Abstract:

In the current field of Chinese humanities and social sciences, there is a paradigm shift from viewing indigenous analytical units as “objects” or “ends” to using them as “methods”. This shift aims to identify analytical units sensitive to capturing Chinese experiences, thereby constructing an autonomous knowledge system that fosters subjectivity and global dialogue. The “Chinese class headteacher” is such a unit, deeply embedded in Chinese basic education in China amid the successive transformations of Chinese path to education modernization. Its development reflects issues like the paradox of division of labor, individual-collective tensions, management myths, and discourse gaps.As a self-revolution in class headteacher research, it requires researchers to reconstruct an overall perspective on “the Chinese class headteacher”, inherit and develop the traditional Chinese academic research qualities and ethical responsibilities of seeking knowledge from facts. The specific practical approach lies in the two-way unfolding of “historicizing present experiences” and “localizing global perspectives”.

Key words: as a method, Chinese class headteacher, basic education, basic pedagogy, autonomous knowledge production