ABSTRACT
Understanding the place of LCE in The People’s Republic of China is a most complex endeavour. On the one hand, policy has recently moved in the direction of LCE, in response to internal pressures and national priorities, along with external influences. On the other hand, we see resilient layers of teaching and learning cultures, ranging from Confucian heritage to Marxist ideology to competitive examinations, which shape the degree and nature of LCE implementation. Its recent accelerated economic development, along with high scores on international tests of achievement, have made its education system and practices the subject of much attention.1
