State-sponsored knowledge for the global age: global and traditional values in the Chinese language arts curriculum

Abstract

Textbook content and curricula are artifacts that can serve as indicators of social contexts and societal values. In this chapter, we use qualitative and quantitative content analysis to examine the content of Chinese language arts textbooks for basic education during a period of curriculum reform in China at the start of the 21st century. Given the important role of the Chinese language arts in the socialization of students into official societal values, this study seeks to provide insight into the nature of the official world view in China and addresses the societal ambivalence between global vs. national/local and traditional knowledge vs. Western/contemporary knowledge. We find that there is a slight increase in themes that reflect contemporary global concerns such as creativity and social justice. We also find that, in the face of the globalizing cultural influences of the new millennium, there is a sustained emphasis on the role of the Chinese language curriculum in the transmission of traditional Chinese cultural values and on the cultivation in Chinese students of an appreciation of their rich cultural traditions.

Citation

Carmel Sargent, T. and Yang, X. (2010), "State-sponsored knowledge for the global age: global and traditional values in the Chinese language arts curriculum", Hannum, E., Park, H. and Goto Butler, Y. (Ed.) Globalization, Changing Demographics, and Educational Challenges in East Asia (Research in the Sociology of Education, Vol. 17), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 99-121. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3539(2010)0000017006