The Educational Reflection of Naughty Children’s Spirit of Play in the Mid-to-Late 20th Century - Taking Pipilu and Ramona as Examples

This paper explores the fundamental differences in educational philosophies between China and the West during the mid-to-late 20th century through a comparative analysis of two classic literary figures: Pipilu from Yuanjie Zheng’s works and Ramona from Beverly Cleary’s writings. Adopting the perspective of naughty children’s spirit of play and grounded in the pedagogy of children’s lit-erature, the research indicates that during the mid-to-late 20th century, Chi-nese education tended to cultivate individuals who conform to social norms through discipline and suppression. In contrast, Western education placed greater emphasis on nurturing well-rounded individuals through guidance, re-specting children’s innate nature and creativity. These differences are pro-foundly reflected in the establishment of educational objectives and the se-lec-tion of pedagogical methods in both contexts, revealing the influence of cul-ture. This study provides a historical and cultural perspective for understanding the divergences in Chinese and Western educational concepts during the mid-to-late 20th century, offering insights for contemporary educational re-form.