Description
This article looks at the nationalisation of education in China though the dissemination of a homogenous patriotic narrative in compulsory education (grades 1-10). Since Xi took power in 2012, his aim has been to construct a nation of patriotic citizens who equate China's prosperity with the CCP under his leadership, as well as with Socialism with Chinese characteristics, the latter increasingly shaped by Xi Jinping Thought. The analysis uses a mixed methods framework to look at moral education-related stipulations in key educational legislation from the last decade. It then compares it with the homogenous narrative on education disseminated by the latest two National Congresses of the CCP, as well as the September 2021 Law on Private Education, which cracked down on much of the curricular independence that previously defined the Chinese private education sector. The latest legislation, as well as Xi's political rhetoric, prioritise education as instrumental to the national rejuvenation discourse, and are increasingly regulating the curricula used in the private sector. The Centre is thus aiming to consistently disseminate a monolithic vision of ‘Chineseness’ in order to legitimise the Party’s existence and ensure its survival through the nurturing of new generations of loyal citizens.
