ABSTRACT
Chinese Curriculum Standards for Nine-year Compulsory Education (hereafter CCS) is an official curriculum manual that serves as the basis for textbooks and defines the contents of teaching and learning in schools. In the latest CCS issued in 2011, the significance of emotion, attitude, and value (EAV) is first proposed explicitly and officially, with implementations of EAV being highlighted.
In this chapter, we have examined the EAVs in the CCS and the realizations of EAVs in primary school textbooks for the learning of Chinese. We have categorized the EAVs identified into three broad types, including self-cultivation, national spirit, and interpersonal relation. In addition, delicate categories of the EAVs within the three types are also identified, with a quantitative profile being provided, showing the general tendency of EAVs throughout the six years of primary school education. Some EAVs tend to be more prominent, thus having a very high frequency. Some EAVs tend to be ignored, with very limited number of instances being found. We suggest that emphasis should not only be given some EAVs like ‘safety’, but also to other qualities essential for students’ integrated development, such as independent thinking, critical skills, personality development, and psychological health.
Based on our observations in Chinese society as well as Chinese classrooms, the practical implications of such education on the individuals are also discussed to explain how EAV is translated into classroom practice, and how the Chinese government uses language education to promote patriotism and to carry forward the revolutionary tradition.
