Reading respect in Australian schooling : a Chinese perspective

Abstract

The study is based on my dual identity- a Chinese background researcher and a NSW volunteer teacher. As a volunteer teacher in NSW, I witness a different demonstration of respect in Australian schooling from my own schooling experience. The main purpose of the study therefore is to enrich the understanding of respect in Australian schooling from my perspective as a Chinese teaching volunteer. The literature will make special reference to two prominent philosophers- Kant and Confucius and their interpretations of respect in the West and East. My own experiences are related with a larger cultural and historical background through the main methodology in the study- autoethnography. To be more specific, five stories in my learning experience will be told for their reflection of Chinese cultural influences on respect. In addition, the document (Values Education study) and interviews with NSW teachers will be used as the supplementary data. Values Education Study Final report (2003) will be interrogated for its description of respect as one of core values in the document. Interviews with four primary school teachers in NSW aim to find out the demonstrations of respect in the authentic school context. The findings from the stories reveal interesting relationships between respect and nostalgia and between respect and the concept of 'face' and so on. The document analysis on the other hand suggests a kind of 'floating signifier' for respect. It is shown from the paper that respect can be classified as conditional and unconditional. Respect in Australian schools more horizontally oriented while respect in Chinese schools are more vertically displayed.

Date of Award	2011
Original language	English