“OUR SHARED VALUES” IN SINGAPORE: A CONFUCIAN PERSPECTIVE

In this essay Charlene Tan offers a philosophical analysis of the Singapore state's vision of shared citizenship by examining it from a Confucian perspective. The state's vision, known formally as “Our Shared Values,” consists of communitarian values that reflect the official ideology of multiculturalism. This initiative included a White Paper, entitled Shared Values, which presented pejorative assessments of the ideals of “individual rights” and “individual interests” as antithetical to national interests. Rejecting this characterization, Tan argues that a dominant Confucian perspective recognizes the correlative rights of all human beings that are premised on the inherent right to human dignity, worth, and equality. Furthermore, Confucianism posits that it is in everyone's interest to attain the Confucian ethical ideal of becoming a noble person in society through self‐cultivation. Tan concludes by highlighting two key implications for Singapore from a Confucian perspective on the Shared Values: first, schools in Singapore should place greater emphasis on individual moral development of their students, and second, more avenues should be provided for residents to contribute actively to the development of the vision of shared citizenship.     

The revival of Confucianism in Chinese schools: a historical-political review

This article examines the “back to tradition” movement in Chinese schools and its political nature. It focuses on the launch of the “education in Chinese traditional virtues” project in the 1980s and various new developments at the present time, which continue a revival of Confucianism in Chinese society and education. The paper looks into the domestic and international background of the movement, the political nature of the Confucian tradition, and the government's support for the movement. The essay explores a resurgence of Confucianism in Chinese schools through moral education and the larger political purpose it serves. The article reveals how a popular grass roots education movement reflects particular social and political needs during changing times and how pedagogical functions of an education initiative become entangled with, and even overshadowed by, political demands within a politically centralised system.     

Education for future-oriented citizenship: implications for the education of twenty-first century competencies

Globalization and the knowledge economy have opened up worldwide agendas for national development. Following this is the emphasis on the social dimension, otherwise known as social capital. Much of social capital includes “soft skills” and “twenty-first century skills”, which broadly cover critical, creative and inventive thinking; information, interactive and communication skills; civic literacy, global awareness and cross-cultural skills. Proactively, the Singapore government is preparing for Curriculum 2015, a new curriculum that would develop student attributes, embedded in the “confident person”, “self-directed learner”, “active contributor”, and “concerned citizen”. Significantly, a new curricular initiative, Character and Citizenship Education, emphasizes the integrative nature of citizenship and twenty-first century competencies and has been implemented in all schools in Singapore from 2011. This future-oriented approach to citizenship education emphasizes the significance of individual initiatives and the intellectual capital of citizens. This paper analyses features of this particular approach to citizenship education, and its strengths and significance, which may be viewed as an integrative “total curriculum approach” with a “whole-society” perspective. In addition, the challenges of teaching twenty-first century skills will also be highlighted. This departs from the conventional paradigm of socialization, but to help students develop attributes for a future society to come.     

论德育走向

我国渐趋成熟的公民社会决定了学校德育将走向公民、走向生活、走向对话、走向多元。走向公民的德育目标,要求审慎处理公民生活的三种基本关系,培养独立人格;走向生活的德育课程,极大地颠覆了德育的课程性质、课程标准和教材风格;走向对话的德育方法论,将重构德育课堂乃至学校生活;走向多元的思想教育,使德育"不同而和",真正起到启发思想的价值。当然,学校德育要完全实现"四个走向",还面临着历史文化心理、现有管理体制、教师专业化等方面的障碍,不可能一蹴而就。     

Confucius stands on the London eye- an auto-ethnographic study

Confucianism has had a profound influence on Chinese learners’ academic achievements, moral education and education for citizenship. It is often suggested that the influence of Confucianism leads to educational success. Situating the Confucian ideology in a Western educational setting in so far as how those involved in teaching and learning according to Chinese Confucian-based education. This paper is based on a BBC documentary that leads me to reflect on Chinese education. The documentary sought to investigate what would occur when Western learners undertake Chinese Confucian-based learning. In this article, my personal reflections on the content and messages of the documentary are interwoven with reflections of the teachers and others involved in the documentary. I begin this auto-ethnographic account by reflecting on my cultural upbringing in China and the influence that Confucianism had on my own early learning experiences. Selected diary entries show my identities within a unique Confucian cultural framework.     

