Learning to be a good parent across cultural and generational boundaries

This article focuses on first-person perspectives of a parent-child relationship. The personal experiences of my son and I epitomise the clash of Eastern and Western, traditional and modern cultures in the social context of Taiwan. As a professor of moral education, I reflect on my son's upbringing in order to try to understand and reconcile differences of educational principles and styles between cultures and generations. I relate the journey my adolescent son and I endured over six years to overcome the many difficulties he faced, as he did not fit neatly into the traditional education mould. As a result of this moral education process I point to some implications for parents and educators, including: consideration of universal values and educational methods in different cultures; adoption and integration of various educational theories to form a cultural identity; and the application of the theory and practice of moral education to parenting and schooling.