Verification of intellectual equality: A case study of Chinese modes of critical thinking Siyi LU BA (English Literature) (2011) MA (Education) (2012) Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Educational Research School of Education Western Sydney University ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Undertaking doctoral study has been one of the great challenges of my life. Writing a PhD thesis is a long and arduous process. But it has not been a lone journey. First and foremost, I express my deepest appreciation to my principal supervisor Professor Michael Singh, who has the attitude and the substance of the best supervisor I could ever imagine. He has constantly conveyed a spirit of adventure in research and scholarship as well as enthusiasm in supervision. He not only teaches research procedures and transmits this technique as essential to my PhD studies, but even more importantly is patient and encouraging in his dedication to a process where students achieve self-revelation of their own intelligence. One of my key inspirations in this study has been his advocacy of the need for an equal dialogue between supervisor and student, and without his expertise and advice, encouragement and support, I fear this research and this thesis may never have seen the light of day. I also place on record, my sincere gratitude to my associate supervisor Dr Jinghe Han. It was with her assistance that I gained opportunities to begin this study. Dr Han gave me support both in my studies and in my personal life in Australia. I also thank all the interviewees who unselfishly shared their time and experience, and made this research possible. I am grateful to all those who directly and indirectly have helped me in this project. I take this opportunity to record my gratitude to Dr Richard Johnson, for his most generous help, encouragement and support during a stressful time of my study. A special note of gratitude goes to my friends. My life in Australia became easier and much more colourful when I had them around to share my happiness and my concerns. I would especially like to thank my parents Shuping Chen and Baoji Lu for their spiritual support, helpful academic insights, and ceaseless love. It is almost as if they experienced this academic journey alongside me. Without their encouragement and understanding, it would not have been possible for me to achieve my educational goal. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE .......................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 3 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................... 3 1.1 The research problem ......................................................................................... 6 1.2 Research context ................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Research focus .................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Delimitations of this study ............................................................................... 10 1.5 Research questions ........................................................................................... 13 1.6 Working definitions of key concepts ................................................................ 14 1.6.1 Critical thinking ......................................................................................... 14 1.6.2 'Western Anglophone modes of critical thinking' ..................................... 16 1.6.3 Chinese modes of critical thinking .......................................................... 17 1.6.4 Anglophone universities ............................................................................ 19 1.6.5 Multilingual education and multilingual students ..................................... 20 1.6.6 Critical actors ............................................................................................. 21 1.7 Note on research method .................................................................................. 21 1.8 Thesis statement ............................................................................................... 23 1.9 The significance of this study ........................................................................... 24 1.10 Overview of thesis structure ........................................................................... 26 CHAPTER TWO ....................................................................................................... 29 DEBATES OVER CHINESE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ CAPABILITIES FOR CRITICAL THINKING .................................................................................... 29 2.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 29 2.1 Critical thinking in higher education ................................................................ 30 2.2 The construction of Chinese students as uncritical and disengaged................. 32 2.2.1 An educationally deficient system ............................................................. 33 i 2.2.2 Anxiety and exclusion ............................................................................... 36 2.2.3 Lack of relevant knowledge ....................................................................... 37 2.2.4. Poor English language skills ..................................................................... 38 2.2.5 “Critically inadequate at an overall level” ................................................. 41 2.3 The business of international education ........................................................... 43 2.4 Problematising assessment practices ................................................................ 44 2.5 Chinese modes of critical thinking ................................................................... 46 2.5.1 Oblique and alternative critical thinking ................................................... 51 2.5.2 Chinese students’ critical writing .............................................................. 53 2.6 Problematising Western appropriations of critical thinking ............................. 54 2.7 Transforming Intellectual diversity .................................................................. 56 2.8 Shifting the Frame: ‘Chinese students’ to ‘multilingual students’ ................... 57 2.9 Conclusion to Chapter Two .............................................................................. 59 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................... 61 INTELLECTUAL INEQUALITY AND EQUALITY .............................................. 61 3.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 61 3.1 Emancipation .................................................................................................... 62 3.1.1 Illusion of image ........................................................................................ 64 3.2 Cultural capital ................................................................................................. 65 3.3 Boltanski’s sociology of critical practice ......................................................... 67 3.3.1 Institution ................................................................................................... 67 3.3.2 Ordinary critique ........................................................................................ 68 3.4 Intellectual inequality ....................................................................................... 69 3.4.1 Uniformization ........................................................................................... 70 3.5 Intellectual equality .......................................................................................... 72 3.5.1 Pedagogies of double knowing .................................................................. 73 3.6 Divergence and Dialogue ................................................................................. 74 3.7 Postmonolingual condition ............................................................................... 76 3.8 Discussion: verification of intellectual equality ............................................... 77 3.8 Conclusion to Chapter Three ............................................................................ 79 CHAPTER FOUR ...................................................................................................... 80 METHODOLOGY AND THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING ............................... 80 4.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 80 ii 4.1 Methodological underpinning .......................................................................... 81 4.1.1 Educational research as ‘hard’ science ...................................................... 81 4.1.2 Methodological