The students who were expressive in describing the Chinese identity education they had experienced in the school had little to say when it came to the topic of global identity education. It is reasonable to infer that the global identity education the students had experienced was less rich than the Chinese identity education.
The students showed a tendency to interpret the world as consisting of “other countries”, which inevitably influenced their experiences of global identity education. When asked what they had learned about the world in school, the languages, food and festivals of other countries were often referred to. However, the students rarely explained their personal understandings of the foreign elements they mentioned in the discussions.
Zhuyu: We celebrated Christmas last year and I enjoyed it very much. Researcher: What is Christmas?
Shuozhi: It is American people’s New Year. It is important for American people, just like what Lunar New Year means to us.
Researcher: What do people usually do at Christmas?
Zheming: They eat together and play games with their families.
The conversation above is by no means presented with the intention of judging students’ knowledge of Christmas, but to indicate the extent to which students’ understandings of global issues might be achieved under the school’s instruction. As the students explained, elements of other countries are often introduced in the school by discussing their Chinese counterparts. Since most learning activities are carried out with the aim of promoting Chinese identity, the room for advancing students’ understanding of other countries is limited.
7.1.2.2 International experience
Global identity education in the school, as experienced by the students, is often conducted following an experience-based approach. The learning that is achieved through core curriculum areas, cited as Morality and the Rule of Law, English, and Comprehensive Practice, was recognised by the students, while considerable attention was paid to study abroad trips, which are two-week trips to developed countries organised by the school in summer and winter vacations. Most students participating in the focus groups had gone on these trips and believed they were more helpful than formal curriculum in constructing their global understanding.
Research: Which countries have you been to?
Qingzi: I have been to Singapore, the United Kingdom and Australia. I have visited several castles, including the most famous one, Windsor Castle in England. Australia is famous for different kinds of animals, like kangaroos and koalas.
Zhuyu: I went to Japan last year. Japan is very clean and Japanese people are very friendly.
Xiwen: I have not been to other countries. The only way I learn about them is through television.
The argument that constructing global identity relies on international experience was shared by students in different focus groups. Even though more than half of the students in Phoenix Primary School, as the teachers had said, have overseas experience, there are still large numbers of students who have never been abroad due to financial or other considerations. Since the students in the school commonly have a higher standard of living than the norm, the proportion of students with no overseas experience would be much larger in most primary schools in Mainland China. Even though no scale is available to assess whether students with international experience have an advantage in developing global understanding, the uncertainty expressed by Xiwen and other students who had never been to other countries could be easily observed in focus groups. In other words, when it comes to conducting global identity education, resources and information are not equally accessible to students, which might lead to their senses of superiority or inferiority. How to achieve a sense of equality among students remains a distinctive challenge for global identity education, and one thing that can be inferred from this situation is that relying on the students’ personal experiences rather than curriculum to construct their global identity makes a sense of global identity a commodity that is available only to the most privileged students.
7.1.2.3 Meeting individual and national needs
Whereas there was some controversy over whether Chinese identity education should be treated as a necessary aspect of school education, the legitimacy of global identity education did not cause divergence among the students. The students shared curiosity about the world and were content with the way that foreign elements were being incorporated into the school. They also reached a consensus on the importance of global identity education based on utilitarian considerations.
I think it is important to learn about other countries because it can help improve us. In the school, we learn a lot about the advantages and disadvantages of different countries. For instance, I know Japanese people are very considerate and well-organised. But we should not betray history like they do. (Yiran)
I enjoy eating food, both Chinese food and foreign food, and my mother always requests that I keep fit. I like the way our school introduces the culture of foreign food, as it will be helpful if I want to study abroad. (Qingzi)
The students primarily expressed concern about their individual needs. In the context of globalisation, they were aware of their connections with the rest of the world. The knowledge and experience of other countries provided in the school were regarded as beneficial for the students, especially those who planned to study or live abroad in the future. The students also expressed concern about the national development needs of China. According to them, learning from other countries can help make China a strong and prosperous country.
7.1.3 Students’ perceptions of national identity