Diffusion of Western Educational Ideologies: The case of Dalton Plan in China

• In Event: Global Educational Discourses, Policy Diffusion, and National Models in East Asia

Proposal

This study examines the process of the diffusion of the Dalton Plan, a Western progressive education model, in China after nearly a century, analyzing its adaptation within the context of contemporary transnational Chinese education. This qualitative single-case study investigates the East-West School (EWS), an international division of a Chinese high school, to explore the motivations behind its borrowing and adoption of the Dalton Plan, the strategies used for its implementation, and the resulting impact. The findings illustrate how borrowed education policies are negotiated, interpreted, recontextualized, and implemented. As a result, this study contributes to the broader discourse on policy mobility and the transnationalization of education by providing insights into the challenges and dynamics involved in adapting educational models across national borders.

Authors

• Peter Shon, Astana IT University

• Aida Sagintayeva, Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education

• Ahmet Aypay, Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education