Education for Ethnic, National and Global Identities in China

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Civic education curricula in nations around the world aims to foster a sense of national belonging, of love and commitment to the nation, and of active participation in democratic processes. Civic education also needs to find ways to balance valuing the diversity of ethnic and group identities within the nation while at the same time cultivating a cohesive sense of national identity. Beyond this, more recently, it is becoming increasingly urgent to incorporate global awareness, global competence and global citizenship education into school curricula so as to prepare students to live in increasingly culturally diverse communities and face the increasing effects of unsustainability. This requires attention in education to fostering a sense of global identity. In this panel, we investigate the implications for education in China for the simultaneous cultivation of ethnic, national and global identities.
Over the past decade, Chinese President Xi Jinping has implemented a series of policies that aim to unite the various ethnic identities into a national identity and, beyond this, to bring attention to the need for fostering an accompanying global identity. In this panel, we explore the implications of two important recent concepts put forward by Xi Jinping that have implications for education: the "forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation" (zhulao zhonghuaminzu gongtongti yishi) and the concept regarding "raising the consciousness of humanity's common destiny" (renlei minyun gongtongti yishi).
The concept of "forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation" is widely recognized as having significant implications for ethnic affairs in China and, consequently, potentially far-reaching impacts on ethnic minority education. Governments and schools at various levels have identified this policy as the central theme guiding all ethnic-related initiatives. However, educators and students from different ethnic backgrounds are interpreting and adapting to this national policy in distinct ways as it cascades down through various levels of society.
At the same time, the "raising consciousness of humanity's common destiny" policy seeks to position China's developmental narrative within a global context and provide unique solutions to global challenges from a Chinese standpoint. Consequently, this policy effectively intertwines ethnic, national, and global education in China by underscoring the importance of fostering awareness of global issues across all social groups.
In the proposed panel, we aim to untangle the intricate relationship between policy approaches and school education in contemporary China, with particular attention to the development of identities at ethnic, national, and global levels through educational practices influenced by overarching political discourses.
The first paper, "Establishing the Consciousness of the Chinese National Community: Contextualization of Chinese Ethnic Education in the New Era" sets the new focus on forging a national community consciousness in the historical context of approaches to ethnic minority education in China. The paper argues that the approach of forging the consciousness of the Chinese national community is a new method of education for the nation, emphasizing the importance of unity and integration. The paper argues that this policy is not only intended to manage the complications of balancing ethnic and national identity but also as a way to consolidate a Chinese identity in the face of global forces.

The second paper, "Negotiating Miao and Chinese Ethnic Identity in Schools: Cases of Miao Students in Southern China", uses qualitative research methods to interview Miao students and teachers in grades 4-6 in two ethnic areas in Guizhou Province, China, to understand their views of the Chinese nation, Chinese people, and Chinese culture. The students shared both pride and ambiguity in their reflections on the relationship between their ethnic identity and national identity.

The third paper, "From Ethnic Identity to the Common Consciousness of the Chinese Nation——Taking Xinjiang Uyghur Youth in Boarding Schools as an Example" selects ethnic minority students from the border areas of Xinjiang, China, who study in boarding high schools in eastern cities of China and work in different cities in Xinjiang after graduation. The study investigates the impact of their time in internal boarding schools on their ethnic and national identity formation.

Finally, the last paper considers the extent to which education in China fosters a sense of global identity in students. The paper draws on analysis of the global competence measures in the 2018 PISA questionnaire data to compare Chinese principals, teachers and students to nations across the world in terms of global competence. The paper also draws on content analysis of curriculum standards to determine the extent to which there is curriculum content that aligns with the development of global identity and an awareness of “humanity’s community destiny.”

Sub Unit

• East Asia SIG

Chair

• Tanja Carmel Sargent, Rutgers University Graduate School of Education

Individual Presentations

• Forging a sense of community for the Chinese nation: Contextualizing ethnic education in China in the “New Era” - Liang Du, Beijing Normal University

• Negotiating Miao Ethnic and Chinese National Identity in Schools: The Case of Miao Students in Southern China - Weijian Wang, University of Minnesota

• From Ethnic identity to a “Common Consciousness of Chinese Nationality” for Xinjiang Uyghur Youths - Donghui Zhang, Renmin University of China

• “Raising the Consciousness of Humanity’s Common Destiny” and the Cultivation of Global Identity in Chinese Education - Tanja Carmel Sargent, Rutgers University Graduate School of Education