Re-envisioning Teacher Preparation: Lessons from China

Stereotypes of the 'Chinese learner' have been extensively investigated, leading to the conclusion that knowledge about the social, cultural and pedagogic origins of Chinese students' dispositions to learning should be incorporated into programs preparing teachers for China service. In this paper it is suggested that teacher education initiatives of this type should redress sociological blindness about the particularity of local pedagogic contexts. A case study of the production of 'obedient' students in the Chinese school system during the 1990s is presented, illustrating sociological tools that enable analysis of the origin of students' dispositions to learning in particular conditions. The recommendation is that such tools be incorporated into teacher education for domestic, as well as international contexts, given the critical insight that is required if teachers are to provide equitably for all students in conditions of increasing cultural diversification and re-traditionalisation of education.