Confucianism and Pedagogies in Teacher Education

Introduction: A Dynamic Tradition

Confucianism is normatively situated by scholars from Eurocentric perspectives as a part of traditional Chinese culture from sociocultural, political, and historical perspectives. The tradition, through emphasizing the importance of improving relationships in order to foster ethical living, addresses a broad range of values and governance-related questions, including how to cultivate learning and leadership abilities. What makes Confucianism largely an intellectual and philosophical tradition is that, throughout the last two millennia, it emerges in part from ongoing interpretations of a family of so-called classical Confucian texts, including the Analects (Lun Yu), Mencius (Mengzi), Great Learning (Daxue), and the oft-called Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong), among others.

While some Eurocentric translators may interpret Confucian texts with the goal of achieving a universal understanding, this approach situates Confucianism as unchanging; however,...