Teachers working together: A dialogue on organizational and cultural perspectives of Chinese teachers

Abstract

This chapter is a dialogue between two scholars — one Chinese and one North American. Each from her own perspective draws on field research and professional experience to analyze practices of teacher collaboration in China. The chapter considers how Chinese teachers work together as a matter of both formal organization and informal relations. The underlying cultural assumptions which support these practices are also discussed. Much of what is perceived to be dichotomous in the West (such as group vs. individual, hierarchy vs. equality, and control vs. commitment) is perceived to be reconciled within the complex historical, cultural, and political patterns which embed Chinese thinking and practice.