Repeating the Mistakes of the United States? The Others and Privatization in the Shanghai Context

• In Event: 16.018 - Confronting the Past in Transnational Textbooks, Schooling, and Curriculum

Abstract

Reading and reflecting on the history of American education constantly reminds me of what is happening to the schools in my hometown, Shanghai. Located in two different spheres of the globe with one being a country and the other a city, the U.S. and Shanghai have their own history of education, but certain issues about the Shanghai public school system resonate with some of the complex and controversial ideas embedded in the development of the American schools. In this paper, I raise the question “Is Shanghai repeating some of the mistakes the U.S. has once made in education?”, and examine the Shanghai schools with critical perspectives acquired through my reading of some key texts about the American schools.

Author

• Yiming Jin, Georgia Southern University