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Confucianism

Confucius, who is honoured as “The Ultimate Sage” in China, is the founder of Confucianism. Confucianism has been established in China for thousands of years, and exerted significant and engrained impact on the development of Chinese economy, politics and education. The philosophy of Confucianism mainly includes the following nine perspectives: “Ren”, “Yi”, “Li”, “Zhi”, “Xin”, “Shu”, “Zhong”, “Xiao”, and “Ti”.

“Ren” means benevolence and kind-heartedness, which suggests individuals to love and care about not only their families and friends, but also the general public; “Yi” requires individuals to behave according to “Li”, which is the ethical, moral and behavioural standard for the whole general public to obey; “Zhi” represents individuals’ knowledge, intelligence and talent; an individual who is of “Xin” is supposed to be honest, sincere, trustworthy and always acts as promised; “Shu” enables individuals to be tolerant and magnanimous; while in the process of building up the interpersonal relationship, individuals should be of “Zhong”, which is the trait of being faithful and devoted; individuals who show filial piety towards their parents, teachers and elder members of their family are acknowledged as “Xiao”; while “Ti” mainly focus on the relationship between siblings, which requires the juniors (younger brothers or sisters) to respect and love their seniors (their elder brothers or sisters). Confucianism considers “Xiao” and “Ti” as the basis of “Ren” (Cheng, 2005; Tang, 2008). It is said that the discipline strategies of Chinese teachers are mainly influenced by Confucianism through the following

philosophies:

“Yi Ren Wei Ben” (“People-Oriented”)

This philosophy insists that all the individuals are able to be reformed and educated regardless of their inherent intelligence, nature and characteristics. The reform process is expected to emphasise the approaches that could not only serve individuals’ self-related needs, but also protect their mental well-being. These approaches aim at changing individuals’ behaviours by amending and correcting their mind and inner thoughts, in which case people could radically improve their behaviours (Cheng, 2005; Hue, 2007; Tang, 2008).

It is reported that teachers who believe in this principle are more likely to investigate the reasons behind students’ misbehaviours and help students improve through gentle inductive discipline approaches (Hue, 2007). Lewis, et al. (2005) also discovered that Chinese teachers employed more relationship-based discipline strategies and less aggressive techniques and punishment compared with Australian and Israeli teachers. Similar result has been obtained recently from the data collected by Riley, Lewis and Wang (2012) in China and Australia, which again demonstrated that Chinese teachers used relatively less and lower-intensity aggressive discipline methods compared with Australian teachers.

There are some findings that might be able to explain this result. For example, teachers have been found more likely to possess higher esteem in China than in western countries (Li, Xie and Wang, 1998). This argument was also confirmed by Aldridge, Fraser and Huang (1999) who indicated that there was no need for teachers to employ aggressive techniques and punishment in Taiwan because students showed more respect to their teachers, and tended to do whatever their teachers tell them to do out of respect. This characteristic of Chinese students also grows out of Confucianism.

According to Confucianism, “yi ri wei shi zhong shen wei fu” (being a teacher for only one day entitles one to lifelong respect from the students that befits his father) (Hu, 2002: 98). That is to say, students are expected to respect their teachers as much as they respect their parents and to “obediently follow their teachers’ advice” (Riley, et al., 2012:391). However, they also presumed that the authority that the Confucianism assigns to teachers in China might simultaneously result in Chinese teachers’ use of aggressive discipline behaviours because teachers might consider it as the way of disciplining children in the ‘parent’s’ way.

“Ji Suo Bu Yu Wu Shi Yu Ren” (Treat Other People as you Hope they Will Treat you) Teachers in China have been assigned by Confucianism a major responsibility of directing students’ behaviours and fostering them into a competent citizen. An approved citizen, according to Confucianism, should be of the following traits: placing emphasis on their own self-cultivation; establishing a positive and harmonious relationship with others; being polite and respectful to seniors including their parents, teachers and elder siblings; being philanthropical, tolerant, upright, sincere, honest and faithful as an individual; while being incorruptible, impartial and loving their people as an official; showing loyalty to their superiors; and respecting knowledge and being adept at learning from the others (Cheng, 2005; Tang, 2008).

Confucianism, however, also contends that “Ji Suo Bu Yu Wu Shi Yu Ren”, which translates to “treat other people as you hope they will treat you”. That is to say, teachers are supposed to be good examples of competent citizen themselves in order to stand in the proper position of directing students’ behaviours (Zhang, 2008). In other words, teachers are expected to possess these characteristics themselves before instil these traits in their students. It could be seen as another reason why Chinese teachers are less likely

“Zhong Yong Zhi Dao” (The Golden Mean)

“The golden mean” presented by Confucianism places an emphasis on the word “moderation” by suggesting that individuals should always be modest and follow the mainstream in behaving; too much self-expression and personality are both inappropriate, and cannot be accepted (Cheng, 2005; Tang, 2008; Zhang, 2008). It might be for this reason that most Chinese students tend to behave in accordance with the common and universal standard in China. This might also be one of the reasons why there is little extremely severe and provocative misbehaviour that has been observed in Chinese classrooms compared with that in Australian and Israeli classrooms (Jin and Cortazzi, 1998; Lewis, et al., 2005).

