Early Literacy Education in China: A Historical Overview

Abstract

This chapter traces the development of early literacy education in China through an analysis of perceptions, concrete strategies, and important influences across 2,000 years from ancient times to the present. The authors divide their discussion into four time periods and trace different literacy components through pedagogical, social, and political lenses as they function and shift over time. The first period focuses on ancient traditions of Confucius and home schools when children were regarded as little adults and the purpose of literacy was to pass the Imperial examinations. The other three periods look at various stages of transformation, from the early 1900s to the present. During these time blocks, early preschool literacy moved from ancient practices to a pedagogy heavily influenced by the West and then, beginning in the mid-twentieth century, by Russian theory and practice. Since the 1980s, early literacy practices have begun to incorporate many Western strategies combined with Chinese cultural traditions. In each time period, the authors describe the critical cultural and historical factors that influenced children’s early literacy education and the development of preschool and early literacy pedagogy and practices. The chapter concludes with implications for the future of early childhood literacy education in China.