This study forms part of a wider comparative research project investigating the mechanisms and outcomes of school-based curriculum (SBC) development in kindergartens between the two neighbouring cities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, under the umbrella of 'one country, two systems'. This comparison will help to clarify how sociocultural contexts may…

In response to an essay by Prof Wu Zongjie that was published in the "Journal of Curriculum Studies" [43(5), (2011), 569-590], I argue that, despite dramatic changes that have taken place in the language of Chinese academic discourse and pedagogy, evidence derived from the fields of psychology and the history of Chinese educational…

This is a response to the commentaries on my essay, "Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation". However, the response is reoriented to further interpretation of Chinese pedagogic discourse in the late-19th century, which is often blamed for hampering China's educational advance. Instead of considering Classical Confucian pedagogy as…

This paper explores the relevance and significance of the Practical in Schwab's the "Practical 1" paper in relation to the reconstruction of pedagogics as an educational discipline in China. It begins with employing Schwab's 'medical" framework--in terms of "symptoms," "diagnosis" and "prescription"--to…

This is one of the commentaries on Wu's "Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation: Chinese pedagogic discourse in a cross-cultural perspective" ("JCS", 43(5), 569-590). It highlights the paper's demystification of Western pedagogic discourse and recovery of the meaning of Chinese traditional pedagogic discourse as a…

This is the fourth of five commentaries discussing Zongjie Wu's essay, "Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation". It argues that he may have committed two methodological mistakes in his contrast between traditional Chinese education and contemporary Chinese (and Western) education: reverse-Orientalism and a form of fundamentalism.…

This response to Zongjie Wu's "Interpretation, autonomy, and interpretation" focuses on the "battle between East and West" which contextualizes Wu's proposal to counter the current Western domination of Chinese pedagogic discourse with an "authentic language" recovered from the Chinese classics. It points out that it…

With the modernization of Chinese society, beginning in the early-20th century, the Chinese language has experienced a fundamental change that has transformed Chinese pedagogic practices. Modern Chinese discourses, whether of social or scientific practices or on China's intellectual heritage, are largely articulated in westernized discourses that…

This paper examines the nature and socio-political functions of Hong Kong's "Chinese history curriculum" during colonialism and since decolonization and argues that these functions have resulted in a curriculum characterized by rote-learning and geared towards social control. Students are initiated into the traditional, orthodox view of…

This is the first of six commentaries discussing Zongjie Wu's essay, "Interpretation, autonomy, and transformation". Wu's analyses of pedagogy have opened a new window for looking at the essence of education. The comparison of Confucius's pedagogy with contemporary teaching in China provides a striking contrast. However, perhaps it is…

This study examines six US social studies teachers' beliefs and curricular decisions that impact their teaching about Asia. Using interview data, the study seeks to understand the forces that influence what, how, and when teachers teach about Asia in their secondary classes, if and how they position Asians as "others", and what bearing…

We explore immigrant students' experience of schooling focusing on Yang Yang and his family. We present insights into immigrant Chinese educational experience in Canada and bring forward a narrative-inquiry framework for the study of student experience. We find that--contrary to some of the expectations of Chinese immigrants--family relations,…