This book draws on a rich ethnographic study to examine Chinese democracy and its practices in democratic education. As the first book to interrogate practices of democratic education from an insider perspective, it offers a unique model of Chinese democratic education based in school practices. It illuminates connections between the school practices of Chinese democratic education, the Chinese democratic system and the effects of globalizations. As such, it analyses the particular ways in which educators can and must balance global needs and local cultures. Ultimately arguing that comprehension of Chinese democracy and its educational practices should take root in the specific social and cultural context in which it was developed, it advocates that a more comprehensive understanding of democracy and democratic education can be achieved. Building on this premise, it outlines ways to guide enhanced critical analysis and cultivate mutual cultural respect, thereby contributing to the pursuit of a more peaceful world. Drawing on rich and detailed narratives, dialogue, observation, and reflexivity, the author successfully situates the Chinese experience within a global landscape and challenges the mainstream understanding of democracy on the global stage. Promoting tolerance of other cultures and opening up new ways of thinking from a globally diverse perspective, it will appeal to researchers, postgraduate students and educators with interests in global citizenship education, social studies education, democracy, and international education.

. Renewal of Life by Transmission. The most notable distinction between living and inanimate things is that the former maintain themselves by renewal. A stone when struck resists. If its resistance is greater than the force of the blow struck, it remains outwardly unchanged. Otherwise, it is shattered into smaller bits. Never does the stone attempt to react in such a way that it may maintain itself against the blow, much less so as to render the blow a contributing factor to its own continued action. While the living thing may easily be crushed by superior force, it none the less tries to turn the energies which act upon it into means of its own further existence. If it cannot do so, it does not just split into smaller pieces (at least in the higher forms of life), but loses its identity as a living thing. As long as it endures, it struggles to use surrounding energies in its own behalf. It uses light, air, moisture, and the material of soil. To say that it uses them is to say that it turns them into means of its own conservation. As long as it is growing, the energy it expends in thus turning the environment to account is more than compensated for by the return it gets: it grows. Understanding the word "control" in this sense, it may be said that a living being is one that subjugates and controls for its own continued activity the energies that would otherwise use it up. Life is a self-renewing process through action upon the environment.

In this book, Ying Zhou argues that educational reform filled a critical role in bridging the precarious gap between democratic ideals and political realities in late Qing and Republican China, where institutional change in education and the cultivation of a qualified citizenry were two sides of the same coin in the development of democratic education. Through a multi-level analysis of the (re)arrangements of national education and teachings of citizenship, Zhou unravels the complex political and educational nexus in China between 1901–1937, where the hope of education was to bring both political modernity and social progress.

Based on case studies of 11 societies in the world’s most dynamic region, this book signals a new direction of study at the intersection of citizenship education and the curriculum. Following their successful volume, Citizenship Education in Asia and the Pacific: Concepts and Issues (published as No. 14 in this series), the editors, widely regarded as leaders in the field in the Asia-Pacific region, have gone beyond broad citizenship education frameworks to examine the realities, tensions and pressures that influence the formation of the citizenship curriculum. Chapter authors from different societies have addressed two fundamental questions: (1) how is citizenship education featured in the current curriculum reform agenda in terms of both policy contexts and values; and (2) to what extent do the reforms in citizenship education reflect current debates within the society? From comparative analysis of these 11 case studies the editors have found a complex picture of curriculum reform that indicates deep tensions between global and local agendas. On one hand, there is substantial evidence of an increasingly common policy rhetoric in the debates about citizenship education. On the other, it is evident that this discourse does not necessarily extend to citizenship curriculum, which in most places continues to be constructed according to distinctive social, political and cultural contexts. Whether the focus is on Islamic values in Pakistan, an emerging discourse about Chinese ‘democracy’, a nostalgic conservatism in Australia, or a continuing nation-building project in Malaysia – the cases show that distinctive social values and ideologies construct national citizenship curricula in Asian contexts even in this increasingly globalized era. This impressive collection of case studies of a diverse group of societies informs and enriches understanding of the complex relationship between citizenship education and the curriculum both regionally and globally.

This book studies three female Chinese intellectuals in the first half of the 20th century, namely Feng Yuanjun, Lu Yin, and Cheng Junying, the first graduates of Beijing Female Higher Normal College, which was the first-ever national higher educational institution for women in modern China. Combining narrative inquiry, life history, oral history, and psychohistory methods, it comprehensively explores the specific developmental paths and mental processes of the post-May Fourth female intellectuals, and examines the complex interrelationships between various factors including social, academic, gender, and educational evolution in the first half of the 20th century, and the emergence of modern Chinese female intellectuals. The book is highly recommended for all scholars, undergraduate and graduate students of modern Chinese history, gender and women’s studies, history of education, history of higher education, etc., and for all those who are interested in female Chinese intellectuals.

An accessible and critical introduction to the political writings of three seminal figures in modern Chinese democratic thought. Author and political scholar David J. Lorenzo examines the democratic writings of Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, and Chiang Ching-kuo, providing a coherent summary that situates their ideas within the broader traditions of political theory. His comparative study allows the reader to understand each leader’s perspective while highlighting important contradictions, strengths, and weaknesses. Lorenzo further considers the influence of their writings on political theorists, democracy advocates, and activists on mainland China. Students of political science and theory, democratization, and Chinese culture and history will benefit from the book’s substantive discussions of democracy. Scholars and specialists will appreciate the larger arguments about the influence of these ideas and their transmission through time.

Lei Wang researches John Dewey’s pedagogical influence on the historical context of China and compares his observations and his basic democratic approach with the concepts and practical implementation of his Chinese students. As a result, it turns out that the spread of pragmatic philosophy in China was accompanied by reductionism, misunderstandings, Confucian doctrine and nationalism and that Dewey’s reform proposals can open a democratic perspective on current challenges in Chinese society. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Dewey’s research trip to China, the author emphasizes the contemporary significance of his work. The results of her study can clarify and correct errors that continue to have effect today.

This handbook brings together a range of global perspectives in the field of critical studies in education to illuminate multiple ways of knowing, learning, and teaching for social wellbeing, justice, and sustainability. The handbook covers areas such as critical thought systems of education, critical race (and racialization) theories of education, critical international/global citizenship education, and critical studies in education and literacy studies. In each section, the chapter authors illuminate the current state of the field and probe more inclusive ways to achieve multicentric knowledge and learning possibilities.

There is a flourishing literature on citizenship education in China that is mostly unknown in the West. Liberal political theorists often assume that only in democracy should citizens be prepared for their future responsibilities, yet citizenship education in China has undergone a number of transformations as the political system has sought to cope with market reforms, globalization and pressures both externally and within the country for broader political reforms. Over the past decade, Chinese scholars have been struggling for official recognition of citizenship education as a key component of the school curriculum in these changing contexts. This book analyzes the citizenship education issues under discussion within China, and aims to provide a voice for its scholars at a time when China’s international role is becoming increasingly important.