Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Question
Asked 30th Sep, 2011
The challenges a Chinese engaging into international/intercultural education needs to overcome
A Chinese entering international/intercultural education/communication in the U.S. needs to face the challenge of reconciling her/his own thinking mechanism with the distincitive American culture. The process sees the pattern of experiencing cross-cultural shock and re-entry cultural shock on top of incorporating different educational patterns.
Most recent answer
Shanton, I find your point very well taken. Currently we see a change of paradigms in the field of research on Chinese learning style - whatever that is! -, especially as an outcome of PISA results. Very soon a book will be published "Chinese Overseas Students and Intercultural Learning Environments" (Jiani Zhu, Jiaotong University, Shanghai), where we can find a variety of perspectives on that, based on interviews among Chinese at German universities. I am currently engaged in preparing a manuscript on the recognition of China in the light of PISA, very demanding but interesting. Also, I do recommend the new BBC production "Are our kids tough enough?" which is good piece for discussion about what the fuzz about Shanghai´s PISA results is all about.
All Answers (5)
Duke University
I recently held a focus group with Chinese students who are studying in the US. It was a very interesting discussion centered around the differences between teaching and learning styles/methods in both countries. Most interesting (and surprising) to me were these students' perspectives on the strengths of the instructional methods used in the Chinese educational system and the weaknesses of those used in the US. But, to your point Xuejuan, yes, there appeared to be some culture shock amongst these students. One strategy to help minimize this shock could be to offer incoming international students an orientation related to the local teaching and learning styles, expectations of students in this learning environment, etc.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Xuejian, this question - in one or another variation - has been asked increasingly across disciplines. There is growing research literature out and scholars tend to view the so-called paradigm of the Chinese/Asian Learner in different terms than in the 80ies and early 90ies. If anyone is interested, let me know, I may provide you with such kind of research publications.
Best,
Juergen
DePaul University
Hi Xuejuan,
Don't work too hard on meshing your "thinking mechanism" with the distinctive "American culture." There is nothing wrong with the Chinese approach to thinking or problem solving -- at least nothing that can be improved by adapting to American culture. Check out these comparative statistics from U.S. NEWS:
"The results varied widely across, and even within nations. The difference between the highest and lowest average scores in the mathematics assessment, for example, was 245 points, or the equivalent of about six years of schooling.
"Nonetheless, the Shanghai region of China remained the highest performer overall. Students in that area had average math scores of 613 (above the OECD average of 494), average reading scores of 570 (above the OECD average of 496), and average science scores of 580 (above the OECD average of 501).
"Meanwhile, students in the United States scored below average in math, with mean scores of 481, slightly above average in reading, with mean scores of 498, and slightly below average in science, with mean scores of 497." <http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/12/03/american-students-fall-in-international-academic-tests-chinese-lead-the-pack>
Nevertheless, Xuejuan, you can benefit by embracing one witticism embedded in American culture; namely, "If it ain't broke; don't fix it!"
Gwen
1 Recommendation
University of Melbourne
Gwendolyn has made some nice points.
Coming from Australia, we also have Chinese students asking these questions. There are complex variables and in many situations, the most successful students are those who understand context and cognition, and are flexible. There is not necessarily one way of being. However, some systems do favour and make it easier for particular styles to have a smoother time. This is not unexpected.
One relatively new challenge is that of the role of social media. Social media now enables continued ties and relationships with those from the home country (in this case, China) and makes the need for exploring new ways and contexts less urgent for some students. It provides a safety net which did not necessarily exist prior to the ease of social media. Hence, some students (and transient migrants in general) might have made their journey to a new country - but their digital journeys have not corresponded with their physical reality. Some might find this experience a bit challenging.
1 Recommendation
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Shanton, I find your point very well taken. Currently we see a change of paradigms in the field of research on Chinese learning style - whatever that is! -, especially as an outcome of PISA results. Very soon a book will be published "Chinese Overseas Students and Intercultural Learning Environments" (Jiani Zhu, Jiaotong University, Shanghai), where we can find a variety of perspectives on that, based on interviews among Chinese at German universities. I am currently engaged in preparing a manuscript on the recognition of China in the light of PISA, very demanding but interesting. Also, I do recommend the new BBC production "Are our kids tough enough?" which is good piece for discussion about what the fuzz about Shanghai´s PISA results is all about.
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Can there be singular model(s) of educational success?
In recent years, Singapore has emerged as a major hub of international education in South East Asia. The innovations in Singapore were motivated by a need to prepare the students to meet the challenges of the 21 st century. It can be easily seen that globalisation and intensifying economic competition were the driving forces behind most of these innovations. For a number of countries in Asia, Singapore education today stands as a model that they could follow and perhaps emulate. Two questions however need exploration: Is there a singular model of Singapore educational success? If yes, what are the essential elements of such a model?
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Please also see our full paper at
TOWARDS BUILDING A MODEL OF EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS: A SITUATED INQUIRY. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275466001_TOWARDS_BUILDING_A_MODEL_OF_EDUCATIONAL_SUCCESS_A_SITUATED_INQUIRY [accessed May 4, 2015].
