U.S. and Chinese Education

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U.S. and Chinese Education

Causation For Choosing This Topic

I must confess I believed, until I two months ago, the Chinese education system is a totally mistake. I do not like it and as far as I know, a lot of Chinese students hold the same idea like me. I asked several Chinese graduate students who are now studying in US if they are satisfied with their elementary and middle school year’s study, or say, do they think those studies benefit their future life. Their answers are all negative. I am sure that is just what the most Chinese people are thinking now days. I am not surprised by this result because I was belonging to them.

However I know now that the Chinese education system does have some good aspects after I read Ma’s book and engaged in the discussion with our classmates. The elementary and middle school teachers in China did a really good job. And I believe that this is a key reason why the Chinese students perform better than those of other countries in the elementary and middle school level. I also realize that the teacher factor can also explain why when entering to the college level, especially for the graduate level, US students do a better job than China students. Professors in US are more qualified than those in China. China college education follows a “hard matriculate, easy graduate” policy in contrast with US’s “ easy matriculate, hard graduate” policy. For Chinese students, it is hard to get into college, but as soon as you get into it, life just becomes so easy, 99% will definitely get his degree without any problem. That means the professor in China is not so strict as in US. Another reason for poor high education is that in China the relationship between college and research is not as stron...

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...s U.S.; Pennsylvania

Chen, Huabin (2001) Parents' Attitudes and Expectations Regarding Science Education: Comparisons among American, Chinese-American, and Chinese Families Adolescence v36 n142 p305-13

Jerry Wellington (1992) Physics Teaching and Teacher Training in China: A Western Perspective. Physics Education v27 n3 p130-33

Jiang Zhonghong (1995)A Brief Comparison of the U.S. and Chinese Middle School Mathematics Programs. School Science and Mathematics v95 n4 p187-94

Ma, Liping (1999), Knowledge and Teaching Elementary Mathematics, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ.

Shulman, Lee (1986), “Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching,” Educational Researcher, 15, pp.4-14

Zhang Changbin, (1995) The National University Entrance Examination and Its Influence on Secondary School Physics Teaching in China. Physics Education v30 n2 p104-08

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