ERIC Number: EJ1111045
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 30
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1673-341X
EISSN: N/A
Possibilities-within-Constraints: Implementing the Funds of Knowledge Concept in the People's Republic of China
Poole, Adam
Frontiers of Education in China, v11 n2 p187-216 2016
This article is designed as the starting point for future research into the implementation of the funds of knowledge concept in the People's Republic of China. Utilizing an exploratory research design, I sketch how the funds of knowledge concept could be used by teachers to empower ethnic minority and city-born migrant children disadvantaged by government policies that restrict access to educational resources and marginalize local languages. The article identifies a number of logistical and cultural constraints that complicate the implementation of the funds of knowledge concept in the Chinese context, including access to minority and city-born migrant students, "guanxi," examination pressure, and cultural scripts for teaching that emphasize knowledge transmission. However, it also suggests how teachers can work within these constraints by taking advantage of curriculum reform in China, which has led to more autonomy at the local level and the creation of elective courses. Elective courses could provide the space for the deployment of strategies that draw on students' funds of knowledge. The strategies proposed include neighborhood walks, artifact collection, and pedagogies for teaching that foster collaboration between teachers and students. The article also extends the notion of funds of knowledge by suggesting how the funds of knowledge concept could be of benefit to China's "Han" ethnic majority.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Cultural Background, Cultural Capital, Research Design, Minority Group Students, Migrants, Disadvantaged, Barriers, Access to Education, Curriculum Development, Educational Change, Elective Courses, Learning Activities, Teacher Student Relationship, Educational Benefits
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A