5 Differences Between Chinese and North American Education

      As I have three-year university education experience in China and now I have been a Canadian international students for nearly two year, I should admit there are notable differences on education method between these two countries.

 1. Class Size is the first noticeable difference in the university or college. Chinese teachers typically teach at least two classes with from 25 to 65 students. Somes basic public classes even have 100 or more students. However, American professors typically teach with relative small class sizes ranging from 10 to 30. Professors know each student well.

  2. Participation. In China, students seldom answer questions or ask questions. In students' mind, asking questions to teachers sometimes mean they don't respect to their professors. Nowadays, Chinese teachers also encourage students to ask valuable questions. But students are still reluctant to do so because of shy or other personal reasons. Unlike China, every North American students feel free to ask or give their own opinion. This is also one of difficulties for us because it need us to change our learning habit that we already have for a long time.



  


 3. Curriculum. I think that there is also a striking difference between Chinese curriculum and American curriculum: Chinese education is a very grade based system while American education emphasizes on a comprehensive development. The former often results in students who are very good at testing and obtaining high grades in examinations. The latter leads to a more integrated development in the students who are being educated. For instance, from my experience, PE education is much weaker in China compared to the Western World. Competitive sports in Chinese schools are mainly for students who are specifically selected and trained for inter-school competitions for merit purposes. The majority of students spend the majority of their free time preparing for the most important few exams,like math or English, during their school period.


 4. Examination. The final exam is very important in Chinese universities and usually it takes up at least 70% of total grade. So students need to suffer a pre-test period that is two weeks before final exam to review and practice for exams. While the situation is totally different in North American. It is rare for a course that final exam accounts for over 60% and many are even no final exams. So students should work hard during entire semester, like doing presentation or writing paper.


 5. Textbook. Chinese students buy their textbooks each year and the textbooks are soft cover and relatively thin. The cost is about $3 or $4 for a textbook and $2 for a workbook that accompanies the textbook. Students make heavy use of highlighters and annotations in their books. In addition, the textbooks often have moral lessons built into them. For instance, when a particular scientist is highlighted, aspects of his/her life that are exemplary are extolled, such as hard work, protecting the environment, overcoming obstacles, etc. On the other hand, American textbooks are hard cover and are rented to students. Also, few students mark or note heavily in their textbooks. Many my Canadian classmates made fun of my colorful textbooks and they think it is a kind of torture to books.

  




Conclusion: I personally think that if we could get the best of two worlds from the Chinese and American educational systems — that will be world class education.