Comparing educational paradigms - U.S. versus China

In a thoughtful review of Dr. Yong Zhao's Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Dragon? Why China Has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World, Qiang Zha advocates important dimensions of comparative study if one wants to understand the benefits and liabilities of both U.S. and Chinese education. China's achievement in test scores are likely the product of authoritarian educational practices that were part of the political/cultural environment, an environment that now shows signs of change. The question then turns to what new educational practices will be required to allow China to move forward in educating highly motivated students who see education as the pathway to success.

Zha uses one example to demonstrate the effectiveness of Chinese authoritarian practice - rote learning in math. While youth in the U.S., comfortable in declaring what they like and/or don't want to do, often proclaim that they are not good at math, Chinese youth would seldom succumb to such a defeatist attitude. The authoritarian system pushes Chinese students to stick with content that is difficult, knowing that the reward will be superior performance. (Is the rise of Chinese musicians on the world scene evidence of the same dynamic?) The point is that perhaps U.S. youth should be pushed harder and not allowed to defeat themselves while Chinese students likely need to be encouraged to go beyond the mastery of content, delving into critical intellectual analyses with which independent thinkers are more comfortable.

Zha's most important critique of Zhao's book is Zhao's assertion that a new educational approach needs to be designed that will meet the needs of a global future. Contrasted with Zhao's "globalist" claim, Zha encourages educational practices designed with distinct cultures and traditions in mind, a perspective that would hopefully preserve the uniqueness of world cultures while advancing toward educational practices that will benefit all.