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01 December 2023, Volume 41 Issue 12 Previous Issue   

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Subjective Rationality, Institutional Regulations, and the Rise and Fall of County High Schools: Based on the Perspective of Rational Choice Theory Zhihui Wu, Qin Wang, Hao Liang 2023, 41 (12):  1-12.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.001 Abstract ( 167 )   HTML ( 25 )   PDF (777KB) ( 156 )   Save The revitalization of county high schools is a major decision of the Party Central Committee and the State Council during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, and one of the key supports for building a high-quality education system and implementing the rural revitalization strategy. To effectively promote the revitalization of county high schools, it is necessary to reveal the micro logic of county high school development, analyze the institutional causes of county high school collapse and explore feasible paths to long-term revitalization from the dual perspectives of subject rationality and institutional regulation. According to rational choice theory, we find that under the guidance of the logic of promotion, three major subjects, namely, students’ parents, administration departments and high schools, will take the initiative to make rational actions of student flow, student retention and student competition, while institutional loopholes are the key reasons for the collapse of county high schools: the weak attempt and regulation of the system of social forces to run schools leads to the impact of market logic on county high schools; “county-based” funding system leads to huge disparity in funding for inter-county high school education; the lack of student source guarantee system leads to the disadvantaged position of county high schools in the market of student source competition. The relationship between subjective rationality and institutional regulations under the perspective of ephemerality presents a “two-way interaction of asynchronous changes”. In order to respect the law of rational choice of subjects and effectively close the loopholes of the system, it is necessary to introduce, retain and train a group of excellent county high school teachers, improve, implement and use an effective county high school system, and reform, build and create a good county high school ecology. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Tianxia-Curriculum: On the Fourfold Vision of Education of Future Zhengmei Peng, Xiaoyong Zhou, Yuan Gao, Qingtao Wang, Fangting Shi 2023, 41 (12):  13-25.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.002 Abstract ( 158 )   HTML ( 29 )   PDF (782KB) ( 184 )   Save From the perspective of education for the future and the formation of the new generation, this study aims to collectively imagine and commit human society to positive actions for ecological civilization, human destiny community, and global common values. This paper extends the core socialist values of the individual, society, and nation to the ‘tianxia’ and makes them into a curriculum, based on the Chinese educational wisdom tradition of the “Tianxia-Curriculum”. Specifically, the four classics of Mencius, On Liberty, the Communist Manifesto, and Zhuangzi are used to reconstruct a new “Tianxia-Curriculum” with Chinese characteristics and to provide a philosophical anthropological foundation for a new humanities education for the future. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Ecopedagogy: Retrospect and Prospect Ruyu Hung 2023, 41 (12):  26-33.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.003 Abstract ( 114 )   HTML ( 11 )   PDF (595KB) ( 169 )   Save Ecological crisis is one of the most urgent challenges that all human beings are facing. In response, there was an “ecological turn” in education and thereby the movement of “ecopdagogy” was taking shape in the late 20th century. This paper discusses the background, the history of formation, and the main ideas of ecopedagogy. There are two main views in terms of ecopedagogy: philosophical and critical ecopedagogy. In the former view, “ecosophy” and “ecophilia” are the cardinal ideas. The formation of philosophical ecopedagogy consists in the nineteenth century transcendentalism and naturalist idyllic literature. In the latter view, “eco–justice” is the core idea. The development of critical ecopedagogy is grounded on critical theory and critical pedagogy that aim to disentangle the socio-political webbing from environmental problems. This article intends to describe the formation of ecopedagogy and its implications for educational practice. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Education and Ecological Civilization: Based on the Changing Perspective of OECD on the Function of Education Wei Shen, Wanyue Chen 2023, 41 (12):  34-45.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.004 Abstract ( 88 )   HTML ( 8 )   PDF (1336KB) ( 76 )   Save What can education do in ecological civilization construction? By focusing on the work of OECD in the area of “Innovation and the future of education”, this study systematically reflects on OECD’s future-oriented skills in the context of Futures Literacy in Anticipation Theory, and clarifies the relationship between education and ecological civilization from OECD’s perspective. The study finds that OECD has proposed several future-competent competencies from a predictive perspective in response to changes in social and ecological systems, which continues the idea of education as a social function. Since 2018, OECD has started to use Anticipation Theory to develop multiple imaginations of the future and skills of education, which goes beyond the previous functional theory and highlights the feasibility and leadership of education in social and ecological systems. From OECD’s changing perspective and eclectic approach, the study believes that human beings are always the subject of ecological civilization construction, and that the path to ecological civilization construction has multiple possibilities and education can re-construct future when human beings have the knowledge and skills to “use-the-future”. