Search

Patriotic education in China is a state project that serves the Chinese government. However, current discourse on Chinese patriotic education basically views inward and outward aspects of patriotism as separate and incompatible, which downplays the intricate relationship between them. Arguably, a more nuanced understanding of patriotism is needed to better explore patriotic education in the context of China. This paper begins by elaborating the differences between inward and outward patriotism as illustrated by Marianna Papastephanou's Janus-faced nature of patriotism. It then proceeds to give background information on Chinese patriotic education and illustrate how inward patriotism has been intrinsic to patriotic education in China from its beginnings. The paper further reveals that outward patriotism has been increasingly emphasized in today's China. Finally, it proposes that the risks and potentials of both inward and outward patriotism should be realized and given full consideration and explains how balanced patriotism can help accommodate diverse needs and make Chinese development more sustainable.

Since 1840, Chinese political leaders have struggled to draw effectively from Western culture without abandoning the Chinese essence in their design of higher education. In this paper, we use cultural nationalism as the theoretical framework to examine how Chinese political leaders have responded to this challenge. Our analysis shows that cultural nationalism closely links to politics, and although the form taken by cultural nationalism has varied throughout Chinese history, it has significantly influenced Chinese higher education. In particular, we identify a strong cultural nationalism in today's China, which has already influenced teaching and research in Chinese higher education. Finally, we discuss the implications and limitations of this paper, and call for critical reflections of cultural nationalism and its impact on Chinese higher education.

Purpose: This study aims to examine and assess how sustainable development goal (SDG) Target 4.7 is incorporated in one leading higher education institution (HEI) in China (with a focus on teacher-education programmes) from students' perspectives. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses document analysis and a semi-structured interview to analyse official and accessible documents of the programmes related to SDG Target 4.7 and recorded interviews with seven students across various Postgraduate Diploma in Education programmes in the field of education at the examined university. Findings: SDG Target 4.7 is absent in the related documents. Challenges and barriers for students include limited opportunity to be informed about SDG Target 4.7, limited topics covered, ineffective pedagogies and students' diverse needs being neglected and teachers not giving immediate feedback. Given the opportunities in teaching and learning SDG Target 4.7, such as students are keen to learn and implement SDG Target 4.7, future directions could be reducing teachers' lecturing and increasing student engagement in multiple ways, providing concrete examples that are relevant to students' lives and giving immediate feedback and designing more related courses to specifically and systematically teach SDG Target 4.7. Originality/value: This study contributes to the field by identifying and deeply analysing an interesting and representative non-western case that remains underexplored in literature. In this sense, it helps international readers to generate a more comprehensive understanding of Chinese approaches to SDGs in its higher education system, develop a more holistic global discourse on incorporating SDGs into HEIs and compare the similarities and differences between different countries' approaches.