Prologue

Abstract

This study explores how two students interpreted the moral component of schooling during a time of duress, and then throughout their lives. These moral aspects were implicitly and explicitly presented by the school faculty through the curriculum and were symbolized in the rituals, documents and artifacts of the schooling process. The time and location of duress in this study is occupied China during the Second World War. Two specific questions flow from the aim of this study. How was schooling co-constructed by students and staff while interned in an artificial culture created by military rule? How do these former students perceive the influence of this unique educational experience upon their lives? This case study is an historical interpretation of how a specific group of people co-constructed (1) schooling to preserve the moral underpinnings of their curriculum from external threats.