ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how the attitudes and skills related to learning to learn are facilitated among Chinese learners in the home and preschool during the early years. First, we review research on early cognitive socialization focusing on studies that have considered how children’s learning to learn skills, including behavioural regulation and problem-solving skills, are promoted in Chinese families. Next, we consider the role of preschool curricula and teachers’ practices on the development of skills related to learning to learn. We then discuss the ways in which experiences at home and in early childhood programmes work together to promote learning to learn and achievement among young Chinese children.
Chinese learners are influenced by the Confucian value system, which emphasizes academic achievement, diligence in academic pursuits, the belief that all children can do well through the exertion of effort regardless of innate ability, and the significance of education for personal improvement and moral self-cultivation. Chinese children have also been found to exhibit higher levels of behavioural regulation than their counterparts. This chapter considers how the attitudes and skills related to learning to learn are facilitated among Chinese learners in the home and preschool during the early years. It reviews how children's learning to learn skills, including problem-solving and self-regulation, are promoted in preschools and families in rural and urban China. The chapter explores the role of preschool curricula and teacher's practices on the development of skills related to learning to learn. Research review suggests that the links between home and preschool practices have set the stage for learning to learn and learning for high achievement in Chinese contexts.
