Lynn Ilon Seoul National University

Transcription

1 482 Book Review on Hayhoe s influence as a teacher and both use a story-telling approach to write their chapters. Mundy, now Chair of Ontario Institute for Studies in Education s program in International and Comparative Education, traces through her time as a young doctoral student under Hayhoe s tutelage to the present when they are now colleagues. One begins to understand the remarkable influence that Dr. Hayhoe has had on Mundy. Lee served as Dean of the School of Foundations while Dr. Hayhoe was President and subsequently as Vice President. Under Dr. Hayhoe, he was able to learn and grow enormously. His reflection on this time and his essay on how he now draws from these lessons and applies them to his new job as Dean of Education Research at the National Institute of Education in Singapore is remarkable. In both Mundy s and Lee s case, one is reading from mature, circumspect, practiced scholars. Their ability to draw from early lessons of Hayhoe s into later work as mature scholars is wonderful reading and a testament to the broader subtext of the book. The book is well worth reading as a reflection on a life that has shared and developed a body of work around a perspective and a set of values that have clearly influenced beyond a set of academic literature in the field of Comparative and International Education. The reader should not be looking for a manuscript that holds together as a cohesive statement around an academic theme, however, so much as a piece that shows how a set of shared values, approaches and perspectives influence the work of many scholars in many ways. In this way, the book succeeds admirably. Lynn Ilon Seoul National University lynnilon@snu.ac.kr DOI /s Citizenship and citizenship education in a global age: Politics, policies, and practices in China. Law, Wing-Wah. New York: Peter Lang, pp., $ ISBN Wing-Wah Law has written extensively about citizenship and citizenship education in China. Citizenship and Citizenship Education in a Global Age: Politics, Policies, and Practices in China is a synthesis of much of this work. The book examines culture, history, political power, and globalization as they relate to citizenship and citizenship education in China. Law begins and ends the book by presenting a theoretical framework of citizenship and citizenship education as dynamic, multileveled, and context-bound social constructions that can be continuously reinvented by the intertwined interplay of global forces, the

2 Book Review 483 nation-state, local government, school, and students in a multileveled polity (p.25). Law s introductory chapter presents multiple frameworks for understanding citizenship and citizenship education. These frameworks are useful in understanding how Law s proposed multilevel-multidimensional framework is a subtle departure from other established frameworks. The departure is more responsive to global shifts and contextual particularities in discourses surrounding citizenship education. Political and cultural differences interact with changing times in a way that influences the dimensions of citizenship that are emphasized in the curriculum. One such interaction might emphasize a global dimension while another such interaction might emphasize a local dimension. As is most often the case, the national dimension usually receives most attention. Chapters 2 through 5 present a historical narrative dating from ancient China through the recent past. Chapter 2 examines the period of pre-1911 China, which provides background for understanding the cultural and political connections that surface throughout the book. The roles of Confucianism and central authority provide context for interpreting the qualities and effects of these influences upon citizenship and citizenship education. In chapter 3, Law examines the period between , which marks a shift toward a modern citizenry. This shift occurred within the context of conflicts between the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Law uses his framework of multilevel-multidimensional citizenship to highlight a modern citizenry s emergence in China during this period. The different philosophies of these political parties led to differences in the levels and types of government that students would study. Referring to the CNP, Law writes, Based upon the 1932 Civics curriculum, the discipline standards listed 200 items for training. No item directly related to the local citizenship domain, and only one item was related to the global domain (p. 57). This reflected CNP focus upon personal-social and national domains of citizenship (p. 55). Confucianism was a strong component of the CNP curriculum. Law makes the point that Chinese communist citizenship education focused more on national and local dimensions than on personal-social dimensions and international ones (p. 59). As is the case in most countries, both parties focused on the national dimension of citizenship and citizenship education. However, the nationalist focus on Confucianism and traditional culture reflects an emphasis of a personal-social dimension while the communist focus on local domains illustrates an emphasis on political struggle with anti-communist sentiments. Law s multilevel-multidimensional framework is a useful lens for understanding the complexity of interactions in different communities, times, and places.

