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Decoding Students Value Orientations
in Contemporary China
Prof. Shu Yang
China University of Mining and Technology
[email protected]
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• China boasts the greatest number of EFL learners
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Hypothesis
 Language learning --- culture learning
 A person’s mind is in a sense the centre of his
identity.
 Therefore, western culture is assumed in a way to
influence and change Chinese students’ value
orientations.
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 A simple literature survey on CNKI by searching
“student” and “value” can locate 151 papers in Chinese,
many of which express a worry that Chinese students
today are under the influence of western cultures, and
some even call for people’s attention to “save” our young
people from this influence.
 CNKI: China national knowledge Internet, the biggest Chinese
database for academic publications endnote
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 Values are assumed to be at the core of self-concept
and to influence thought and action in many ways.
 They are assumed to transcend specific attitudes
toward objects and situations, provide standards or
criteria to evaluate actions and outcomes, to justify
opinions and behaviors, to plan and guide behavior, to
decide between alternatives, to compare one's self
with others, to engage in social interaction, and to
present one's self to others.
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1. Research Method
 1.1 Instruments
 Rokeach Value Survey + a modified Chinese Value Survey
Milton Rokeach: (1) a theoretical
perspective on the nature of values in a
cognitive framework, (2) a valuemeasurement instrument, both of which are
widely used and accepted by psychologists,
sociologists, economists, and others
interested in understanding what values are,
what people value, and what is the ultimate
function or purpose of values.
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 RVS consists of 18 terminal and 18 instrumental values
listed in alphabetical order.
 Terminal values are concerned with "end states of
existence", such as "a comfortable life (a prosperous
life)" and "a world at peace (free of war and conflict)";
 Instrumental values are concerned with "modes of
conduct", e.g. being "ambitious” (hard-working, aspiring)
and "honest” (sincere, truthful)
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 A Chinese Value Survey (CVS) used by Clyde A. Warden and
Judy F. Chen (2005)
 The CVS is designed to measure an individual's preference of
certain Chinese specific values as important guiding principles
in people’s life.
 The task of the research participants is to arrange the terminal
values and instrumental values in order of importance to
him/her, or as guiding principles in his/her life.
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• 1.2 Participants
• students at China University of Mining and Technology
(CUMT, January, 2008)
• The total number of responses collected is 258, of which
253 are valid.
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2. Results
Table 1: Chinese Value Survey Results (N=253)
No.
Value Terms
Ticks
%
No.
Value
Terms
Ticks
%
No.
Value Terms
Ticks
%
1.
hardworking
154
62.85
11
modesty
85
33.6
21.
patriotism
93
36.76
2.
freedom
159
62.85
12.
patience
82
32.41
22.
family
151
59.68
3.
privacy
44
17.4
13.
competition
59
23.32
23.
respect for others
30
11.86
4.
knowledge
134
53
14.
power
24
9.49
24.
harmony with others
27
10.67
5.
religion
7
2.77
15.
wealth
69
27.27
25.
happiness
137
54.15
6
equality
122
48.22
16.
filial piety
165
65.22
26.
chastity in women
21
8.3
7.
courtesy
92
36.36
17.
collective
42
16.6
27.
love
134
52.96
8.
achievements
70
27.67
18.
friendship
149
58.89
28.
a comfortable life
51
20.16
9.
trustworthiness
177
69.96
19.
thrift
35
13.83
29.
content with one’s
position
4
1.58
10.
self-respect
130
51.38
20.
face
8
3.16
30.
authority
2
0.79
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Table 3: Bottom 10 “least” favoured
values(N=253)
Table 2: Top 10 most favoured
values(N=253)
Rank
Value Terms
Ticks
%
Rank
Value Terms
ticks
%
1.
trustworthiness
177
69.96
21
collective
42
16.6
2.
filial piety
165
65.22
22
thrift
35
13.83
3.
hardworking
159
62.85
23
respect for others
30
11.86
4.
family
154
62.85
24
harmony with others
27
10.67
5.
freedom
151
59.68
25
power
24
9.49
6
friendship
149
58.89
26
chastity in women
21
8.30
7.
happiness
137
54.15
27
face
8
3.16
8.
love
134
52.96
28
religion
7
2.77
9.
knowledge
134
53
29
content with one’s
position
4
1.58
10.
self-respect
130
51.38
30
authority
2
0.79
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3. Discussion
 3.1 Transformation of Value Orientation
 In societies undergoing a dramatic transition like China, different
value orientations will co-exist.
 The top ten chosen terms show that the long cherished traditional
Chinese values such as “filial piety”, “hardworking”, and so on, are
upheld;
 And the bottom ten reminds people of some obvious changes of
young people’s value orientations (collective,thrift, authority, chastity
in women,harmony etc.) .
