjoyment of the right to education in China. / published_or_final_version / Law / Master / Doctor of Legal Studies