3 484 Book Review Chapters 4 and 5 examine citizenship and citizenship education in socialist China since The historical narrative of this chapter illustrates significant shifts in citizenship, civil society, education, markets, and the state. All of these shifts are symbiotic with morphing understandings and enactments of socialism under the increasing pressures of marketization and globalization. Law connects the responses of citizenship education to these changes. One such change is a return to tradition and Confucianism found in the pre-1949 forms of citizenship and citizenship education. In chapter 5, Law s examination of the citizenship education terrain during this period further illustrates the usefulness of his multilevel-multidimensional framework. For example, Law writes about the period after 1980 that the broader curriculum suggested that while training students to be red continued to be stressed, the contents of redness (i.e., socialism as the state-supported orthodoxy) were changed to reflected Deng s interpretation of Chinese socialism, which emphasized market reform and opening to the world (p. 101). This change toward a global dimension is developed through Law s case studies in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Beijing in chapters 6 and 7. Alongside the historical narrative presented in chapters 2 5, Law provides insights into the connections between politics, culture, and citizenship education. As with many governments, citizenship and citizenship education are governed by official knowledge that often serves the interest of the political elite. Law illustrates this well with multiple examples dating back to ancient China. For example, while the ruling class in imperial China emphasized Confucianism in education, the principles of Confucianism were used selectively to support the authority and interests of the ruling class. According to Law, the ideal Confucian kingdom upholds public power as belonging to the people, not the ruler and state governance in this ideal kingdom must address people s needs and focus on the people s interests rather than the ruler s (p. 31). The ruling class did not choose these principles to be taught but instead chose principles such as three cardinal principles in relations (ruler guiding subject, father guiding son, and husband guiding wife), five constant virtues (benevolence, rightness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness), and harmony (he) (p. 31). Rulers used ancient beliefs selectively in education as a form of social control that functioned to stabilize inequitable power relations of the ruler and patriarchy. In an interesting historical arc, after an absence from the curriculum of about 50 years, principles of Confucianism returned to the curriculum in the 2000 s in a similar selectivity that emphasized social harmony and the downplaying of differences. This arc provides a powerful example of how culture and epistemology are often used as resources for governments to attain acceptance from the people of shifting political terrains.

4 Book Review 485 In chapter 6, Law further illustrates and develops the qualities of his multilevel-multidimensional framework by applying the analysis to the cases of Shanghai and Hong Kong. He examines the evident shifts in Shanghai s curriculum standards and textbooks toward the global dimension while Hong Kong shifted toward an increased emphasis upon Chinese culture and politics. Hong Kong and Shanghai are significant cases in understanding the ways that globalization exerts pressure on cities around the globe to become more cosmopolitan. Others and I have written about how this pressure is often reflected in citizenship education curriculum (i.e., Burbules & Torres, 2000; Camicia & Franklin, 2010; Camicia & Zhu, 2011). This pressure is often reflected in the relative degrees of nationalism and cosmopolitanism emphasized in the curriculum. While competition between nations is prevalent, this discourse cannot go too far without risking the loss of the status of cosmopolitanism, an important attribute in the face of globalization. Law s comparative, mixed-methods study of Shanghai and Hong Kong provides a snapshot into differences related to various contexts and histories as they are manifested in the ways that governments attempt to create collective identity in the curriculum. In the face of globalization, Law found that the Hong Kong government was geared toward maintaining international status while the Shanghai government was geared toward establishing international status. This influenced the way that a similar citizenship curriculum in both cities was enacted, as well as the responses of students to the curriculum. Chapter 6 provides an excellent empirical example that adds depth for interpretation in Chapter 7 where Law discusses citizenship education in the context of hosting world events. Law presents his findings from the study of three Beijing schools that implemented citizenship curriculum related to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. His findings illustrate the tension between levels of citizenship education as students negotiate national and international allegiances and understandings. While promoting international understanding, in the end, the curriculum strengthened national understanding and allegiances. Following findings of other studies, prejudice is reduced given the proper contact conditions (Camicia, 2007). This was indicated in the heart-to-heart program, which was implemented in two of the schools that Law examines. Chapter 8 concludes with a reiteration of Law s multilevel-multidimensional citizenship and citizenship education framework as it applies to the ground covered in the book. While globalization is a significant force, it is still at the level of the nation state that citizenship and citizenship education are defined. China, as is often the case with other nations (Parker, 2004), places the nation state as the point of departure and return in the curriculum. Governments at various levels regulate what information is considered important and worth inclusion in the curriculum and what is unimportant and not included in the