人在社会中生活:道德教育的三重功能

道德教育功能的研究是关于道德教育作用的深层探讨与定位。人在社会中生活是考察道德教育功能的主线。道德教育有三大功能:正义功能、意义功能与幸福功能。道德教育的正义功能是从社会入手,侧重于好公民的培养;道德教育的意义功能是从个人入手,侧重于好人的培养;道德教育的幸福功能是从生活入手,侧重于创造幸福生活,由于社会与个人统一于人的生活,所以,幸福功能是正义功能与意义功能的综合与提升。     

The reformulation of national identity in the new Taiwanese citizenship curriculum through the lens of curriculum reformers

The national curriculum reformers, regarded as members of the social elites and intellectuals, projected their vision of identity onto the curriculum which they constructed and influenced the next generation’s national consciousness. In the tangled relationship between politics and education, the selection of the reformers in a sense dictates the direction of the new curriculum. This article interviewed 18 reformers, members of the latest citizenship curriculum of 2010, to investigate their individual views on identities and the monolithically-promoted Chinese configuration in the old curriculum. Although the new citizenship curriculum, renamed Curriculum Guidelines for Civics and Society, puts nothing in writing in favour of either a Chinese or Taiwanese national identity, according to the discovery in this research, the Curriculum Committee implicitly embedded a transformed inclusive and hyphenated Taiwanese national identity in the new curriculum in the hope of accentuating Taiwan’s exclusive sovereignty. The inner thinking of the reformers is uncovered to reveal their reasoning that a broadly constructed national identity can concurrently accommodate diverse personal identities and suits the society better than the previously prescribed Chinese identity. This article also records the evolution of the curriculum from the previous China-centred narratives to Taiwan-centred narratives, something that happened in line with the changes in Taiwanese society.     

The Shaping of Citizenship Education in a Chinese Context

The global flow of citizenship education in China has spurred much discussion in Chinese academic circles. This study explores the interaction between citizenship education and China’s the existing political-ideological education and moral education as a space is negotiated a space in the current “ideoscape.” A qualitative approach is adopted to synthesize the literature coming from China on citizenship education from an interpretive and critical perspective. The research findings suggest: (a) The territory of orthodox political-ideological education is being narrowed down as its relationship with citizenship education is configured; (b) citizenship education and moral education are represented using different images to delineate their distinctions; and (c) the introduction of “global citizenship education” includes many new topics and competencies that expands the current ideoscape. This study argues that the ongoing debates on citizenship education are deeply rooted in China’s structural transformation, in which society tends to be separated from state. In negotiating its own territory, citizenship education reshapes China’s ideoscape in the education field. The paper concludes by suggesting that citizenship education should make a unique contribution to facilitating young citizens in a reexamination of the values imbedded in political-ideological education and moral education with a new social consensus being reached through the communication of ideas.     

儒家官德思想启示

儒家以“仁”为思想核心,对中国的思想史产生了巨大影响。其对官德的论述也相当丰富,孔子在其官德思想中,把吏德、君德看作是统一整体,其官德思想为：为官以“仁”,为官以“德”,为官以“礼”,为官以“民”,为官以“克己修身”。这是我国古代“德治”的基本精神,这一思想在我国当前“反腐倡廉”、坚持以德治国和依法治国中得到诠释,对当代为官者有重要的借鉴意义。     

儒学之渊源特质与荀子论儒

儒之内涵,当以《说文》"儒,柔也"最为根本,但对其理解,似多有未得其义者。察所谓柔,一应指儒者温文柔和的人格修养特征,二指儒家在政治上主张以礼乐仁义治天下,反对武力霸道。有论者说儒以耶稣比孔子,以犹太教比儒学,立说不可谓不巧妙,但究竟还要从中国古代的历史文化传统中追寻儒学之根,是即周代的师儒教育制度。儒本为王官职守之一,后流为一种社会职业,至孔子则改造为具有特定社会理想的道义追求群体。为说明儒的的社会角色影响,荀子曾根据儒学标准划分天下王公士庶品类,此为荀子论儒最可注意者。因为儒与中国古代社会之关系究竟如何,此论实有大可玩味者,因为其后的社会历史发展,似在相当程度上印证了荀子之论。     

儒家德育的衰落与消亡：从晚清到“五四”的历史考察

儒家德育的衰落史隐含于晚清到“五四”时期的这段历史陈迹之中。晚清的教育新政和学制改革虽然在主观上想要维护儒学的正统地位以及封建统治秩序,但是客观的结果却是逐渐消解了儒家德育的制度基础;此后,民国初期的德育课程改革在课程设置层面上废除了“读经”和“修身”这两门课程,进而解构了儒家德育的课程基础;“五四”时期的德育革命则全面批判了儒家价值观,导致了儒家德育的价值基础的崩塌。通过对这段德育变迁史的考察与分析,可使我们更清晰地理解儒家价值观以及儒家德育的现代困境,从而促进我们对于近代德育变迁史的反思。     

