The teacher–state relationship in China : an exploration of homeroom teachers' experiences

Abstract:

With the relaxation of the system of command in China's public schooling sector and the decline of ideological coercion in the post-Mao era, the Chinese state has reshaped its control over individual teachers. Much effort has been made to analyse the state's influence on teachers' academic activities at school, but little attention has been paid to the teacher–state relationship in another facet of teachers' work, namely the socialisation of students. This study examines Chinese teachers' perceptions of their relationship with the state through an analysis of homeroom teachers' perspectives.

Speaker:

Dr ZHAO Zhenzhou
Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong
Zhenzhou Zhao is an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences and a research fellow in the Centre for Governance and Citizenship at The Education University of Hong Kong. Dr. Zhao received a bachelor's degree from the Beijing Normal University and a Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests include sociology of education and citizenship studies. She is the author of China's Mongols at University: Contesting Cultural Recognition (Lexington Press, 2010) and the co-editor of a new book published by Routledge: Citizenship Education in China: Preparing Citizens for the "Chinese Century".