5 486 Book Review curriculum. Eisner s (2002) null curriculum provides a good backdrop for understanding Law s examination of the shifting levels and dimensions as times, contexts, and locations change in China. Law concludes with implications of his study and new challenges for citizenship education in China. After completing my reading, I wanted more detail in some key areas. First, I wanted to know more about the differences between regions in China, especially as they might relate to differences in epistemologies. How do regional differences related to experiences and beliefs manifest themselves in how people understand citizenship and citizenship education? How might these differences in contexts be manifested in different approaches to the multilevelmultidimensional model? While I appreciate the cases from Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Beijing, I would have appreciated attention to other differences related to, for example, a more detailed comparison of the framework in rural areas or areas with marginalized cultures. Second, I had difficulty at times differentiating between Law s discussion of levels and dimensions. At times, he seems to use them interchangeably. If they are interchangeable, why not simply use one term such as a multidimensional model? I would have appreciated a more developed description of his multilevel-multidimensional model in the introductory chapter. Law provides a basis for future work by him and others that address these areas further. Law s book is significant contribution to any citizenship and citizenship education library. I plan to assign this book in my graduate courses on social studies curriculum. I particularly appreciate his addition of complexity and a global perspective to the literature. The framework, history, and case studies provide a much-need tool for understanding citizenship education. With this, I will close with Law s quote that I used in the introduction. His book provides a framework for understanding citizenship and citizenship education as dynamic, multileveled, and context-bound social constructions that can be continuously reinvented by the intertwined interplay of global forces, the nation-state, local government, school, and students in a multileveled polity (p.25). References Burbules, N. C., & Torres, C. A. (Eds.). (2000). Globalization and education. New York: Routledge. Camicia, S. P. (2007). Prejudice reduction through multicultural education: Connecting multiple literatures. Social Studies Research and Practice, 2(2), In Press. Camicia, S. P., & Franklin, B. (2010). Curriculum reform in a globalised world: The discourses of cosmopolitanism and community. London Review of Education, 8(2), Camicia, S. P., & Zhu, J. (2011). Citizenship education under discourses of nationalism, globalization, and cosmopolitanism: Illustrations from China and the United States.

6 Book Review 487 Frontiers of Education in China, 6(4), Eisner, E. W. (2002). The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programs (3rd. ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Parker, W. C. (2004). Diversity, globalization, and democratic education: Curriculum possibilities. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), Diversity and citizenship education: Global perspectives (pp ). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Steven P. Camicia Utah State University DOI /s [In the Shadow of History: Memories of the May 4 th Generation of Women Intellectuals]. Jiang, Lijing. Beijing: Educational Science Publishing House, pp, 62. ISBN The emergence of intellectuals and the disappearance of traditional scholars might be seen as a significant turning point in modern China s move beyond traditional society. In this process, the establishment of a modern university system played a crucial role in spreading new academic values, and forming a new professional basis for the life of intellectuals. While there has been some awareness of this transition it has never been analyzed in detail. In addition, due to the constraints of traditional Chinese ideas on gender, female intellectuals experienced a different process of development than that of male scholars going through the transformation in status from traditional scholars to modern intellectuals. Unfortunately, there has been even less discussion of this issue. The primary contribution of this book lies in the way it addresses this gap in the literature. In a review of the educational experiences and academic lives of Feng Yuanjun, Lu Ying, and Cheng Junying, the first three women students at Peking Women s Normal College, which was in turn the first institution of higher education for women established by Chinese themselves the connections between them and their institution become clear. The book shows another angle on the emergence of Post-May-Fourth intellectuals and challenges earlier conclusions about modern intellectuals in the relevant studies of intellectual history. It also reveals the highly complicated connections among society, academy and education, especially between the development of modern higher education for women and female intellectuals, enriching and deepening our understanding of modern education. It should be pointed out that research on Chinese education has encountered