传统儒家的“面子”思想及其教育蕴义

“面子”是中国人的外在形象,中国人历来看重“面子”。“面子”思想根植于传统社会制度和礼仪文化之中,尤其深受传统儒家礼教的影响。传统儒家礼教中所蕴含的“面子”思想相当丰富:既包括“有德之人”的道德“面貌”,也涵括“有位之人”的身份“定位”。“面子”在礼教中表现为社会礼仪上的宁俭毋奢、宁恭毋滥,人伦义务上的孝悌忠信以及人际关系上的依礼而行。肯定传统儒家的“面子”思想,其目的在于丰富人的内在德性与外在德行,为当今道德教育和人格修塑提供历史借鉴。     

儒家的养生哲学与传统养生文化

儒家的养生哲学是儒家道德哲学的反映,体现了儒家对人生价值和对养生目的的认识。在这里养生被纳入了伦理教化的范畴,并深深地影响了中国的传统养生文化。修身养心、仁寿相兼是儒家养生哲学的真谛。     

韩国现行小学《道德》教科书评析

韩国作为一个以儒家思想为主要道德理念的国家，历来重视道德教育。自当代韩国建国以来，为传承儒家思想，国家正式把儒家思想的道德伦理列入大、中、小学的教育科目，《道德》课也始终保持着它的主要课程地位。《正确生活》作为韩国现行小学《道德》课教材不仅体现了第七次教育课程改革的基本精神，还使之更加符合学生的心理、文化特点。本文就《正确生活》教科书进行简单的评析，希望能给我国小学《品德与生活》、《品德与社会》新课程有所启示。     

简析中华传统武德的儒文化内涵

儒家文化是中国传统文化的核心。它自汉武帝＂罢黜百家,独尊儒术＂以来便一直居于主导地位,且广泛而深刻地影响着中华民族历史的各个时期。中华传统武德正是在儒家文化的熏陶下逐渐发展起来的,并形成了自己独特的伦理文化。中华传统武德彰显了儒家＂仁＂的精神内核,蕴涵了儒家＂义＂的伦理精髓,富含了儒家＂礼＂的精神要旨,凸显了儒家重＂信＂的伦理观念,映示了儒家尚＂勇＂的仁德践履。当前,加强武德教育,对提高习武者的道德修养、培育人文精神和构建社会主义和谐社会具有重要的现实意义。     

从传统儒家“德治”思想到现代政治发展

在中国传统文化中占主导地位的儒家所倡导的德治思想,包含了丰富的治国之道,对古代封建社会秩序的稳定起到了积极的作用.推动了中华文明的向前发展.当历史进入了21世纪的特殊时期,儒家德治思想时当今的社会主义建设和治国安邦仍然有着重要的借鉴意义,党中央根据新的形势和任务提出的治国方针,是对我国儒家德治思想的批判和继承.是对马克思主义治国理论的丰富和发展,对于建设中国特色的社会主义、保持政治秩序的稳定、经济的繁荣和社会的可持续发展有着非常重要的现实意义.     

孔子道德教育的大众化探析

儒家思想之所以既能成为封建社会的统治思想又能为被统治阶级所认可和接受,与其道德教育的大众化密切相关。孔子道德教育的大众化表现为,道德教育的基础以人的活动为出发点,贴近社会实际;道德教育的内容以人和社会为主旨,贴近生活实际;道德教育的途径、方法以人的差异类别为前提,贴近受教育者的生活;道德教育的目的和理念贴近良性运行的和谐社会秩序,具有现实性。     

儒家思想与社会主义和谐社会的道德建设论略

儒家思想作为中国传统文化的主流,其中蕴含着丰富的和谐思想.儒家和谐思想构成了我们今天建设社会主义和谐社会的思想文化基础;儒家道德思想又为构建社会主义和谐社会提供了基本的道德准则.从这两方面入手,挖掘儒家思想的现代价值,汲取传统文化的精华,推动社会主义和谐社会的道德建设.     

先秦儒家的“知命”观

孔子"知命观"是儒家思想的一个重要组成部分,"知命、达命"贯通着国人的精神命脉。"知命"是儒家文化生命力强韧的内在表征;"达命"是儒家文化自强不息的外现追求。文章从儒家生命力的价值内核、生死观与知命的关系,及知命观对当代人"文化生态"的环保和修复方面做了进一步发掘和反思的维度。     

疫情背景下复兴人文教育传统的价值

新冠肺炎疫情的全球蔓延使得全世界人的生活受到极大影响。因疫情引发的观念、意识及各个领域的冲突和危机凸显。这样的情势使得我们有必要重温并激活人文教育传统,特别是中国儒家传统中的"为己之学"和西方自古希腊以来的人文教育,纠正当前教育中过多的功利主义倾向,在教育中实现"认识自我、理解他人",从而达到教育提升生命品质的"初心":培养人性之仁。