Learner-Centered Practices in Confucian Heritage Culture Communities: How Misalignment Between Eastern and Western Lenses Influences Implementation

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Sixteen
  In Roundtable Session: Global Education, Culture, and Learner-Centered Practices (Table 15)

Abstract

Education reformers have promoted learner-centered pedagogies, such as constructivism, to instill 21st-century skills in public education. However, few studies have been conducted on how teaching methods intersect with Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) in predominately East Asian communities. This study explored how stakeholders’ perceptions of CHC played a role in the implementation of learner-centered practices in a majority Chinese district. Data suggested that misalignment and miscommunication existed between stakeholders from Eastern and Western lenses regarding CHC in relation to constructivist practices. This misalignment and miscommunication contributed to the perception that CHC culture created a high “pressure to perform” felt by all stakeholder groups and played a negative role in stakeholders’ ability to implement learner-centered pedagogy.

Authors

• Michelle Bangara, Arcadia Unified School District
  Presenting Author

• Stacy Kula, Azusa Pacific University
  Presenting Author