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 Most Chinese youth regard freedom, love, happiness,
friendship and self-respect as very important.
 For the instrumental values, trustworthiness takes first place,
followed by filial piety, hardworking, family,
knowledge/education and friendship,
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 Generally, male students tended to be more concerned
with personal accomplishment, and competency related
values; whereas female students were more attracted to
family, moral, and more intrinsic kinds of values.
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Males top 5
Females top 5
15
40
filial piety
30
love
14.5
filial piety
family
love
knowledge
trustworthy
14
13.5
13
family
20
trustworthy
happiness
10
12.5
0
12
Table 6: Gender differentiated top 5 (English majors)
Values
Males (N = 17)
Values
Females (N = 41)
filial piety
15
88.24
filial piety
40
97.56
family
15
88.24
love
40
97.56
love
14
82.35
family
38
92.68
knowledge
13
76.47
trustworthy
35
85.37
trustworthy
13
76.47
happiness
32
78.05
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Underlying Structure of the Value Orientations
 Two dimensions
 (1) need-oriented.
 (2) individualism versus collectivism.
 Both pragmatism and realism are individualistically
oriented, whereas the overwhelming Chinese idealism
is collectivism and communism.
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Pragmatism
Idealism
Individualism
Collectivism
Communism
Realism
Physical needs
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 3.2.1 Idealistic Value
Orientation
 In the present survey, of the
top ten values (See table 2),
happiness, freedom, equality,
love, and trustworthiness can
be grouped under the category
of spiritual needs: terminal
values, while filial piety,
hardworking, knowledge, selfrespect and family belong to
instrumental values.
equality
freedom
hapiness
love
Spirit needs
love
hardworking
knowledge
self-respect
filial piety
Instrumental values
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 However, if we look at them from a different angle, of the
idealistic values, happiness, freedom, equality, love, selfrespect and trustworthiness are all driven with
individualistic motivations, that is, the pursuit of personal
satisfaction.
 Therefore, we might conclude that the most favoured
values ticked by the Chinese students are geared
towards individual development and pursuit.
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 3.2.2 Pragmatic Value Orientation
 In the top ten chosen values, happiness, freedom, equality, love
and self-respect are considered very individualistic, which
were in the past regarded as the pursuit of personal interests,
thus, seldom discussed in the public context.
 At the same time, wealth (27.23%), a comfortable life
(20.16%), and privacy (17.4%) (See the median 10 in Table 1)
rank higher than the terms like collective (16.6%), power
(9.49%) and authority (0.79%) - see table 3 - also illustrate
significantly that the students today are more oriented towards
pragmatic values.
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 3.2.3 Realistic Value Orientation
 Results of the present study echo the long-standing Confucian
idea that filial piety is the basis which culturally defines the
inter-generational relationships. These values surpass all others
given ethics (65.22%, 94.83%). Filial piety as a core ethic has
been continuously practised, taught and appreciated in
behaviour, attitude, and belief throughout China.
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 3.2.4 Individualism vs Collectivism
 On the one hand, the overall layout of the choices reflect a
general picture of the long cherished Chinese traditional
collective values;
 On the other hand, some self-interest-driven motivations
emerge among the most favoured values.
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 However, some of the values in the bottom ten are
equally important to the Chinese people, the students
value them at a relatively low level, such as collective
(16.6%), power (9.49), authority (0.79%), harmony with
others (10.67%), and respect for others (11.86%).
 While the favoured top ten include values of personal
attainment and subjectivity at one pole (freedom, love,
happiness) and values of interrelationship dominate the
other (collective, respect for others, harmony with others,
power, authority) at the bottom.
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3.3. Analysis of the Value Transformation
 1, young people’s subjective consciousness of value is
awakening.
 2, people’s value orientation has been shifted from
uniformity to diversity, and from illusion to reality.
 3, Chinese students today seem to be more
individualistic, while simultaneously not forsaking their
Confucian ideals.
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4. Conclusion
 1. The introduction of western culture and the market
economy has in a way changed people’s mind in terms
of value orientation.
 2. People today, esp. the university students, who are
able to use English, have an easy access to a diversified
range of information, such as the use of the Internet,
exposure to a new culture, do show some changes in
their value orientation.
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 3. Value priorities of the students in the survey help
explain that there is a tendency for people to become
more individualistically-oriented or pragmatically-oriented
in outlook.
 4. The study has found a weak difference between
students of different majors in terms of the impact of
foreign language learning on value orientations, which
suggests that the change of value outlook is a
complicated process in which many other factors
function.
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THANKS!
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