Shaping socialist ideology through language education policy for primary schools in the PRC

Abstract

This paper, drawing on the theoretical framework of critical discourse analysis, examines the general goals and objectives of the national curriculum reform launched by the Ministry of Education in 2001 for Chinese primary schools. Four policy documents relevant to the curriculum reform are analyzed, including Chinese curriculum and English curriculum for compulsory education, with a focus on education policy for English language instruction in Chinese primary schools. The analysis explores how language works in policy texts in helping to shape and control the ideology of the readers at various levels – an ideology that, in turn, could be transmitted to primary school students. The power relations and equity implications reflected in the policy texts are also explored.