DISSERTATION PROJECT

Teaching for the Future: Governance and Autonomy of Teachers in Post-Mao China

Teaching has been closely tied to conceptualizations of the future in post-socialist China. After Chairman Mao’s death, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) envisioned a national future distinct from radical Maoism—one centered on modernization and economic development. Correspondingly, the Party-state sought to professionalize teachers so they could contribute to this development plan while still maintaining a degree of political control.

With meritocracy replacing egalitarianism as the prevailing social ideology, families increasingly invested in education to secure their children’s academic success, which could potentially elevate the family’s future prospects. As the state gradually retreated from its total political dominance over the teaching profession, teachers increasingly acted in accordance with their own educational philosophies and worked for the future of their students.

The teaching profession thus occupies a crucial position in how the state, society (particularly families), and teachers themselves imagine the future. This research project examines the circulation and interaction of teacher-related discourses produced by the state, society, and teachers in order to investigate teacher governance and autonomy in post-Mao China.