Abstract
Learning is said to be the most remarkable human capacity (Segall, Dasen, Berry, & Poortinga, 1999). Humans have the capacity to learn necessary survival skills, achieve social and emotional understanding, obtain knowledge of the universe, and, perhaps most important of all, acquire culture. Humans are thus products of their own learning and are the carriers of the entire human cultural heritage. There is little wonder why human learning has been, since Greek antiquity, the focus of serious thinkers and scholarly endeavor in fields ranging from philosophy, modern psychology, and neuroscience to the ever-expanding realm of education.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Au, T. K. F., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (1986). The effects of perceived parental expectations on Chinese children's mathematics performance. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 32, 383–392.
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1–26.
Brickman, P., & Bulman, R. J. (1977). Pleasure and pain in social comparison. In J. M. Suls & R. L. Miller (Eds.), Social comparison processes: Theoretical and empirical perspectives (pp. 149–186). Washington, DC: Hemisphere.
Bruner, J. S. (1986). Value presupposition of developmental theory. In L. Cirillo & S. Wapner (Eds.), Value presuppositions in theories of human development (pp. 19–28). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cai, J. F., & Cifarelli, V. (2004). Thinking mathematically by Chinese Learners: A cross-national comparative perspective. In L. H. Fan, N. Y. Wong, J. F. Cai & S. Q. Li (Eds.), How Chinese learn mathematics: Perspectives from insiders (pp. 71–106). Singapore: World Scientific.
Chen, C., & Stevenson, H. W. (1989). Homework: A cross-cultural examination. Child Development, 60, 551–561.
Cheng, K. M. (1996). The quality of primary education: A case study of Zhejiang Province, China. Paris: International Institute for Educational Planning.
Corno, L. (2004). Work habits and work styles: Volition in education. Teachers College Record, 106, 1669–1694.
Covington, M. V. (1992). Making the grade. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Rathunde, K. (1998). The development of the person: An experiential perspective on the ontogenesis of psychological complexity. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology. Vol. 1: Theoretical models of human development (5th ed., pp. 635–684). New York: Wiley.
Dahlin, B., & Watkins, D. A. (2000). The role of repetition in the processes of memorizing and understanding: A comparison of the views of Western and Chinese secondary school students in Hong Kong. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 70, 65–84.
D'Andrade, R. G. (1992). Schemas and motivation. In R. G. D'Andrade & C. Strauss (Eds.), Human motives and cultural models (pp. 23–44). New York: Cambridge University Press.
D'Andrade, R. G. (1995). The development of cognitive anthropology. New York: Cambridge University Press.
de Bary, W. T. (1983). The liberal tradition in China. New York: Columbia University Press.
Duncan, J., & Paulhus, D. L. (1998, August). Varieties of shyness in Asian-and European-Canadians. Paper presented at the 106th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA.
Dweck, C. S. (1999). Self-theories. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
Dweck, C. S., & Heckhausen, J. (Eds.). (1998). Motivation and self-regulation across the life span. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Dweck, C. S., & Leggett, E. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256–273.
Fink, R. P. (1998). Literacy development in successful men and women with dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 48, 311–346.
Fung, H. (1999). Becoming a moral child: The socialization of shame among young Chinese children. Ethos, 27, 180–209.
Fung, H., & Chen, E. C. H. (2001). Across time and beyond skin: Self and transgression in the everyday socialization of shame among Taiwanese preschool children. Social Development, 10, 420–437.
Gao, L., & Watkins, D. A. (2001). Identifying and assessing the conceptions of teaching of secondary school physics teachers in China. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 443–469.
Harkness, S., & Super, C. M. (1999). From parents' cultural belief systems to behavior: Implications for the development of early intervention programs. In L. Eldering & P. Leseman (Eds.), Effective early education: Cross-cultural perspectives. New York: Falmer.
Harmon, M., Smith, T. A., Martin, M. O., Kelly, D. L., Beaton, A. E., Mullis, I. V. S., et al. (1997). Performance assessment in IEA's Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College, Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Education Policy.
