Chinese and American middle school teacher conceptions of patriotism and attitudes to foreign powers

Date Presented:

February 7

Abstract:

There has been significant research on the US and China’s intergovernmental relations, but public-to-public relations between the two countries are not well explained. Each nation’s popular perception of the other is influenced by both media and upbringing, but additionally by the school systems, where teachers play a vital role forming student’s political opinions during the early to mid-teen years. Both countries’ school systems have formal (institutionalized) and informal (incidental) mechanisms that promote students’ understanding of themselves as belonging to an exceptional nation. Building on scholarship about citizenship education and patriotism as well as ethnographic work, this thesis provides a description and interpretation of current patriotism-promoting practices in Chinese and American secondary schools, and more importantly, of the meanings that educators ascribe to them. The study suggests that schooling, though not the only factor that promotes patriotism, contributes to mutual alienation by creating opposing narratives about national identity. The findings can be used to inform future quantitative research by identifying useful frameworks for investigation.