ABSTRACT
Confucian ideas on learning have impacted generations of learners in China and the Far East for over 2000 years. However, there is scant literature both internationally and domestically that investigates the connections between Confucian learning theory and learning to learn and how these connections can enlighten policy and practice. This chapter presents a critical review of Confucian thinking about learning to learn and how it has influenced the way the Chinese learn from past to present, as well as of its implications for educational policy and practice. It draws on a literature review and qualitative data from interviews with learners. The main aims of the chapter are to explain how the Confucian conceptualization of learning to learn as ‘learning to conduct oneself, to think and do, and to enjoy learning for life’ has contributed to the lifelong learning culture in China, and to discuss its implications for promoting learning to learn worldwide.
Confucian thoughts on learning have impacted generations of learners in China and the Far East for over 2000 years. However, there is scant literature both in China and abroad that investigates the connections between Confucian learning theory and learning to learn and how these connections can enlighten policy and practice of learning to learn in the twenty-first century. This chapter reports on a study that aimed to investigate how a Confucian conceptualization of learning to learn has contributed to a lifelong learning culture in China, and its implications for promoting learning to learn worldwide. It examines and draws insights from the Analects, which is a record of the classical teachings of Confucius. It also reviews the literature on 20 studies conducted in China and overseas. In addition, a qualitative comparative analysis is made in terms of the differences between learning to learn in China and in the West and of the changing definitions of learning to learn in China.