Hau, K. T., & Salili, F. (1991). Structure and semantic differential placement of specific causes: Academic causal attributions by Chinese students in Hong Kong. International Journal of Psychology, 26, 175–193.
Hess, R. D., & Azuma, M. (1991). Cultural support for schooling: Contrasts between Japan and the United States. Educational Researcher, 20(9), 2–8.
Hofer, B. K., & Pintrich, P. R. (2001). Personal epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Holloway, S. D. (1988). Concepts of ability and effort in Japan and the US. Review of Educational Research, 58, 327–345.
Hwang, K. K. (2005). The foundation of research methodology for indigenous psychology. In K. S. Yang, K. K. Hwang & C. F. Yang (Eds.), Chinese indigenous psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 57–79). [in Chinese]. Taipei, Taiwan: Yuan Liu Press.
Inagaki, K., Hatano, G., & Morita, E. (1998). Construction of mathematical knowledge through whole-class discussion. Learning and Instruction, 8, 503–526.
Ishisada, M. (1974). The civil service examination: China's examination hell. Chinese Education, 7(1), 1–74.
Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (1999). Rethinking the value of choice: A cultural perspective on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 349–366.
Jin, L., & Cortazzi, M. (1998). Dimensions of dialogue: Large classes in China. International Journal of Educational Research, 29, 739–761.
Keats, D. (1982). Cultural bases of concepts of intelligence: A Chinese versus Australian comparison. Proceedings of Second Asian Workshop on Child and Adolescent Development (pp. 67–75). Bangkok, Thailand: Behavioral Science Research Institute.
Kim, H. S. (2002). We talk, therefore we think? A Cultural analysis of the effect of talking on thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 828–842.
Kim, H. S., & Markus, H. R. (2002). Freedom of speech and freedom of silence: An analysis of talking as a cultural practice. In R. Shweder, M. Minow & H. R. Markus (Eds.), Engaging cultural differences: The multicultural challenge in liberal democracies (pp. 432–452). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Kim, U. (1997). Asian collectivism: An indigenous perspective. In H. Ka<$$$>(MS PAGE NO 13)e & D. Sinha (Eds.), Asian perspectives on psychology (Vol. 19, pp. 147–163). New Delhi, India: Sage.
Kuhn, M. H., & McPartland, T. S. (1954). An empirical investigation of self-attitudes. American Sociological Review, 19, 68–76.
Kwok, D. C., & Lytton, H. (1996). Perceptions of mathematics ability versus actual mathematics performance: Canadian and Hong Kong Chinese children. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 66, 209–222.
Lee, W. O. (1996). The cultural context for Chinese Learners: Conceptions of learning in the Confucian tradition. In D. A. Watkins & J. B. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese Learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 25–41). Hong Kong/Melbourne: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Lewis, C. C. (1995). Educating hearts and minds: Reflections on Japanese preschool and elementary education. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Li, J. (2001). Chinese conceptualization of learning. Ethos, 29, 111–137.
Li, J. (2002a). A cultural model of learning: Chinese “heart and mind for wanting to learn. ” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 248–269.
Li, J. (2002b). Models of learning in different cultures. In J. Bempechat & J. Elliott (Eds.), Achievement motivation in culture and context: Understanding children's learning experiences, new directions in child and adolescent development (pp. 45–63). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Li, J. (2003a). The core of Confucian learning. American Psychologist, 58, 146–147.
Li, J. (2003b). U.S. and Chinese cultural beliefs about learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 258–267.
Li, J. (2004a). “I learn and I grow big:” Chinese preschoolers' purposes for learning. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 116–128.
Li, J. (2004b). Learning as a task and a virtue: U.S. and Chinese preschoolers explain learning. Developmental Psychology, 40, 595–605.
Li, J. (2006). Self in learning: Chinese adolescents' goals and sense of agency. Child Development, 77, 482–501.
