Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Deweyan Student-Centered Pedagogy and Confucian Epistemology: Dilemmatic Pragmatism and Neo-Patriotism?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Chinese Education Models in a Global Age

Part of the book series: Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects ((EDAP,volume 31))

Abstract

Drawing on empirical data collected for three separate studies in secondary school contexts in Canada, U.S., and Northwestern P.R.C, this chapter discusses how Deweyan student-centered pedagogy transpires in Confucian epistemological contexts. It illustrates the experiences and perceptions of secondary school immigrant students from Hong Kong, P.R.C., and Taiwan studying in Canada and their Canadian teachers; American high school students and their Chinese teachers; and northwestern P.R.C teachers. The chapter extends the traditional comparative education work further by showing the complexity of shifting practice and mixed philosophies that require consciousness raising, negotiation, and practical support. Through the examination of the clash and conflicts between Chinese Confucian teacher-centered pedagogical belief and American/Canadian Deweyan student-centered pedagogical belief, it speculates a new Chinese educational model that could be identified as dilemmatic pragmatism and neo-patriotism that stretches neoliberal global competition to include exertion of intellectual knowledge influence maybe emerging in this global era.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Beckett, G. H. (1999). Project-based instruction in a Canadian secondary school’s ESL classes: Goals and evaluations. Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckett, G. H., & Li, F. (2012). Content-based English education in China: Students’ experiences and perspectives. The Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 7(1), 47–63. Available at: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/JCIE/issue/archive

  • Beckett, G. H., & Zhao, J. (2015). New curriculum reform in P.R.C: A paradigm shift and impacts on secondary school teachers. Paper presented at the 2015 American Association of Educational research, Chicago, U.S.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckett, G. H., & Zhao, J. (in press). Overworked and stressed teachers under market economy. In S. Guo & Y. Guo (Eds.), Spotlight on China: Changes in education under China’s market economy. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chyu, L., & Smith, D. C. (1991). Secondary academic education. In D. C. Smith (Ed.), The Confucian continuum: Educational modernization in Taiwan (pp. 99–165). New York: Praeger Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobson, W. A. C. H. (1963). Mencius: A new translation arranged and annotated for the general reader. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, J., & Tsai, C. T. (2008). What might Confucius have to say about action research? Educational Action Research, 16(4), 569–578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrugia, C. A. (2014). Charting New Pathways to Higher Education: International Secondary Students in the United States. Center for Academic Mobility Research-Institute of International Education. Retrieved from file:https://www.google.com/#q=Farrugia%2C+C.+A.+(2014).+Charting+New+Pathways+to+Higher+Education:+International+Secondary+Students+in+the+United+States.+Center+for+Academic+Mobility+Research-Institute+of+International+Education

  • Feng, H., Beckett, G. H., & Huang, D. (2013). From ‘import’ to ‘import-export’ oriented internationalization: The impact of national policy on scholarly publication in China. Language Policy, 12(3), 251–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, G., Ting-Toomey, S., & Gudykunst, W. B. (1996). Chinese communication process. In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The handbook of Chinese psychology (pp. 28–293). Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrot, J. R. (1993). Student attitudes toward English language learning and teaching in China. In N. Bird, J. Harris, M. Ingham, N. Bird, J. Harris, & M. Ingham (Eds.), Language and content (pp. 236–249). Hong Kong: Institute of Language Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, H. (1989). To open minds: Chinese clues to the dilemma of contemporary education. New York: Basic Books, Inc. Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halliday, M. A. K. (1994). An introduction to functional grammar (2nd ed.). London: Edward Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hue, M. T. (2007). Emergence of Confucianism for teachers’ definitions of guidance and discipline in Hong Kong secondary schools. Research in Education, 78, 21–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nylon, M., & Wilson, T. (2010). Lives of Confucius: Civilization’s greatest sage through the age. New York: Crown Archetype.

    Google Scholar 

  • Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoor

  • Ping, H. (1995). Chinese attitudes towards learning and reading. In M. Chapman & J. Anderson (Eds.), Thinking globally about education. Vancouver: University of British Columbia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, D. D. (1992). Chinese conceptions of learning and teaching: A westerner’s attempt at understanding. International Journal of Lifelong Learning, 11(4), 301–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, D. D. (2002). Good teaching: One size fits all? In J. Ross-Gordon (Ed.), An up-date on teaching theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • RoÅ¡ker, J. (2014, forthcoming). Epistemology in Chinese Philosophy. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chinese-epistemology/

  • Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/search/searcher.py?page=6&query=epistemology

  • Winch, C., & Gingell, J. (1999). Key concepts in the philosophy of education. London/New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan, C. (2012). We can only change in a small way: A study of secondary English teachers’ implementation of curriculum reform in China. Journal of Educational Change, 13(4), 431–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao, R., Wang, F., Weagley, R., & Liao, L. (2011). Household saving motives: Comparing American and Chinese consumers. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 40(1), 28–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J. (2013). Confucius as a critical educator: Towards educational thoughts of Confucius. Frontier of Education in China, 8(1), 9–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J. (2014). Confucian principles and action research. In D. Coghlan & M. Brydon-Miller (Eds.), Action research encyclopedia (pp. 175–179). London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J. (in progress). Understanding experiences of Chinese language teachers teaching in U.S. classrooms. Dissertation in progress, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J., & Beckett, G. H. (2014). Project-based Chinese as foreign language instruction. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 49(2), 45–73.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. English Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Gulbahar Beckett

  2. School of Education, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

    Juanjuan Zhao

Authors
  1. Gulbahar Beckett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Juanjuan Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gulbahar Beckett .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Chuing Prudence Chou

  2. International Doctoral Program in Asia-P, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan

    Jonathan Spangler

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Beckett, G., Zhao, J. (2016). Deweyan Student-Centered Pedagogy and Confucian Epistemology: Dilemmatic Pragmatism and Neo-Patriotism?. In: Chou, C., Spangler, J. (eds) Chinese Education Models in a Global Age. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 31. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0330-1_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0330-1_19

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-0328-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-10-0330-1

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation