Competition and Compassion in Chinese Secondary Education

Competition and Compassion in Chinese Secondary Education examines the nature of academic competition in Chinese schools and demonstrates its debilitating effects on adolescents' psychosocial development. Zhao shows how global economic competition induces changes in national education policies, which in turn shapes how school-age youth are encouraged by their parents and teachers to relate to others and society. Facing extreme pressures of global economic competition, how can education both in the East and the West sustain the kind of humanistic learning that is critical for promoting public reasoning or discourse? This book proposes a research-based approach for balancing academic achievement with the promotion of social and civic engagement in China and elsewhere.

Xu Zhao is Postdoctoral Scholar in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada.

PART I
1. Promoting Competition: A Dramatic Shift of Discourse
2. Reducing Competition: The Cat and Mouse Game
3. The Friendship Dilemma: Competition and Emotional Isolation
4. "What's Your Friend's Ranking Position?" Parental Peer-Related Beliefs and Practices
PART II
5. The Ratty Shoe Case: Friendship and Compassion
6. The Social Problems Facing China: Adolescents' Civic Perspectives
7. Can Education be Both Competitive and Compassionate?