Job Discussion Forums

[Rudain]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post and I believe this is the appropriate place to post this.

I am working on a project for one of my ESL classes at University that requires me to put together a handbook of cultural information for perspective teachers. Since I have an interest in teaching in China at a later date I decided to put together a cultural handbook for the Chinese culture and education system.


Sadly I don't know a lot about how the Chinese Education system works and I was hoping that the people on this board would be willing to help me out with this.

So my first question is what is the Chinese education system like? What are the students like; what is the classroom environment like ect.

I would also like to know the regional differences in the education system. For example, I highly doubt a school in a small town is the same as a school in the middle of a large city.

Also, any other information that you found to be surprising or believe is relevant to teachers who will be teaching Chinese students in the future.

I am hoping to get a few different perspectives on this so I can put together a decent handbook for my project.

On the Cultural side of my handbook I already have several seemingly good sources so i don't really need information from this perspective. However, if you have some interesting information that is worth sharing I would appreciate it as well.

Any sources people know of would also be helpful. I did a few internet searches but wasn't overly impressed.

Thanks for your help and I appreciate any insight you can offer.

Brad Russell

[lf_aristotle69]

Hi Brad,

A bit tired when you wrote that? prospective teachers, etc., and education (in the title)...

Anyway, have you come across MiddleKingdomLife yet?

It might have some useful info. Check out the Guide and go back to the homepage for the rest of the site.

Sounds like a good project. Please keep us informed here as it develops.

Cheers,

LFA

[eddy-cool]

Also helpful:A work contract for a Chinese employer, especially clauses relating to how to behave in discussions about political and religious topics...

Other than that I holdthat it is a little unfair to your potential readers to rely on an author who hasn't spent time getting to know China and the Chinese himself.

All we can say is based on our own experiences and may vary enormously in the weight we give them.

[Rudain]

Thanks the Middle Kingdom website has proven to be effective in my research.

However, what I am really missing right now is an accurate description of what the average Chinese classroom looks like.
For example:
What behavioral norms are expected?
What is the Teachers role in the classroom? (Lecturer or Facilitator)
What are the student�s expectations? (homework, activities, projects)


And in response to the first post; yeah I was burnout when I wrote that lol. Been busy at school and I needed to get this done asap.

In response to the second post,
I didn't accurately portray what I am working on. I am not working on a handbook explaining the international educational experience; I am trying to work on a handbook that explains Chinese educational norms and contrasts them to the American Education system. The hope is that my handbook will give teachers in various departments a basic point of reference they can review to help them understand various academic problems.

For example:

From what I understand the Chinese essay format is more topic centered then subject centered. This is a difference that greatly affects the way a Chinese student writing in a western class will write. The handbook I am working on will give teachers background knowledge in this difference so they are better able to understand the difficulties their Chinese students are going through.

I hope this post is a little clearer than my last. I hope to get the perspectives of educators working abroad who can give a western perspective on the Chinese education.

[theincredibleegg]

This won't help you at all. Nor does it have any relevance to the topic. I just want to know. What are topic/subject based texts?

[killian]

every classroom i have been in while in china is basically the same.

eight rows of students. rows 3 thru 6 are scrunched together. 1&2 are scrunched next to the wall with the door. 7&8 are scrunched along the other wall.
so, you have eight rows of students but only two aisles. most of my middle school classes have about 58 students.

the kids stay within that class and classroom all day. what we called "homeroom" stateside is what they stay in all day, everyday for three years. they keep the same kids togher through all grade progreesions unto graduation.

the blackboard has a raised platform (about six inches)beneath it from which the teacher perches and rarely moves. the podium is his/her throne and many do not budge.

needless to say, china is huge and 1/5th of the world's population calls china home. if you have time, it may behoove you to narrow the topic from chinese education to a smaller slice such as "chinese public middle school education". still a huge ball to untangle but nowhere as nearly gargantuan as the the first.

best wishes.

[eddy-cool]

'Topic-centered' versus 'subject-centered' - new buzzwords? Am not familiar with those and can't say whichever applies to China.

Maybe you should get off your high horse and get your hands dirty while experiencing a Chinese classroom. I have found time and again that fanciful western concepts developed over the past 50 years or so simply have no practical relevancy here.

A Chinese classroom essentially is a closed room inhabited by two mutually necessary personalities. The Teacher personality is traditionally viewed as a God of Wisdom and Unlimited Knowledge; the Student is an empty vessel that waits to be filled with what the Teacher-God is overflowing with, whatever that may be.

Teachers - in collusion with the parents of their students - kill the time of their students. Any teacher (except laowai teachers) who do not burden the students with assignments will be regarded as a slacker. The preferred assignments are those that involve blindly learning by heart.

Students will also have huge assignment burdens during their annual summer holidays and spring festivals. The parents feel relieved in the knowledge that their kids have so much work to do - in other words, won't make unreasonable demands for leisure activities.