Moreover, as indicated, talking out of turn has been acknowledged as the most troublesome misbehaviour facing British and Australian teachers; whereas according to Ding et al (2007), this misbehaviour occurred rarely in Chinese (Hong Kong) classrooms. This finding could be explained by the fact that Chinese students are more likely to be afraid of losing face by saying something stupid or answering questions wrong; or being considered to be pretentious by saying something intelligent or answering the questions correctly, and therefore avoid talking unless asked.

“Yan Shi Chu Gao Tu” (A Strict Teacher Produces Outstanding Students)

There are always reports published on Chinese newspapers that revealed the existence of severe punishment (such as physical punishment) in Chinese classrooms, especially in the undeveloped regions. Some teachers are even reported employing harsh punishment for dealing with fairly trivial misbehaviours such as daydreaming or playing with their hair in class. These “extremely strict” teachers attributed their over-reacted discipline behaviours to following the principle proposed by Confucianism, which is “a strict teacher produces outstanding students” in an in-depth interview with them.

It seems, however, to be a misunderstanding of this well-known saying. “A strict teacher” here mainly refers to those teachers who are strict with students’ behaviours, rather than

those who employ severe corrective actions. This kind of teachers is able to point out the improper thoughts and behaviours of students without placing an emphasis on the severity of the misbehaviours, but on the hope that the students could steadily improve their behaviours step by step and get as close to perfection as possible (Tang, 2008). Nevertheless, given that the explanation of traditional Chinese sayings usually varies and lacks corroborations; different people might possess different views on them and thus need to be considered with caution.

Taoism

Taoism, which is founded by Laozi, is another philosophy that has influenced Chinese culture in a remarkable way. Taoism emphasises on the unification of “nature” and “inaction”; encourages people to live naturally without possessing artificial purposes while co-developing with the nature. Of these, “inaction” can be seen as the essence of Taoism, which can be applied to various management strategies (Zou, 2006; Zhang, 2008). Hue’s (2010:601) study conducted among secondary school teachers in Hong Kong presented that “Taoism served as a paramount and respected reference for the teachers’ social behaviours and for their expectations of how their roles should be played out.” Taoism was found to impact teachers’ discipline behaviours mainly by presenting the following principles:

“Zi Ran Wu Wei” (Being Natural while Doing Nothing)

Taoism suggests that individuals should be natural and dismiss all their artificial intentions or purposes when faced with nature, life, other people and themselves; never attempt to deliberately do or change anything. Along with this principle, teachers are recommended to help students develop in accordance with their own personalities and aspirations, rather than to improve students’ behaviours on purpose (Hue, 2007; Zhang, 2008). In addition, teachers who believe in Taoism are more likely to identify their responsibility of helping students be aware of their personal talent and value. For example, some students might perform badly on their academic work; whereas they are still believed by these teachers to have capabilities and gifts in other aspects such as arts,

music, or other specific subjects (Hue, 2010).

“Wu Wei Er Zhi” (Action through Inaction)

Teachers in Hue’s (2010) study reported that it was more effective to take action in conformity to “wu wei” (action through inaction) during the course of coping with students’ misbehaviours, especially with the disruptive behaviours. Taoism suggests that “violence and conflict should be avoided, and that victory was an occasion for mourning the need for using force against others, rather than an occasion for triumphant celebrations.” (Hue, 2010:602). Guided by this ideology, teachers might find the employment of discipline behaviours such as establishing rules, using supportive feedback or punishment more likely to increase the difficulties of managing students’ behaviours, as well as stand for the loss of authority.

“Wu wei”, however, as proposed by Taoism does not simply require teachers to do nothing when students misbehave. Instead, teachers are recommended to take action in accordance with students’ abilities and wishes; while avoiding expressing their “explicit intentions” and “strong will” (Hue, 2010:603). Teachers who participated in Hue’s study mainly emphasised the function of “wu wei” in calming themselves down when challenging behaviours occurred and then responding to these behaviours appropriately afterwards.

“Yi Rou Ke Gang” (Conquer the Hardness with the Softness)

Teachers who believed in this principle might hold the view that severe and harsh punishment and sanction would lead to more serious indiscipline; while the mild and soft discipline behaviours might instead reduce the severity of students’ misbehaviours. This belief could also be one of the explanations why Chinese teachers have been found to utilise more relationship-based discipline behaviours in previous research (Lewis et al., 2005; Zou, 2006; Hue, 2007).

