Confucianism and early childhood education: a study of young children's responses to traditional Chinese festival stories

Article


Yim, Hoi Yin Bonnie, Lee, Lai Wan Maria and Ebbeck, Marjory. 2011. "Confucianism and early childhood education: a study of young children's responses to traditional Chinese festival stories." Early Child Development and Care. 181 (3), pp. 287-303. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430903357837
Article Title

Confucianism and early childhood education: a study of young children's responses to traditional Chinese festival stories

ERA Journal ID20172
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsYim, Hoi Yin Bonnie (Author), Lee, Lai Wan Maria (Author) and Ebbeck, Marjory (Author)
Journal TitleEarly Child Development and Care
Journal Citation181 (3), pp. 287-303
Number of Pages17
Year2011
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISSN0300-4430
1476-8275
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430903357837
Web Address (URL)http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03004430903357837
Abstract

The teaching of values has seen renewed interest, as educators, policymakers and parents seek ways of increasing peaceful coexistence for children in a conflictdriven world. Education systems are again reviewing values as part of their core mission. Confucian values form the core of most Asian cultures, penetrating
different levels of social life, and also set the standards for most families, communities and political behaviour. The research reported in this study set out to
examine young children’s expressed views of Confucian values represented in traditional stories of four Chinese festivals. Within this research, Confucian values
were centred on five virtues: Ren (benevolence), Yi (righteousness), Li (courteousness), Xiao (filial piety), and Zhi (wisdom). The four selected Chinese
festivals were: (1) Chinese New Year, (2) Dragon Boat festival, (3) Chung Yeung festival, and (4) Mid-Autumn festival. Participants included 392 children aged
four to five years from 29 kindergartens or nursery schools and 57 pre-service early childhood teachers in Hong Kong. Results showed that the values of Ren
(benevolence) and Yi (righteousness) were the most popular responses among local young children, while the value of Li (courteousness) tended to be the least
popular category. Some implications for curriculum planning in early childhood education are discussed arising from the study findings.

Keywordsearly childhood; Hong Kong; Chinese festival; Confucian values; story
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390302. Early childhood education
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Byline AffiliationsFaculty of Education
Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, China
University of South Australia
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