published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

abstract / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

No description available.

Since the "reform and opening-up" policy, Chinese society has been greatly affected by rapid industrialization, the installation of a market economy, and exposure to Western ideas and practices. These changes are having an impact on the current moral education program in varying degrees of intensity. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a framework for moral education in a meaningful and practical manner, and to provide an antidote to the current confusion regarding values in China. This thesis examines moral theories from both Eastern and Western perspectives. It focuses on Confucianism and Storytelling primarily. Confucianism, specially the Five Constant Virtues, still has practical value for a modern Chinese society. The storytelling approach, it is argued, creates the opportunity for critical thinking and self-reflection, and embraces both traditional and modern concerns. I conclude that a new moral education curriculum integrating Confucianism and storytelling is particularly promising in this regard.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

published_or_final_version / abstract / Education / Master / Master of Education

对于中国教育不平等的研究，已有文献多以成年人为研究对象、关注教育结果不平等在中国特定时期或特定制度下的表现形式，而较少从家庭层面直接关注教育不平等的实际形成过程。本论文基于最新的、具有全国代表性的儿童数据，分析家庭背景对尚处于基础教育阶段的子女教育成就的影响作用、并关注家庭为子女所投入的各种教育资源。由于早期教育阶段的学业成绩和教育投入会影响更高教育阶段的学业成绩乃至最终的教育水平，本论文是一项试图从家庭层面理解教育不平等形成机制的探索。 / 本论文以"家庭背景──教育成就"这一关系为主线，主要包括三项研究，分别对应于中国当前在两性关系（第二章）、教育体系（第三章）、家庭规模（第四章）这三个重要方面所经历的变迁。第二章探讨家庭背景与两性学业成绩差异之间的关系。数据结果显示，男孩在字词得分上的劣势随着父母教育水平和家庭收入水平的提高不断减小，而两性在数学得分上的相当则是高收入家庭的男性优势和低收入家庭的男性劣势共同作用的结果。进一步分析显示，不同社会经济地位的家庭对男孩和女孩教育的经济投入都是无差别的，但社会经济地位较低的家庭对男孩的日常关注则少于对女孩的关注。这与以往大多研究在东亚社会发现的"男性偏好"模式是不同的。第三章的发现课外辅导对儿童学业成绩的显著作用以及儿童课外辅导活动与家庭背景之间存在正向关系，这有助于我们认识校外教育在型塑教育不平等中的作用。第四章考察在当前中国低生育率背景下家庭规模的增大仍然对儿童学业成绩以及儿童在教育过程中所获得的各项家庭资源──经济投入资源、父母参与资源、家庭环境资源──具有消极作用，并且，这些家庭资源可以有效解释家庭规模对儿童学业成绩的消极作用。另外，不同类型家庭资源的解释力在不同学科上具有差异。 / Concerning the educational inequality in China, prior research generally utilized adult samples to delineate forms of educational inequality in changing historical periods or institutional contexts of China. However, little attention was paid to the concrete process through which educational inequality was generated at the household level. This dissertation draws upon recently collected, nationally representative children data to investigate the effects of family backgrounds on Chinese children’s educational performance, and stresses specific forms of educational investment in children made by Chinese families. As educational performances and parental investment in earlier educational stages could affect educational performance in later educational periods and final educational outcomes, this dissertation is an attempt to explore the mechanisms of educational inequality at the household level. / Centering on the link "family background-educational performance", this dissertation consists of three specific studies, which talk to the societal contexts of gender relationship, educational reform, and fertility decline, respectively. In terms of the gender relationship, chapter 2 examines the effects of family backgrounds on gender gap in educational performance. Empirical results show that the beneficial effects of parental education and household income are larger for boys than for girls. These results are quite contrary to the theoretical framework of son preference, but empirically support the male vulnerability hypothesis which is becoming popular in western societies. Futher, results show that family economic investment in children’s education is indifferent to gender; however, boys are disadvantaged in obtaining parental non-economic investment compared to girls when educational level of parents and income level of households are low. / With regard to the educational reform, chapter 3 investigates whether children’s tutoring behaviors are influenced by family backgrounds, and whether private tutoring benefits children’s educational performance. Analyses in this chapter show that both children’s likelihood of attending private tutoring and the exact amount of money they receive from parents for their tutoring are positively associated with parental education and family income. Results also show that controlling for family backgrounds, children who have attended private tutoring perform better in the verbal test than those who have not, but there is no significant difference in math performance between the two groups. Within the group of children who have attended private tutoring, higher monetary spending on tutoring predicts both higher verbal test scores and higher math test scores. / In examining the effects of sibship size on children’s educational performance as well as the educational resources they obtain from their families, chapter 4 divides family resources that might be beneficial to children’s education into three dimensions: financial investment resources, parental involvement resources, and family environment resources. Empirical results reconfirm that children from big family size are disadvantaged both in obtaining all these educational resources and in academic achievement. Moreover, results show that these educational resources could explain substantively the negative effect of family size on academic achievement, whereas the three types of family resources contribute differently to explaining the differences in word test and math test among children with different sibship sizes. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 張月云. / Parallel title from added title page. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-101). / Abstracts also in English. / Zhang Yueyun.

Bibliography: leaves 244-276. / xi, 276 leaves ; 30cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / This dissertation not only examines the achievements and problems in the structure, funding, teaching resources, curriculums as well as employment opportunities of secondary vocational and tertiary education (VTE) in China, but also assesses political, social and psychological effects on secondary VTE students and parents. --p. ix. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 2005