“Xiang Fu Xiang Cheng” (complement each other)

According to Taoism, the relationship between teachers and students could be described as complementary. Teachers and students could not exist in isolation and need to co-develop with each other. In this relationship, domination and control should be both avoided; teachers and students need to play their own role, as well as take their own responsibility. This concept provides discipline behaviour, for example, the involvement of a strong and solid philosophical basis (Zou, 2006; Hue, 2007; Zhang, 2008).

“Fan Xiang Si Kao” (Consider-the-Opposite Strategy)

This principle needs to be understood from two dimensions. Firstly, “Wu Yong Ji Da Yong”, which means that in certain occasions, uselessness represents usefulness. For example, students who seem to be useless in one domain might be extremely talented in other subjects. This notion enables teachers to value their students from various perspectives. For instance, a student might perform poorly on his academic work; whereas he might be talented in sports or arts. According to the principle indicated previously: “Zi Ran Wu Wei” (being natural while doing nothing), teachers are encouraged to explore the potential talent and interest of students; and then help them develop towards that direction (Hue, 2007).

The second dimension is described as “Wu Ji Bi Fan” (things will develop in the opposite direction when they become extreme). As this principle indicates, both excessively loose and excessively strict rules and disciplinary practices are detrimental to students’ development; and might even escalate students’ minor misbehaviours into a crisis (Zou, 2006; Zhang, 2008). This concept seems to support “the golden mean” proposed by Confucianism from another perspective.

Legalism

In addition to the Confucianism and Taoism, Legalism also plays an important role in the development of Chinese culture. There is no specific founder of Legalism. It is firstly proposed by three representatives: Shang Yang, Shen Buhai and Guan Zhong; and

then integrated by Han Feizi. Legalism places great emphasis on “Fa” (the law); and opposes “Li” that is of high esteem in Confucianism (Wu, 2009). Legalism deems the law to be of two main functions: “Ding Fen Zhi Zheng” (clarify the ownership of objects in order to prevent or settle disputes); and “Xing Gong Ju Bao” (encourage people to make contributions to frightening the outlaws). According to Hue (2007), teachers’ discipline behaviours are mainly influenced by Legalism through the following assertions:

“Li Fa” (Establish the Rules)

A set of clear and fair rules is the basis of implementing Legalism (Wu, 2009). Teachers who apply this principle are more likely to establish a suite of well-defined rules for students to follow, which has been corroborated to be an effective discipline behaviour by Kyriacou et al (2007).

“Hao Li Wu Hai” and “Jiu Li Bi Hai” (Pursue Benefits while Avoiding Harm)

It is suggested that all the people are prone to pursuing benefits and avoiding harm. In other words, everyone is motivated by rewards and benefits, while being supressed by punishment and impairment. Guided by this principle, teachers might be encouraged to utilise motivation (including intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) during the course of tackling students’ misbehaviours (Wu, 2009).

“Shang Fa Fen Ming” (Activate a Reward-and-Punishment System)

Legalism contends that rewards are likely to encourage people to follow the rules and the law, as well as make contributions to the country. However, severe punishment has the function of preventing people from breaking the law and infringing the national interest. Influenced by this ideology, teachers might establish a reward-and-punishment system in order to encourage students to behave well; while deterring them from misbehaving (Hue, 2007; Zhang, 2008). However, as Legalism suggested, punishment could be seen as an effective practice only when it is severe enough, which might lead to teachers’ use of harsh discipline behaviours in the course of improving students’

behaviours.

“Li Yong Quan Shi” (Suppress Others by Use of One’s Power)

In order to firmly consolidate the authority in the state, Legalism advises the ruler to build up an image of supremacy, to which no one is allowed to show defiance in the public eye, in order to maintain sovereignty. Teachers who apply this theory of Legalism might endeavour to establish their leadership and authority in front of students, through which teachers might be able to obtain students’ absolute and unquestioning obedience. It might be for this reason that teachers’ authority and power are unlikely to be challenged by students in China (Hue, 2007; Wu, 2009).

Although the significant influence of Chinese traditional culture on the discipline behaviours of Chinese teachers has been found in many previous studies (Lewis, Qui and Katz 2005; Ding et al., 2007; Hue, 2007; Zhang, 2008; Wu, 2009), it does not show that Chinese teachers and students are behaving strictly in accordance with the stereotypical traditional standards established for teachers and students. In addition, Chinese schooling has also been remarkably affected by the newly-appeared changes in Chinese culture, as well as the Western culture. That is to say, the discipline strategies of Chinese teachers are significantly influenced by traditional Chinese culture and are still experiencing a great change along with the more notable sociocultural changes in China. For example, Chinese teachers’ and students’ behaviours are also largely impacted by Chinese social reality.