Confucian Philosophy for Contemporary Education
Most people would not associate Confucian philosophy with contemporary education. After all, the former is an ancient Chinese tradition, and the latter is a modern phenomenon. But this book shows otherwise, by explaining how millennia-old Confucian ideas and practices can inform, inspire and improve school administration, teaching and learning today. Drawing upon major Confucian texts such as the Analects and Mencius , as well as influential thinkers such as Confucius, Zhu Xi and Empress Xu, the various chapters address current educational issues and challenges such as the following:
• What roles do schools play in fighting the coronavirus pandemic?
• How can humanity resolve the climate emergency?
• What (more) should school leaders do to promote education for girls?
• Is there more to lifelong learning than just skills upgrading?
• What is missing in the existing frameworks on 21st century competencies?
• What new initiatives are needed to champion sustainable development?
Confucian Philosophy for Contemporary Education answers the above questions and more by presenting a Confucian model of education. The author proposes a Confucian school where Dao – a shared vision of human excellence – is realised through a mindful, learning-centred, action-oriented and ultimately humanising form of education.
This book is a useful resource for academic researchers, educators, students and general readers on Confucian philosophy and its continual relevance for present-day education.
Charlene Tan, PhD in philosophy, has spent the past two decades as a history teacher in a high school and a teacher educator at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She has also been a visiting professor at East China Normal University and Sungkyunkwan University.