The Cultural Politics of Curricular Reform in China: a case study of geographical education in Shanghai

Abstract This article will examine the development and implementation of the new geography curriculum in secondary schools in Shanghai. Analysis of the processes and mechanisms which underlie curricular change in China reveals how embedded bureaucratic, social and cultural norms have profoundly influenced the degree to which reforms to the geography curriculum have achieved the desired results. The analysis begins with a detailed examination of the wider institutional hierarchies which initiated and managed curricular reforms in Shanghai. Interviews with teachers and extensive classroom observations, and a review of the new curriculum and geography textbooks are utilised to evaluate the practical outcomes of curricular change in Shanghai. The findings reveal a deep dichotomy between the intended goals of curricular reform, the processes of curriculum development and implementation, and an examination system which compels teachers to cling to traditional teaching methods of lecturing and rote learning. These findings are discussed in the context of the established educational hierarchies, the cultural politics of curricular reforms in Shanghai and the nature of geography teaching in China. A more balanced approach which addresses the provision of adequate resources and professional development for teachers, and which recognises the need for a fundamental restructuring of the examination system, is suggested. Notes 1. X. F. Wang, Education in China since 1976 (North Carolina and London: McFarland, 2003), p. 15. 2. World Bank, 'Issues and prospects in education', in China: Long Term Issues and Options (Annex to the World Bank Report) (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1985). 3. B. C. He, China on the Edge: The Crisis of Ecology and Development (San Francisco: China Books M. K. Fullan, The New Meaning of Educational Change (New York: Teachers College Press, 1991). 18. Chu, Brief Introduction to Geography Teaching Materials, p. 3. 19. Interview notes. 20. A. Hargreaves, 'Cultures of teaching', in S. J. Ball and I. F. Goodson, eds, Teachers' Lives and Careers (New York: Routledge, 1985) ; D. W. Johnson and R. T. Johnson, Learning Together and Alone (USA: Allyn and Bacon, 1994). 21. Interview notes. 22. T. Becher and S. Maclure, The Politics of Curriculum Change (London: Hutchinson, 1978) ; Doll, Curriculum Improvement. 23. A. M. Marton, 'Geographical education and curricular reform in China', paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (New Orleans, 5–8 March 2003). 24. A. M. Marton, 'Geographical education and curricular reform in China', paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (New Orleans, 5–8 March 2003) 25. A. M. Marton, 'Geographical education and curricular reform in China', paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (New Orleans, 5–8 March 2003) 26. Z. Yuan, 'The status of Confucianism in modern Chinese education, 1901–49: a curricular study', in G. Peterson, R. Hayhoe and Y. L. Lu, eds, Education, Culture, Identity in Twentieth-century China (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2001), p. 213. 27. Marton, 'Geographical education and curricular reform in China'. 28. Wah Ching Centre of Research on Education in China, 'Second phase of curriculum reform began in Shanghai', China Education News 4 (19), (2002). Archived online at: http: //www. hku. hk/chinaed/chinaedₙews/chinaednewsₙo19₂002. html, p. 2. 29. Interview notes. 30. 'Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing urges shift from exam-based education', China News Digest, (11 April 1997), available online at: http: //www. cnd. org. Additional informationNotes on contributorsAndrew M. Marton Andrew Marton is a Reader in Chinese Geography and Director of the Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham, UK. His research interests include urban and regional development and geographical education in China. He wishes to thank two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on an earlier draft of the paper.