A Confucian perspective on teaching thinking in China

Developing thinking skills is an important educational agenda and has become an increasingly dominant topic in all sectors of education and policy making today all over the world. Researchers from various philosophical perspectives have examined and studied the meaning of and approaches to teaching thinking skills, and its relationship to learning (see this volume). It is important to note that the development of thinking skills has shifted from the development of intelligence and cognitive capacity to creativity, collective cognition and learning to learn together (L2L2, Wegerif, this volume). The majority of work and research thinking is predominantly developed from a Western perspective on ways of thinking, learning and knowing whilst very little is known about Eastern conceptions, understanding and approaches to thinking, specically from a Confucian perspective. Although Confucius is widely recognized as one of the greatest proponents of education in human history, his educational philosophy has often been overlooked in the important discussion on this topic and, indeed, is sometimes misrepresented and misinterpreted by researchers, However, some recent research has raised the prole of this issue and has argued strongly for a more in-depth and informed understanding of Confucianheritage education (e.g. see Kim, 2003; Li & Wegerif, 2014; Shi, 2006; Zhao & Biester, 2011).