i Running Head: Becoming global: Global citizenship education in Chinese middle schools in a second- tier city Becoming global: Global Citizenship Education in Chinese middle schools in a second-tier city Yi Hong A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sydney School of Education and Social Work Faculty of Arts and Social Science University of Sydney 2019 Becoming global: Global Citizenship Education in Chinese middle schools in a second-tier city Author’s Declaration This was to certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the content of this thesis was my own work, which has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis was the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources have been acknowledged. Yi Hong ii Becoming global: Global Citizenship Education in Chinese middle schools in a second-tier city Acknowledgments The output of this present study is a series of theories on the localisation of Global Citizenship Education in China. These theories would not have been synthesised without the support of many people. I am deeply obliged to them and will always remember their kindness. First, I must thank all my participants, not only for their contribution of high-quality data, but also for their trust in sharing with me their experience of using the curriculum to teach and support students. Their touching stories often made my eyes tear up during transcribing and analysing data. I also must thank Professor Murray Print. His theory on curriculum development guided me toward a preliminary understanding of the field at the beginning of the degree and provided me with strikingly powerful theoretical support at the later stage of thesis completion when I could not make any progress even after spending considerable time making huge efforts to review many theories. His theory is not only subject to application but also is of great value with regard to researching. Besides his supervision, which was strategic and thorough, he has influenced me to think and to work like a visionary and independent researcher. Over the past four years, he allowed me to read and study in a broad range of disciplines, heard my strange, and sometimes conceited, ideas, and created a warm and engaging work environment for me to complete the thesis. I want to thank Associate Professor Nigel Bagnall. I appreciate his honest feedback and constructive advice on the elegance of writing. He is a researcher with a strong cultural empathy. I would like to thank Associate Professor David Hirsh, who supported my decision to transfer from MPhil to PhD and has been concerned with my performance and progress. I wish to thank Dr Arlene Harvey and Dr Browen Dyson for their help with my academic writing; Dr Nikki Brunker, Dr Zhong zhi Yang, and Associate Professor Lina Markauskaite for their advice on time management; Dr Josephine Fleming for her teaching on proposal writing; Dr Meghan Stacey for her helpful advice on balancing life as a research student; Dr Frank Reichert for demonstrating and teaching research skills; and Dr Yeow-Tong Chia for recommending important academic journals. Many thanks also go to Associate Professor Chen Kin-Chan, who, without reservation, solved many questions I asked with regard to the present study in a conference held in Indonesia. I would like to thank Ms Emma Wise. She is an amazing editor. She contributed to the thesis completing by proofreading, editing, and critiquing. With her help, I figured out where exactly in iii Becoming global: Global Citizenship Education in Chinese middle schools in a second-tier city the expression I should improve. I also would like to thank the editors who are working in Proofed Inc. They proofread the latter half of the thesis speedily. I thank the administrative staff Ms Suin Jung and Mr Gilbert Cheng for their patient supports. I wish to thank my family members who lead me so far. It is fortunate to have these sensitive people keep reminding me of the happiness of life. For so many years, we have grasped every opportunity of communication to talk about fine art, politics, and philosophy. I also want to thank the postgraduates who stay on 2a floor, A36 building, for their genuine friendship. They are Rosa, Neriman, Winnie, Wendy, Racheal, and Shafiza, with whom I spent meaningful time on researching and endless writing. Also, thanks go to Ying, Fangqi, Jessica, Tiefu, Keran, Feifei, Gao Wei, and Pan Yue. In particular, I would like to thank Sherry, Lipei, Kaixin. Peiru, and Chris. They accompanied me during the most perplexed period of my twentieth. Finally, to one of my favourite bands – Franz Ferdinand, thank you, and “Sometimes I wish you were here; weather permitting.” iv Becoming global: Global Citizenship Education in Chinese middle schools in a second-tier city Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the people who are living in the Ring of Fire. v Becoming global: Global Citizenship Education in Chinese middle schools in a second-tier city Abstract Global citizenship education (GCE) is an emerging while poorly explored area. Its contested definition, unelucidated theoretical grounding, as well as diversified worldwide practices in schools, has prevented it from making a more progressive influence. Little is known regarding what and how GCE is developing like in China today. This thesis aims to study whether middle schools in China have the potential and willingness to develop a GCE curriculum based on their principals’ and teachers’ own conceptions and judgement of this concept. This thesis utilises curriculum development theory as a conceptual framework and involved Chinese academics, school principals, and classroom teachers in collecting empirical data. With an overall design of grounded theory, the thesis encouraged principals and teachers across six middle schools in a selected second-tier city to think broadly regarding the possibilities of GCE in their own schools. They participated in interviews that were scheduled before and after a Policy Delphi method, a forecasting and consensus drawing method which engaged academics to spark creative thinking and communication. These sources of data were amplified by analysis of documents of textbooks and school websites that contributed to the interpretations of participants’ responses. Results indicate that GCE has been interpreted as an approach to developing elites based on Chinese identity. GCE was seen as largely irrelevant to curriculum intent authorized by the Chinese centralised education system, principals and teachers, who with restricted autonomy, were less likely to take the risk of making specific changes to introduce GCE into their current school curriculum. Instead, participants preferred integrating the parts of GCE which were identified as consistent with the education system as a long-term development goal and optimizing current GCE related practices as strategies for promoting GCE. This thesis identifies what appears to be an unpromising future trend of GCE development in Chinese middle schools. For practical application, this thesis suggested that, instead of introducing GCE as an independent concept, reforming of current program packages via adding GCE contents, pedagogies, and evaluations will be easier for promoting GCE in Chinese schools. Key words: Chinese middle school, global citizenship education, curriculum innovation vi Becoming global: Global Citizenship Education in Chinese middle schools in a second-tier city Table of Contents Author’s Declaration .......................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication ............................................................................................................................................ v Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents............................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures & Tables .................................................................................................................... xii Glossary .............................................................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Background .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research Problem .................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Context of the Chosen City ...................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Aims ............................................................................................................................................. 5 1.5 Significance ................................................................................................................................ 5 1.6 Research Questions .................................................................................................................