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Constructing Common Worlds Pedagogies in the Crisis of Anthropocene: Commentary on Learning to Become with the World: Education for Future Survival by UNESCO Yun You, Muling Yu 2023, 41 (12):  46-57.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.005 Abstract ( 114 )   HTML ( 10 )   PDF (761KB) ( 167 )   Save Facing the increasingly severe ecological crisis of Anthropocene, education is expected to be an effective means to improve the living environment of human beings. However, modern environmental education has not led to a better world. In the UNESCO-commissioned report Learning to Become with the World: Education for Future Survival, Common Worlds Research Collective calls for reimagining and reconfiguring education that is shaped by Western dualism and anthropocentrism, which separate humans from the rest of the world. It advocates humans' learning to become with the world around us as an integral part, in order to achieve ‘ecological justice’. This report concisely embodies the concerns and ideas of common worlds pedagogies, which mainly draws on post-humanism, eco-feminism, and aboriginal indigenous cultures. While Chinese philosophical tradition shares characteristics with common worlds pedagogies, its uniqueness in ecological aesthetics may deepen the thinking of the relationality between human and non-human beings, and the way that education can contribute to their harmonious co-existence. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Wizard and Prophet: A Comparative Study of Two Philosophies, Initiatives, and Pedagogical Models in International Environmental Education Shaoyang Wu, Zhengmei Peng 2023, 41 (12):  58-73.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.006 Abstract ( 83 )   HTML ( 8 )   PDF (1529KB) ( 78 )   Save Two distinct environmental science perspectives dominate strategies for addressing the ecological crisis. The Prophets emphasize restraint and reduction, advocating for a harmonious coexistence between humans and nature, while the Wizards champion creation, ambition, and development, transforming threats into opportunities through technological innovation. This divergence is also mirrored in various environmental education initiatives. UNESCO’s advocacy for Sustainable Development Goals and a new social contract aligns closely with the Prophet’s emphasis on self-restraint and the pursuit of ecological justice. In contrast, the OECD’s capability initiative and its metric-driven approach reflect the Wizards’ reverence for technocentrism and instrumental rationality. This ideological split has further molded two distinct paths in environmental education practices: one emphasizing the cultivation of eco-friendly awareness and values, termed the disciplinary model, and the other focusing on nurturing environmental scientific literacy and advanced competencies, known as the empowerment model. There is a possibility of merging the two approaches in theory and practice, and their balance and integration can help build a sustainable future. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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A Discussion on Ethical Education of Students’ Natural Responsibility in the Age of Carbon Neutrality Na Su, Xiaoying Han 2023, 41 (12):  74-84.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.007 Abstract ( 62 )   HTML ( 5 )   PDF (811KB) ( 76 )   Save The natural environment on which humanity depends is facing an unprecedented crisis, and the “carbon-neutral era” that calls for sustainable development is approaching with an irresistible momentum, which requires humanity to focus on the long-term development of nature and future society. As the world responds to the ecological crisis, education is the key way to address the global ecological crisis since the Anthropocene, which follows the ethical approach to the ethics of responsibility. The “ethics of natural responsibility”, which emphasizes the goodness of motives and results of actions with nature as the purpose, has become a theoretical guide to rescue the development dilemma, which strongly demands that humans be responsible for the sustainable development of nature. In reality, the effectiveness of nature education needs to be improved, and the problem of “nature deficit” is still serious and far from what society expects and what nature education should be. Nature responsibility ethics education, which aims to cultivate young people to be responsible for nature, is an inevitable trend in the age of carbon neutrality, and can achieve the Pareto optimal state of nature education effectiveness. The responsible actors of nature responsibility ethics education can be collective or individual, and accordingly, there are collective and individual ways to implement nature responsibility ethics education. On the individual level, each individual as a citizen of society has the moral responsibility to protect nature; on the social level, the main entity that can effectively implement nature responsibility education is the government, and the specific implementers are mainly the schools and institutions at all levels organized by the government. Education on the ethics of natural responsibility requires training young people to care about the use of natural resources and the conservation of the environment and ecology, to recognize the beauty of nature outside of human society, to understand the relationship between the environment and the survival of plants and animals, to understand the efforts and achievements of the country in the conservation of natural resources, to understand their personal responsibility for the sustainable development of the country, and to actively practice their responsibility to protect the natural environment in the world they live in. