Expanding Horizons of Curriculum Wisdoms: Teachers’ Experiences in New Curriculum Reform in China

Abstract

China, the developing country with the largest and oldest public education system in the world, is transforming its education system through nation-wide school curriculum reform. The new national curriculum marks a dramatic change in the underlying educational philosophy and practices, which have deep cultural and historical roots in Chinese society. This chapter reports on a hermeneutic study investigating what this massive curriculum reform means for teachers by grounding an enquiry in in-depth conversations with six teachers in Western China. A hermeneutic interpretation of these conversations reveals the complex dimensions of teachers’ compliance and/or resistance with respect to change at a time when the Chinese curriculum landscape is shifting dramatically from a local to global perspective. Through linking the Chinese educational history, contemporary curriculum theory, and teachers’ practices, this chapter presents new understandings of East and West curriculum wisdoms, teachers’ identity transformation, and the psychological and social dynamics of Chinese teachers’ learning in this large-scale education change.