Li, J., & Fischer, K. W. (2004). Thoughts and emotions in American and Chinese cultural beliefs about learning. In D. Y. Dai & R. Sternberg (Eds.), Motivation, emotion, and cognition: Integrative perspectives on intellectual functioning and development (pp.385–418). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Li, J., & Fischer, K. W. (2007). Respect as a positive self-conscious emotion in European Americans and Chinese. In J. L. Tracy, R. W. Robins & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), The self-conscious emotions: Theory and research (pp. 224–242). New York: Guilford Press.
Li, J., Holloway, S. D., Bempechat, J., & Loh, E. (2008). Building and using a social network: Nurture for low-income Chinese American adolescents' learning. In R. W. Larson & L. A. Jensen (Series Eds.) and H. Yoshikawa & N. Way (Vol. Eds.), New directions for child and adolescent development: Vol. 2008. Beyond the family: Contexts of Immigrant Children's Development (pp. 9–25). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Li, J., Wang, L. Q, & Fischer, K. W. (2004). The organization of Chinese shame concepts. Cognition and Emotion, 18, 767–797.
Li, J., & Wang, Q. (2004). Perceptions of achievement and achieving peers in U.S. and Chinese kindergartners. Social Development, 13, 413–436.
Li, J, & Yue, X. D. (2004). Self in learning among Chinese adolescents. In M. F. Mascolo & J. Li. (Eds.), Culture and developing selves: Beyond dichotomization (New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development Series No. 104, pp. 27–43). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Marton, F., Dall'Alba, G. A., & Beaty, E. (1993). Conceptions of learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 19, 277–300.
Marton, F., Dall'Alba, G. A., & Tse, L. K. (1996). Memorizing and understanding: The keys to the paradox? In D. A. Watkins & J. B. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese Learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 69–83). Hong Kong/Melbourne: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Mascolo, M. F., Fischer, K. W., & Li, J. (2003). The dynamic construction of emotions in development: A component systems approach. In N. Davidson, K. Scherer & H. Goldsmith (Eds.), Handbook of affective science (pp. 375–408). New York: Oxford University Press.
Matsushita, K. (1994). Acquiring mathematical knowledge through semantic and pragmatic problem solving. Human Development, 37, 220–232.
Mencius. (1970). Mencius. (D. C. Lao, Trans.). Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Plato. (1981). Five dialogues. (G. M. A. Gruber, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.
Pratt, D. D., Kelly, M., & Wong, K. M. (1999). Chinese conceptions of “effective teaching” in Hong Kong: Towards culturally sensitive evaluation of teaching. International Journal of Lifelong Learning, 18, 241–258.
Quinn, N., & Holland, D. (1987). Introduction. In D. Holland & N. Quinn (Eds.), Cultural models in language and thought (pp. 3–40). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Ran, A. (2001). Traveling on parallel tracks: Chinese parents and English teachers. Educational Research, 43, 311–328.
Rogers, C. (1969). Freedom to learn. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Rosch, E. (1975). Cognitive representations of semantic categories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104, 192–233.
Rousseau, J. J. (1979). Emil, or on education (A. Bloom, Trans.). New York: Basic Books.
Ruble, D. N., Eisenberg, R., & Higgins, E. T. (1994). Developmental changes in achievement evaluations: Motivational implications of self-other differences. Child Development, 65, 1095–1110.
Ruble, D. N., & Flett, G. L. (1988). Conflicting goals in self-evaluative goal seeking: Developmental and ability level analysis. Child Development, 59, 97–106.
Salili, F., Chiu, C. Y., & Lai, S. (2001). The influence of culture and context on students' achievement orientations. In F. Salili, C. Y. Chiu, & Y. Y. Hong (Eds.), Student motivation: The culture and context of learning (pp. 221–247). New York: Plenum.
