The Role of Schools in Washington, D.C. and Beijing in Producing High-Functioning Citizens of the Local Community

Abstract

This study explores how primary teachers in Beijing and Washington, D.C. prepare students to become active citizens of their local communities. I sent a questionnaire to twenty English teachers in Beijing that contained sixteen questions on the purposes for teaching, the morals or values they hope their students to develop, the incorporation of the local community of Beijing in the curriculum, and their perspectives on the ideal citizen. I interviewed thirteen educators in the Washington, D.C. area using similar questions. The framework is based upon the three typologies of citizenship, as well as a local, geographical definition of community. The results of this study suggest the promotion of personally responsible citizens in Beijing and in the Washington, D.C. area, the promotion of participatory citizens.