Social Changes and Yuwen Education in Post-Mao China

Min Tao, PhD, teaches Chinese language and culture at the University of Sydney. His research interests include social context of language education, Chinese language curriculum and contemporary Chinese narratology. He has served as a lecturer and coordinator of the Chinese program at the University of Wollongong (2009-2015) and as an associate lecturer at the University of Tasmania (2004-2007). Before he moved to Australia, Min worked as a lecturer in teaching Chinese as a foreign language at Nanjing Normal University in China.

• AcknowledgementChapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Social Approaches of Literacy Studies and Language and Literacy Curriculum Studies: Western Perspectives and DisputesChapter 3: Ideological Control and Subject Autonomy: Major Debates on Yuwen Education in China after 1949Chapter 4: Scope and MethodsChapter 5: From Mao’s literate subjects to high Suzhi (quality) literate citizens: High school Yuwen syllabuses in the post-Mao era (1978-2003)Chapter 6: Whose Texts and what Texts: Findings from Textbook AnalysisChapter 7: Yuwen Teachers’ Perceptions of and Reactions to the Curriculum ChangesChapter 8: Discussion and Conclusion: Text and PowerConclusion: Text and powerBIBLIOGRAPHYAppendix 1: Ethical Approval by Human Research Ethics Committee (USYD)Appendix 2: Interview questionsAppendix 3: Letter circularIndex

"This book explains why and how the number of texts by Lu Xun and Mao Zedong in China’s Yuwen textbooks has been drastically reduced. It is essential reading for anyone interested in changes in Chinese language and literacy education."Yiyan Wang, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand"This book is based on a timely and nuanced research inquiry in one of the contemporary Chinese core curriculums. It provides a delicate showcase of understanding the social and political changes in the past three decades in China."Yangbin Chen, La Trobe University, Australia