Education: A Core Principle for Global Development and Success - Research Paper

Introduction

Education is a fundamental component of the society because it promotes the economic, social and personal development of a nation. Education empowers people to conceive good ideas and thoughts as well as impart knowledge about the world around us. Good quality education has the potential to transform lives and create a globally skilled workforce. As a result, governments across the world are investing in education for their citizens to compete globally. Therefore, education is a core principle in every society in the 21st centuries. However, the world is diverse as we know it and different cultures have their own standards of education. Educators, aspiring teachers, and school administrators should embrace cultural diversity and social justice due to multiculturalism. With this note, the research will focus on comparing education in Chinese culture and the United States.

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Chinese Education

The Chinese culture is among some of the oldest civilization in the world. In particular, the education system in China is considered as one of the most competitive and challenging globally. In particular, the Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of education as an instrument for inculcating values and necessary skills to its people. From a traditional standpoint, the Chinese culture valued education as a means of enhancing the worth and career of a person. Furthermore, the traditional learning style in China emphasized unity due to the influence of Chinese culture. As a result, research and evaluation in education are based on the qualitative method. For instance, China has a rich history in the nationwide examination of the country's civil servants. Similarly, the traditional Chinese model of teaching and learning was instructor-oriented compared to student-centered (Yang et al. 1217). Since the cultural practices advocated for social harmony and hierarchy, the young are expected to respect seniority to achieve harmony. As such, students are expected to respect their instructors. Likewise, instructors were expected to have profound knowledge and experts in their teaching field traditionally.

The Chinese education system has evolved especially during the 1950s when China became a communist-run state. The communists worked very hard to improve the literacy levels of the country which attracted massive support from the citizens. However, a decade later, the communist government could not provide ample jobs to those who had acquired formal education (Morgan et al. 56). Besides, the education system faced massive budgetary constraints that made China shift its education policy. Currently, education in China is state-run with a great emphasis on innovation. Innovation is a key component of the Chinese education system as the country's leaders pursue the goal of pushing the Chinese economy up the global value chain. Therefore, in the efforts of promoting sustainable development, the Chinese government has improved access to education countrywide through a universal education system.

In Chinese society, education is divided into three categories namely; basic education, higher education, and adult education ("A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Education System"). According to Chinese law, it is compulsory for every child to have nine years of education. Chinese students spend 6 years in primary school and 3 years in junior secondary. Basic education includes three years of pre-school education followed by six years of primary education ("A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Education System."). In secondary education, students can either choose to pursue academic or specialized vocational education. Academic secondary education is comprised of three years at junior level and another three years in senior middle school. Junior secondary graduates take locally administered entrance exams if they wish to continue with their education to either vocational training or middle school. The most challenging is that senior middle school students wishing to pursue university studies must take the National Higher Education Entrance Exam (Gaokao). Universities in China have limited vacancies due to a high number of applicants. Secondary school students face a lot of pressure especially due to the fact that they must pass a nine-hour National Higher Education Entrance Examination. According to the country's statistics, only 40% of students pass the exam (Morgan et al. 67).

The Chinese education system is divided into two terms or semesters for all institutes of learning. Learning takes place from February to mid-July after which students break for a six-week summer vacation. Likewise, education resumes in September to late-January followed by a four-week winter vacation. On the other hand, most schools in China start their daily lessons very early in the morning between 7 and 7:30 am to 6 pm. However, students receive two hours of lunch break. In the same light, since Chinese students receive a lot of homework and tests, most schools offer self-study classes that run from 7 pm to 9 pm to allow students to complete their assignments and prepare for unending examinations (Morgan et al.). Students who do their homework at home stay up late up to 10 pm while working on their assignments. Furthermore, due to the fierce level of competition to enroll for universities, many schools in China hold extra morning classes on Saturdays that cover 3-4 hours studying science and mathematics. If schools do not offer Saturday classes, parents opt to send their children to private tuition over the weekend. On average, primary school students spend between 7-8 hours in school while secondary students spend 12-14 hours including the 2 hours of a lunch break "A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Education System."

American Education

The American education system unlike China's is quite different even though there are some forms of similarities. Compulsory education in the US varies depending on the state with starting years between ages 5 and 7. Students in the US attend both primary and secondary education that lasts for 12 years prior to higher education. Students enroll for elementary school at around the age of 6 six years (Osborne). Elementary school lasts for 5 years after which students join secondary education. However, children may begin with pre-kindergarten or pre-school before embarking on elementary studies. Pre-kindergarten students are aged between 3-5 years. Secondary education is divided into middle school (junior high school) and high school just like the Chinese education system. After students successfully complete the 12th grade or secondary education, they may pursue college or university education. Postsecondary education is divided into two sectors. One, postsecondary vocational training which is not an academic degree program. On special circumstances, vocational training has transferrable credits. Second, higher education that offers academic degree programs (Osborne 45).

The education calendar in the US runs from September to June as opposed to the Chinese system. Basically, there are two semesters of study just like in China. However, a major difference is that students can opt to pursue trimester studies by enrolling for summer lessons. Furthermore, unlike China, students in the US do not need to sit for a national examination to assess their eligibility to a college education.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the American and Chinese cultures are quite distinct from each other. For example, politically, America is a democratic capitalist nation while China is ruled by a communist regime. Therefore, their take on education is different as well. However, the two nations are very developed with China being the second largest economy after the US.

Works Cited

Morgan, W. J., et al. Handbook of Education in China. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017."A Brief Introduction to the Chinese Education System." OpenLearn, The Open University, 14

July 2015, www.open.edu/openlearn/education/brief-introduction-the-chinese-education-system.

Osborne, David. Reinventing America's Schools: Creating a 21st Century Education System.

Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2017.Yang, Baiyin, et al. "Confucian View of Learning and Implications for Developing Human

Resources." Advances in Developing Human Resources, vol. 8, no. 3, 2006, pp. 1214-1219., doi:10.1177/1523422306288427. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED492822.pdf