Shanghai Children's Value Socialization and Its Change: A Comparative Analysis of Primary School Textbooks (Report‪)‬

While rigorous definitions are lacking, education may be generally understood as "the broader process whereby we come to accept the goals and values of our society" (Hobson, 1987, cited in Lin, 2003, p. 111). Education is thus a process where recipients are trained to become socially desirable members. In this process value socialization plays an explicit role (Schwartz, 1992). The function of education as a vehicle for the transmission of cultural values and ideals is manifested in school socialization in general and textbooks utilized in class in particular. Textbooks as an integral part of teaching and learning processes invariably contain messages that reflect the broader value orientations of a given society. This is especially evident in such countries as China where "these materials are produced and disseminated by politically controlled and centralized institutions" (Straka, 1985, p. 7). Looking at textbooks thus helps understand how such value orientations are emphasized in school settings.