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2003). Self-regulation and learning. In I. B. Weiner (Series Ed.) and W. M. Reynolds & G. E. Miller (Vol. Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Vol. 7. Educational psychology (pp. 59–78). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Segall, M. H., Dasen, P. R., Berry, J. W., & Poortinga, Y. H. (1999). Human behavior in global perspective (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Shaver, P., Schwartz, J., Kirson, D., & O'Connor, C. (1987). Emotion knowledge: Further exploration of a prototype approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1061–1086.
Shon, S. P., & Ja, D. Y. (1982). Asian families. In M. McGoldrick, J. K. Pearce, & J. Giordano (Eds.), Ethnicity and family therapy (pp. 134–163). New York: Guilford Press.
Shweder, R. A. (1991). Thinking through cultures. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Spiro, M. E. (1987). Collective representations and mental representations in religious symbol systems. In B. Kilborne & L. L. Langness (Eds.), Culture and human nature: Theoretical papers of Melford E. Spiro (pp. 161–184). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Sternberg, R. J., & Williams, W. M. (2002). Educational psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Stevenson, H. W., & Stigler, J. W. (1992). The learning gap. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Stigler, J. W., & Hiebert J. (1999). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world's teachers for improving education in the classroom. New York: The Free Press.
Stipek, D. J. (2002). Motivation to learn: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Baker.
Strauss, C. (1992). Models of motives. In R. G. D'Andrade & C. Strauss (Eds.), Human motives and cultural models (pp. 1–20). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sue, S., & Okazaki, S. (1990). Asian-American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation. American Psychologist, 45, 913–920.
Tu, W. M. (1979). Humanity and self-cultivation: Essays in Confucian thought. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press.
Tweed, R. G., & Lehman, D. R. (2002). Learning considered within a cultural context: Confucian and Socratic approaches. American Psychologist, 57, 89–99.
Watkins, D. A., & Biggs, J. B. (Eds.). (1996). The Chinese Learner: Cultural, psychological, and contextual influences. Hong Kong/Melbourne: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Watkins, D. A., & Biggs, J. B. (Eds.). (2001). Teaching the Chinese Learner: Psychological and pedagogical perspectives. Hong Kong/Melbourne: Comparative Education Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong/Australian Council for Educational Research.
Winner, E. (1989). How can Chinese children draw so well? Journal of Aesthetic Education, 23(1), 65–84.
Wong, N. Y. (2004). The CHC learner's phenomenon: Its implications on mathematics education. In L. H. Fan, N. Y. Wong, J. F. Cai & S. Q. Li (Eds.), How Chinese learn mathematics: Perspectives from insiders (pp. 503–534). Singapore: World Scientific.
Wu, S. P., & Lai, C. Y. (1992). Complete text of the four books and five classics in modern Chinese [in Chinese]. Beijing, China: International Culture Press.
Yang, C. F. (2005). Research approaches to indigenous psychology. In K. S. Yang, K. K. Hwang & C. F. Yang (Eds.), Chinese indigenous psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 81–110). [in Chinese]. Taipei, Taiwan: Yuan Liu Press.
Yang, K. S. (2005). Significance and development of indigenous psychology. In K. S. Yang, K. K. Hwang & C. F. Yang (Eds.), Chinese indigenous psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 3–56). [in Chinese]. Taipei, Taiwan: Yuan Liu Press.
Yao, E. (1985). A comparison of family characteristics of Asian-American and Anglo-American high achievers. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 26, 198–208.
Yu, A. B., & Yang K. S. (1994). The nature of achievement motivation in collectivist societies. In U. Kim, H.C. Triandis, C. Kagitcibasi, S.C., Choi & G. Yoon (Eds.), Individualism and collectivism: Theory, method, and applications (pp. 239–250). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Li, J. (2010). Learning to Self-Perfect: Chinese Beliefs about Learning. In: Chan, C., Rao, N. (eds) Revisiting The Chinese Learner. CERC Studies in Comparative Education, vol 25. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3840-1_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3840-1_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3839-5
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3840-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)