Cultural Foundations of Learning: East and West

I am currently reading this book, as well as "Governing Educational Desire." A third book on Chinese education, a "History of Chinese Educational Thought," printed here in China, along with these other two, form something of an educational triptych for me. Each overlaps with the other, but each also has its own part of the story to tell. "Cultural Foundations" I am finding valuable as it looks closely at the Confucian influence on education. As a result of this, the author, as well as providing a Western model for learning, also suggests a model for learning in keeping with the Chinese mindset and cultural norms. How accurate this model is, I cannot say. I have taught in only one high school in Beijing, and I have had the same students for two consecutive years. Some of them would seem to match this model, being dutiful, delving deep into subject matter, and seeing the moral component of education as something to be taken seriously, etc. Other students, and this should come as no surprise, are simply happy to be teenagers freed from the constraints of the "gao kao," skim along the surface of the subject matter in front of them, and, at least in my eyes, appear to be contentedly unconcerned with any moral facets of education. The reasons for this may be many. And, as I am only about a quarter the way through the book right now, the author may address this departure from Confucian traditions. Of course, and here I speak broadly, it does appear 1949 and the advent of the Communist Party were quite effective not so much at rendering the Confucian foundation of Chinese (educational) culture entirely irrelevant, as much as at ensuring that its future relevancy would be at best inconsistent or uneven. And, of course, the contemporary sprint toward a consumerist mindset, as in the States, has not been kind to the deeper foundations of learning, East or West. In brief, this book is confirming some of my suspicions, opening my mind to other possibilities and explanations, and otherwise helping me to understand better life here in modern China.

Several years ago, I was invited to teach acting theory to animation students in China, and it did not take long for me to realize that my style of teaching was not working, nor were the students displaying a firm grasp of the ideas. Something was being lost in translation and, ever since, I have looked for academic verification of what I was experiencing. Jin Li, in her book "Cultural Foundations of Learning" is providing an invaluable resource. Any teacher who has first or second generation Chinese students will find Ms. Jin extremely helpful.She first sets the stage for learning in the west versus the east, delving into the powerful influence of Confucius on learning style over there and Aristotle over here. Then she starts digging deeply, getting into family dynamics and sense of life, the underlying rationale for learning. Then she circles back and covers the nature of human learning on a broad scale, the stuff underneath the cultural influences.Jin Li is a scholar, not an entertainer, and this book is not subway reading. She takes time to explain the challenges of translation between Chinese and English. She references everything, coming as close to being definitive on her subject as possible. Personally, I appreciate this book. It is directly helpful to me, and I enthusiastically recommend it to all teachers in the global classroom.Ed [email protected]

This is an interesting counterpoint to all of the books that tell you that Chinese education is never going to compete with the West because they aren't teaching kids to be creative problem solvers. The writer is familiar with educational systems in the U.S. and China, and defends the Chinese tradition impressively. She had me quoting Chinese proverbs to my kids. Her English is excellent for a non-native, but the book is academic and the language is a little hard to get into at first.

I was a Chinese language major at a US university, studied two years in Taiwan, and have been teaching Chinese university students in the US and greater China for most of my adult life. Currently I teach graduate classes to Chinese students in Shanghai and help run an undergraduate program for western students there. This book does a very thorough job of explaining how Chinese primary and secondary education differs from that in the US (and Western Europe). It should be required reading for any North American teaching in China (and for Chinese graduate students planning to teach in the US)..

Jin Li's book is a fascinating read and her comparison of East Asian and Western cultures through the teachings of Confucius and Socrates is insightful. Her research is thorough and her outcomes are informative. As citizens of this world, we have much to understand about culture, and Li has created a unique path upon which to travel. As a teacher, parent, and grandparent of a four-year-old of Italian-American and Chinese-American cultures, I find this book invaluable. Cultural Foundations of Learning is certain to find a permanent spot in both my home and school library collection.

The author of this book is great! She had really clear mind and strong logical ability to organize the content of this book. She used many solid proofs and research findings to demostrate the cultural impact of learning. I really appriciate her deep understanding of Chinese culture and Western culture and her effort of presenting the differences between the two cultures.This book also helped me alot of my last paper of my study. I strongly recommand this great book!

The reading was easy, and the content was helpful. However, latter part of book was quite repetitive. I got bored in the end.

Well written! But may because of the date, something is different now in China. Always have a critical eyes towards the conclusions and cultural stereotypes!

Good read.

儒教に代表される東洋の学びと西洋の学びを多面的に比較した著作。著者の本分である教育心理学のみならず、思想史も俎上に上げている点が大いに評価に値する。儒教をテーマとしたこの種の著作は、他に類を見ないのではないか。かなり大部の著作なので、小見出しを見ながら議論の流れを追い、特に関心を惹く部分を読むとよいだろう。個人的には、著者の自伝とも言える第1章、いわゆる「ガリ勉君」(nerd)に対する東西の評価の違いを論じた第6章が面白かった。