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Navigating Educational Change in China: Contemporary History and Lived Experiences PDF

129 Pages·2018·1.14 MB·English
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“Through the authors’ expert narration, interviews, and analysis, we glimpse the intellectual histories and present circumstances of education in China. This thin book is a very large gift to scholars and students worldwide.” CURRICULUM STUDIES —William F. Pinar, Canada Research Chair, University of British WORLDWIDE Columbia, Canada Series Editors: William F. Pinar and Janet L. Miller This book is a reflection on the complexity of educational change in China through the lens of a senior academic who has occupied many diverse roles in the academe, from political worker to dean of faculty. It narrates his journey through different layers of historical, societal, and institutional transformation while trying to make sense of his own life and work. In this book, the professor is situated at the intersection of history, culture, and society where the search for personal identity becomes a lifelong project. Landmarks in his intellectual journey are used to elucidate the effects of early influences, significant others, challenges and opportunities, human agency, and professional capital. His story illustrates the vicissitudes of a long career that combines scholarship and administration, and offers lessons for survival, advancement, and leadership in the fluid environment of Chinese NAIV AG TIN G higher education institutions. EDUCATIONAL Fang Wang is Associate Professor in Curriculum Studies at the Faculty of Education at Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China, CHANEG IN CHINA where she received a doctorate degree in curriculum and teaching. Leslie N.K. Lo is Professor at the Faculty of Education and a senior Contemporary research fellow at the Center for Teacher Education Research at History and Lived Beijing Normal University, China. Experiences Fang Wang Leslie N.K. Lo ISBN 978-3-319-63614-6 9 783319 636146 Fang Wang Navigating Educational Change in China Leslie N.K. Lo Curriculum Studies Worldwide Series editors William F. Pinar Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada Janet L. Miller Teachers College New York, NY, USA This series supports the internationalization of curriculum studies worldwide. At this historical moment, curriculum inquiry occurs within national borders. Like the founders of the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies, we do not envision a world- wide feld of curriculum studies mirroring the standardization the larger phenomenon of globalization threatens. In establishing this series, our commitment is to provide support for complicated conversation within and across national and regional borders regarding the content, context, and process of education, the organizational and intellectual center of which is the curriculum. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/14948 Fang Wang · Leslie N.K. Lo Navigating Educational Change in China Contemporary History and Lived Experiences Fang Wang Leslie N.K. Lo Northeast Normal University Beijing Normal University Changchun, China Beijing, China Curriculum Studies Worldwide ISBN 978-3-319-63614-6 ISBN 978-3-319-63615-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-63615-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017948719 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover illustration: © Melisa Hasan Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland This book is published under the auspices of the Teacher Studies and Development Project at the Education University of Hong Kong and Beijing Normal University. Acknowledgements This book is the fruit of conversation, collaboration, and refection s ustained over a period of 3 years. First conceived as a journal article, its eventual length warranted publication in book form. The authors’ original intention was to narrate the lived experiences of a senior aca- demic in the changing milieu of higher education in China but further thoughts arose on two strands of ideas that emerged from the interviews with the professor—the relationship between tradition, modernity, and p ostmodernity and the contrariety between indigenous Chinese values and practices and those that were imported from the West. It seemed that an observation on the professor’s treatment of these ideas is essential to his intellectual history, no matter how briefy it is to be presented. Professor William Pinar provided the idea of an intellectual history of the subject’s lived experiences. He also gave critical comments on the embryonic draft of the essay and suggested a change of course on its route to publication, which shaped the narrative presented in this book. We are most grateful for this guidance. We thank the Tin Ka Ping Foundation in Hong Kong for its gener- ous support, which created opportunities for the authors to meet for the planning of this project. The Center for Teacher Education Research at the Beijing Normal University facilitated a continuous dialogue between the authors through a visiting scholarship and its sustained support of the research. vii viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding of the research and writing of this book come partially from the Teacher Studies and Development Project at the Education University of Hong Kong and Beijing Normal University. Mr. John Cable has provided expert editorial guidance for this book. We are indebted to him for his timely advice and critical suggestions that have helped us make necessary improvements to the book manuscript. We offer our special thanks to Prof. Teacher Yu for sharing his experi- ences and insights in delightful conversations. His readiness to enlighten is inspiring, and his trust in our constancy of purpose is deeply appreci- ated. From the conceptualization of this book to the choice of its topics, we have tapped the wisdom of generations of scholars, both Chinese and Western. Colleagues and students in Changchun, Beijing, and Hong Kong have helped us to give voice to the lived experiences of the profes- sor, from conversation and critique to voice recording and transcription. However, the faults in this book remain our own. contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Memories and Imageries 17 3 Sifting Through the Enigma of Tradition and Modernity 53 4 Balancing the Indigenous and the Foreign 69 5 Navigating Educational Change 93 Bibliography 117 Index 119 ix About the Authors Fang Wang is Associate Professor in Curriculum Studies at the Faculty of Education at Northeast Normal University in Changchun, China, where she received a doctorate degree in curriculum and teaching. Leslie N.K. Lo is Professor at the Faculty of Education and a senior research fellow at the Center for Teacher Education Research at Beijing Normal University, China. xi

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