The study analyses the reasons for conflicts between monastic education and modern school education in the Dai region of Xishuangbanna. It also discusses the logic behind the formation of the Dai people’s belief in Southern Theravada Buddhism and its importance in Dai culture. Through the analysis of the changes in monastic education before and after the intervention of the modern school system, the study finds symbiosis in the differences and conflicts between these two forms of education. The author proposes a symbiosis theory of multiple educational forms in ethnic areas and offers targeted solutions to specific problems between the Dai monastic education and modern school education in Xishuangbanna.
This book will be a great read to students and scholars of Chinese studies, ethnic studies, education, and those who are interested in multi- ethnicity issues in general.
Hui Chen, PhD in Education, Associate Professor, is a full- time researcher at the Center for Studies of Education and Psychology of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China of Southwest University, a key research base of humanities and social sciences of the Ministry of Education. She used to be a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Education of Beijing Normal University. Her main research areas are ethnic education issues and basic education theory. She has published nearly fifty academic papers and three academic books; She has presided over two projects of the National Social Science Foundation of China, one project of the Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, and three research projects funded by the provincial government.