Attentiveness for children: proposing a neo-confucian curriculum for preschool education

ABSTRACT

In this article, we propose a neo-Confucian curriculum for preschool education based on the writings of the neo-Confucian thinker Zhu Xi. Against the contemporary backdrop of a narrow emphasis on the academic assessment of children, we argue for an alternative approach that revolves around jing: the inner mental attentiveness to be true to one’s good nature. We propose an adaption of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Confucian hierarchy of cardinal relationships that progressively cultivate the good nature of children across the spheres of the self, family and community, country and the world. We further outline an integrated programme with corresponding developmental domains, types of relationships and Confucian virtues. The desired outcome is the manifestation of each child’s innate goodness through attentiveness to routines and the habituation of moral values. A neo-Confucian curriculum adds to the existing literature on preschool educational approaches that are experiential, values-centric, interpersonal and holistic.

KEYWORDS:

• Attentiveness
• neo-Confucianism
• preschool education
• Zhu Xi

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sandra Wu

Sandra Wu, EdD, is a lecturer at the National Institute of Education, an institute of the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She obtained her Doctor in Education from the university she now serves, and her Master of Teaching from the University of Melbourne. Prior to joining academia, she had worked in government ministries serving the early childhood education sector. She has conducted research in the pre-school and primary school contexts in Singapore and early childhood arts education in Melbourne. Currently she is teaching pre-service teachers and Master level students.

Charlene Tan

Charlene Tan, PhD, is an associate professor at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University. She has nearly two decades of teaching experience as a high school teacher and teacher educator in Singapore. She has been a visiting professor at East China Normal University, Sungkyunkwan University and Brock University. Her recent books include Confucius; Educational Policy Borrowing in China: Looking West or Looking East? Comparing High-performing Education Systems: Understanding Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; and Confucian Philosophy for Contemporary Education.