Wenchao Zhang 
Chinese Conceptions of Democratic Education 
Ethnographic Insights and Classroom Practice

This book draws on a rich ethnographic study to examine Chinese democracy and its practices in democratic education.

The first book to interrogate practices of democratic education from an insider perspective, it offers a unique model of Chinese democratic education based in school practices. It illuminates connections between the school practices of Chinese democratic education, the Chinese democratic system and the effects of globalizations. As such, it analyses the particular ways in which educators can and must balance global needs and local cultures. Ultimately arguing that comprehension of Chinese democracy and its educational practices should take root in the specific social and cultural context in which it was developed, it advocates that a more comprehensive understanding of democracy and democratic education can be achieved. Following from this, it shows how better critical understandings can be guided and mutual cultural respect can be developed, helping to achieve a more peaceful world. Based in rich and detailed narratives, dialogue, observation and reflexivity, the author successfully situations the Chinese situation on a global landscape, and challenges the mainstream of democracy in the global stage.

Promoting tolerance of other cultures and opening up new ways of thinking from a globally diverse perspective, it will appeal to researchers, postgraduate students and educators with interests in global citizenship education, social studies education, democracy, and international education.