Cultural context of school science teaching and learning in the People's Republic of China

This article reviews the educational tradition and philosophy of Confucianism, the communist ideology, the psychological characteristics of the Chinese, and the Chinese language as the cultural context of school science teaching and learning in the People's Republic of China. It also discusses some of the cultural influences on the goals of school science courses, the pressure of examinations, the roles of teachers, teachers' conceptions and styles of teaching, students' approaches to learning, and their understanding of scientific terminology. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed82:1–13, 1998.