Life education, positive education, and character education in Greater China: Theory, research, and practice

Abstract

Life education (LE), positive education (PE), and character education (CE) are the emerging fields of inquiry across the geopolitical contexts of Greater China. Although these three educational constructs have different philosophical grounds, goals, content, and approaches, it is believed that each single one is not sufficient for a comprehensive understanding of holistic life development. In the Greater China region, different Chinese societies are rooted in similar cultural heritage and values; still, even small differences can influence their own education systems and result in diverse LE, PE, and CE. This chapter discusses these three constructs and delineates both the similarities and differences between them and sheds light on the existing empirical studies and implementation of LE, PE, and CE in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau. Given that Chinese culture possesses some unique characteristics which are quite different from the West, this chapter also elaborates the contextual influence on the development of LE, PE, and CE with implications for potential research and practice in the future.