“Letting Learning Flow”: A Taoist Critique of Pedagogical Control in U.S. Elementary Bilingual Classrooms

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  In Roundtable Session: Culture and Tradition Across Societies

Abstract

This theoretical study examines the tension between Taoist wu wei (non-coercive action) and Western models of pedagogical control in U.S. elementary bilingual classrooms. Drawing on classical Taoist texts and critical curriculum theory, it critiques dominant approaches that frame teacher effectiveness through scripted instruction and behavioral management. Instead, wu wei offers a relational, ethically restrained pedagogy that values attunement over intervention. Through conceptual analysis and engagement with empirical studies on bilingual learning, the paper argues that Taoist thought provides a viable alternative to controlling pedagogies, particularly in linguistically diverse classrooms where student agency and language emergence are often over-managed. The study contributes to global curriculum theory and reimagines the teacher’s role as facilitator, not controller.

Author

• Yunlu Wang, Georgia State University