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Is Weight Influenced by Peers: An Empirical Research Based on Classroom Units Sihui Du, Gang Cheng, Wenshan Yu 2023, 41 (12):  85-99.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.008 Abstract ( 100 )   HTML ( 16 )   PDF (1037KB) ( 85 )   Save The research of peer effects on weight is important for clarifying the generating process of abnormal weight, as well as promoting the social governance of adolescent physical health development. Based on the social interaction theory and a combination of data from the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic years of the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), this study aimed to identify the weight peer effect of adolescents within classes and the underlying mechanisms. It was found that there was a weight peer effect within the class unit, with peer mean BMI and peer overweight and obesity rates significantly and positively affecting individual BMI. The results consistently held after controlling for contextual and corrlated effects, performing instrumental variable treatment, and conducting robustness tests. Further mechanism analysis showed that weight perception played a moderating role in the occurrence of the weight peer effect, and that overestimating one’s own weight significantly weakened the weight peer effect, while underestimating one’s own weight has no effect on it. Accordingly, it was demonstrated that the countermeasures against abnormal weight of adolescents in the school context have good externalities, and suggestions such as reasonable allocation of health education resources, enrichment of health education work content, and close attention to social experiences of student groups were proposed. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Why Education is Transcendent: The Construction and Characteristics of the Transcendent Theory：That’s Why We Need Lu Jie Today Jiangkun Zhang 2023, 41 (12):  100-112.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.009 Abstract ( 99 )   HTML ( 10 )   PDF (715KB) ( 173 )   Save The Transcendent Theory is one of the most important academic criticisms and constructions of contemporary Chinese educators on realistic education. The problem of “no one”, that is, the problem that education alienates people and their whole life, is the object of reflection and criticism of The Transcendent Theory. Education is the education of “people”, and The Transcendent Theory responses to the problem of “no one” in education is based on the construction of “practical man” of the theory of human nature. Curing the problem of “no one” lies in “making people become transcendental beings”, that is, realizing “self-transcendence” and “transcending society”. For that, transcendental educational philosophy is a great effort to generate the possibility of human beings. As a defense and commitment to education, The Transcendent Theory has a tone of “intellectual honesty”. It’s helpful to break the illusion and prejudice in education. It is also of great value in solving modern educational problems. Recognizing The Transcendent Theory is a rational awareness of rethinking education, and it is also a possible way of having a good life. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Research on the Resource Allocation of Preschool Education in Urban and Rural Areas of China from 2021 to 2050 under the Three-child Policy Chen Huang, Ling Li 2023, 41 (12):  113-126.  doi: 10.16382/j.cnki.1000-5560.2023.12.010 Abstract ( 134 )   HTML ( 12 )   PDF (1816KB) ( 208 )   Save Leslie matrix was used to establish a population prediction model. Based on the census data and a sampling survey of fertility intention, the population of urban and rural permanent residents of preschool education and the size of children in kindergartens, as well as the size of kindergartens, teachers, and total expenditure on preschool education in 2021-2050 were predicted. The results show that by 2035, after raising resource allocation standards, compared with 2020, 40,700 kindergartens will be built, while 1,0755,500 full-time teachers will be added and 909,200 child-care workers will be added, with an additional total expenditure of 365.211 billion yuan for preschool education. It is suggested to dynamically monitor the changes of school-aged population, scientifically distribute preschool education resources in advance, timely revise and adjust the supporting enrollment spaces of the residential population in urban and rural communities based on the consideration of urbanization process, rural revitalization strategy, COVID-19, implementation of the three-child policy and local realities, carry out follow-up inspection on the governance of supporting gardens in urban communities, construct supporting kindergartens in strict accordance with the standards, set up public kindergartens in remote rural areas where it is difficult to run kindergartens, explore the system of overall planning and adjustment of staffing to alleviate the pressure of shortage of preschool staffing, implement equal pay for equal work for irregular teachers, increase the teachers’ subsidies for working years, and strengthen provincial and municipal overall planning and improve the level of subjects guaranteeing financial investment in preschool education. Figures and Tables | References | Related Articles | Metrics