Tag: Early Education

Early Education in China: Culture

abecklehimer / / Education

By A. Becklehimer and M. Turner

With China’s modern education system clearing not living up to its potential, seen by the only mediocre performance of students and their less than desirable state of health, many people are questioning the problems and how to fix them. Similar in nature to America’s ACT, China’s “Gaokao” test is a cumulative review of their education thus far, and is state mandated (Zhao, Xu, Haste, Selman). Unlike other systems that also take large consideration of other factors, such as personal merit, experience, grades, and involvement, China’s system relies very heavily on this one test, which will forever determine where the student can attend school. The pressure to do well on this test is what has created such a hostile and counterproductive environment to learn in for these students. This pressure is only heightened by the one-child culture China has thrown itself into. As each student is now a second-generation only child, this means they will have two parents and four grandparents that dedicate their time to the child, and will expect highly of the only child to do a good job representing the family. The lack of siblings to divert attention from these students has all the more created an environment that only promotes the drilling of the highly government-regulated education into their minds. Some Chinese parents having tried to take action against this by placing their children in private schools with alternative methods of education, often labeling themselves as havens that will “emphasize the need to help children that develop as individuals.” (Johnson) The goal of these schools is to actually make sure the children leave as smarter and more well rounded individuals, as opposed to the hive-mind the government has attempted to create with state-modified accounts of every little detail.

Ian Johnson. “China’s new bourgeoisie discovers alternative education.” New Yorker Vol. 89, Issue 47 Febuary 3, 2014. 34.

Zhao, Xu, Helen Haste, and Robert L. Selman. “Questionable Lessons From China’s Recent History of Education Reform.” Education Week 33, no. 18 (January 22, 2014): 32.

Early Education in China: The Progression of Society

emartin2 / / Education

By M. Turner and E. Martin

“Jiaoshike Village Boarding School In Gangcha County.” Britannica Image Quest.
N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014. <http://www.gettyimages.com/>.

“Students from Migrant Worker Families Have Trouble Attending School.” Britannica Image Quest. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2014. <http://www.gettyimages.com/>.

It is crucial when studying Early Chinese Education, that one investigates the origin of its current state. It is interesting to note that many sociologists, educational researchers, and economists have delved into this question of why Chinese Education is the way it is. With the major economic reforms in China during the 1970’s, living standards, class structure, and social mobility changed drastically, reforming the education system in the process. The structure of the education system shifted along with the development of the economy, putting more importance in the labor market on the need for education. This shift is achieved through the introduction of private schooling, for example, in which private individuals or enterprises run the school. Though it causes a divide between social classes, private schools meet the demand for education that oftentimes public schools cannot in China. The availability of resources is a aspect of early Chinese education which has the capacity to change the future of a young Chinese learner.

For children, educational and job opportunities increase with the shift in economy. According to Education and Reform in China, access to education for children was enforced in 1986 with the Law on Compulsory Education, which states that all children must have six years of primary education and three years of secondary education (Ministry of Education 1986).  The value of schooling quickly increased when the focus on economy shift from agricultural to non-agricultural. Migration to the city from farms meant more jobs and subsequently, a higher demand for education. Ultimately, an education in China results in a high status job and further progress in society (Hannum and Park).

For more information on Early Education in China, check out these blogs:

Effects of Early Education

The Exciting History of Early Education in China

Citation:

Hannum, Emily, and Albert Park, eds. Education and Reform in China. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print. Asia’s Transformations.

Early Education in China: Effects on Higher Education

gfilipski / / Education, Urbanization

By Grace Filipski, Emily Martin, Matt Turner, and Adam Becklehimer

As the film Education, Education discussed, in China, a child’s performance in early education has a significant effect on all aspects of his or her life.  At the end of their early school training, kids take a universal test which determines where they are able to attend school.  The top students are offered spaces at subsidized universities, while the students who did not perform as well are forced to attend expensive private colleges, if anything at all.  The students who did poorly are often from rural communities, as the schools there are not well funded, and therefore not very functional.  The private institutions that they attend to attempt to escape the difficulties of rural life are extremely corrupt, as they function more like companies than colleges.  The teachers are not qualified for their positions and are forced to spend their summers presenting to these underprivileged families.  In these talks, they lie about the existence of facilities and the proficiency of professors, as the students will likely learn nothing during their time at the university.  Since the families are so desperate to free their kids from the woes of rural life, they will do anything to provide them with the money to attend these institutions to get a skill or certificate and, eventually, a job.  Though having a degree can help get the students’ foot in the door for a job, often they find themselves inadequately prepared for the workplace and are therefore fired.  The inability for students who are born into bad living situations to succeed is a major flaw of the Chinese education system and will only create more problems of poverty in rural China.

For more information on Early Education in China, check out these blogs:

Early Educaiton in China: Progression of Society

Early Education in China: The Exciting History

Early Education in China: Culture

Weijun Chen, dir., Don Edkins, prod. “Education, Education.” Part of the Why Poverty project. Steps International. Video file, 58 min. January 4, 2013. Accessed March 4, 2014. http://www.whypoverty.net/en/video/education-education/.