Creating good citizens in China: comparing Grade 7–9 school textbooks, 1997–2005

Abstract

Ideological indoctrination is explicit and pervasive in China, with the school curriculum used to mould the spirit and character of adolescents, fulfilling ideological and political purposes. But the exact content varies over time. Comparing two versions of textbooks published in 1997 and 2005, this paper depicts the continuities and change in the curricular discourses centred on the notion of 'good citizen'. While keeping the official status of socialism and the Party leadership untouched, the new textbooks soften the presentation and packaging of the ideological content, very much in tandem with the soft authoritarianism practised since the post-Deng era when China has been deeply involved in the processes of marketisation, liberalisation and globalisation. The new textbooks also adopt a stance of greater reconciliation with human rights and global citizenship. While being granted more autonomy and rights, young citizens are still expected to shoulder the mission of national revival and socialist modernisation-very much derived from official policies.

What Citizenship for What Transition?: Contradictions, Ambivalence, and Promises in Post-Socialist Citizenship Education in Vietnam

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“…The second discourse is the official discourse, which highlights patriotism, moral cultivation and a set of political ideologies, with examples including Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and, more recently, Xi Jinping Thought (Kennedy et al , 2014; Tse, 2011). This type of discourse became firmly institutionalized in Chinese state education after 1949, when the government took over the management of schools and higher education institutions nationwide.…”

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“…How is GCE developing in China and what are the outcomes? Historically, citizenship education focused on ideological and political issues by nurturing children with loyalty, love, faith, and peace, and it was subsumed within ideological, political, and moral education (Chen, 2013;Tse, 2011), or directly termed as "ideopolitical-moral education" (Lee & Ho, 2008). This approach was exclusively directed by and served national ideology and identity.…”