Confucianism and Teachers’ Conceptions of Gratitude in China

• In Event: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in Education

Abstract

Gratitude has recently received increasing attention as a virtue worth cultivating in schools. However, previous research has often been based on experiences in western societies, while moral values and moral cultivation are understood in different ways across cultural contexts. This exploratory qualitative study examines teachers’ conceptions of gratitude and their experiences of cultivating gratitude in schools in mainland China. Based on semi-structured interviews, the findings highlight Chinese teachers’ culturally distinctive conceptions of gratitude and its cultivation, namely its role in developing relationships and maintaining social harmony, and the importance of acts of reciprocity. This study develops a more substantive cross-cultural understanding of the nature of gratitude and practices of moral cultivation in schools.

Authors

• Liz Jackson, University of Hong Kong

• Mark G. Harrison, Hong Kong Shue Yan University

• Ji Ying, Education University of Hong Kong

• Fei Yan, The Education University of Hong Kong