Abstract
This chapter explores the education of multicultural citizens in Singapore by drawing upon the teachings from Confucianism, which is a major cultural heritage of Singaporeans. A key challenge for multicultural citizenship is a superficial understanding of and limited interaction between cultural groups in a political unit. Based on two key passages from the Confucian classic Analects as expounded by Ivanhoe, this chapter suggests a Confucian notion of multicultural citizenship. This conception comprises two essential components: first, a multicultural citizen is one who subscribes to and evinces an openness to other cultures. Such a person is guided by shu (empathy) which is displayed through cross-cultural humility, interest and engagement. Second, a multicultural citizen demonstrates and promotes a shared universal family which is rooted in ren (humanity). To illustrate the application of the Confucian model to the education of multicultural citizenship in Southeast Asia, examples that foster inter-religious harmony are provided.
TopMain Focus Of The Chapter
This chapter explores the education of multicultural citizens in Singapore by drawing upon the teachings from Confucianism which is a major cultural heritage of Singaporeans. Although the education of multicultural citizenship in Singapore is not explicitly based on Confucianism, researchers have maintained that the ‘Asian values’ propagated by the authorities in Singapore are aligned with Confucianism (Chua, 1995; Barr, 2000; Chia, 2011). Confucian virtues such as society before self, uphold the family as the basic unit of society, and seek consensus and societal harmony are promoted to all Singaporeans as part of citizenship education (Tan & Tan, 2014). Singapore, as a Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) society, therefore, serves as an illustrative case study of the relevance of heritage to citizenship education. This chapter explores the education of multicultural citizens through drawing upon the East Asian heritage of Confucianism. The first part of the chapter briefly introduces the concept of multicultural citizenship and an associated challenge. This is followed by an exposition of a Confucian approach to the education of multicultural citizenship. The second half of the chapter illustrates the Confucian orientation to multicultural education by exploring and critiquing the model of intercultural education in Singapore.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Inter-religious Harmony: The byproduct of friendships and strong ties between religious groups that is based on mutual trust, respect and understanding.
Multiculturalism: An acknowledgement and celebration of sociocultural differences and diversity in a community.
Confucian Heritage Culture: A culture that is underpinned by the teachings of Confucius on virtues and conduct.
Multicultural Education: The teaching and learning of different cultures, traditions, customs, religions and languages of diverse groups in a society.
Multicultural Citizenship: The preservation of cultural identities, values and practices and participation in the national civic culture and community by diverse groups in a political unit.
Confucius: A Chinese social philosopher whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asian life and thought.
Analects: A Confucian classic that records the words and conduct of Confucius (Kongzi) and his followers.