The exact definition of classroom culture remains contradictory, so this study will research on classroom culture based on the definition clarified by Professor Congman Wang. “We regard classroom culture as a component of culture of classroom surroundings, classroom teaching and classroom values.”

2.2 Previous studies at home and abroad:

Contemporary researches of classroom culture mainly focus on primary and middle phase of education and pay a lot of attention to native language classroom culture rather than do some comparative study.

Related studies at abroad: Researchers at abroad started from American scholar Jackson P.W, his book Classroom Life explains the function of class group and the award and analyzes implicit curriculum.

From the perspective of theory:

Holliday (1994) points out that a main contributor to the classroom culture is composed of several parts, including the classroom, students, professional academic and national cultures. The influence on classroom culture originates not only from the classroom, but partly from outside the classroom.

Peter Sullivan and Amanda Aulert think it is possible to foster classroom culture in which teachers pose tasks that challenge students and encourage them to persist when working on those tasks. And there is a tendency for teachers to reduce the demand of tasks when planning, and to over explain tasks during lessons fearing negative students’ reactions to the risks they are required to take.

From the perspective of research:

The research of Silvia (2015) aims to investigate certain specific aspects of micro-sociology and emphasize on classroom culture. The research points out that the ensemble of value, class cohesion degree and training strategies are only a few of the aspects described by 62 pupils aged 17 or 18 years old, from a very prestigious school in Bucharest. And the research instrument is an inquiry based on a questionnaire with multiple choices answers, which cover the autonomy in pupils’ behaviors, the typology of norms and rules, values promoted in the classroom and so forth. First he claims that the classroom culture represents an important feature of social and learning group and this concept can be defined as an ensemble of values, beliefs, aspirations, expectations and behaviors, which prevails in the classroom, conditioning its performances.

Taner Altun makes a study about primary school teachers’ (PSTs) perceptions about the effects of pre-formed classroom culture on their professional development. And the result of his study proposes some implications for education institutions and partner schools in Turkey and elsewhere. Firstly, the duration of student teachers’ presence in the classroom should be extended, rather than being in a class one day in a week. Secondly, a shared vision and understanding between faculty and school management and mentors should be created in order to ensure schools are learning communities and places for student teachers. Finally, student teachers’ reflections on personal teaching practices in different contexts should be taken by the faculty as the main source of data for future arrangements of teaching practices in schools. (Taner, 51)

And there are other scholars contributing to the research of classroom culture. For example: Katie Dickerson talks about teaching methodology in his Reimagining Reading: Creating a Classroom Culture that Embraces Independent Choice Reading.

Related studies at home: Since the 1990s, educational revolution has promoted to the essential part—classroom. Many scholars pay close attention to classroom construction, classroom culture in particular.

From the perspective of theory:

Yaoming Liu (2003) explains that classroom culture depends not only on teaching materials but also on classroom activities. And he claims that there remain some disadvantages like culture arbitrariness, separation and blankness. In order to reconstruct classroom culture, teachers need to enrich connotation, emphasize the function of classroom culture, take advantage of norm to promote classroom culture and share classroom culture.