Mutual Study on Education

Every country values education because it passes on the cultural heritage of a nation and nurtures talent that promotes economic and social development. With the increasing mobility of population and talents ensuing from globalization， cultural integration is being precipitated and countries can learn from each others education advantages.

On April 24， 2014， Harvard Business School （HBS） broke ground for the construction of the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center. It is the first building on the Harvard campus named after a woman and， besides， after a Chinese American. Chao is the mother of Elaine L. Chao， former U.S. Secretary of Labor. Her husband Dr. James S. C. Chao is the founder of Foremost Group， a New York-based shipping company. The couple has six daughters with successful careers. The Chaos are also the first family to have four sisters as HBS alumni. The Chaos family education reflects the best of both countries – upholding the Chinese tradition of respecting elders while learning from the American spirit of enterprise and creativity. Throughout the girls formative years， the couple always emphasized the educational philosophies of self-discipline， self-restraint， confidence， independence， contentment， self-respect， and self-improvement. The Honorable Elaine L. Chao once said： “My sisters and I have always been taught to incorporate the quintessence of Chinese and American traditional culture. Though living in the U.S. and adopting American nationality， my parents believe the two cultures are complementary rather than contradictory. We feel proud that we can inherit Chinese culture while simultaneously benefiting from the best of American culture.”

With globalization， the goals of modern education have converged. For instance， people with sound basic knowledge and mathematical abilities have become the essential labor force for economic development in every country.

Chinese education has been criticized for heavy assignment burdens due to the score-based high school and college admission system. Entrance exams usually include exceptionally difficult questions beyond the curricular requirements， to make the best students stand out. In general， less than 20 percent of questions on an exam paper are used to test the knowledge beyond the syllabus. However， given the huge candidate population， every point scored counts for Chinese students. Hence， teachers and parents impose higher requirements and students， willingly or not， work even harder for their own sake. As a result， the difficulty of teaching content is usually 20 to 50 percent higher than the syllabus， and even double in some schools. Although this system is of no benefit to studentscomprehensive development， it cements basic knowledge and fosters exceptional mathematical abilities.

While Chinese youngsters envy the carefree childhood of overseas children， foreign education institutions show their admiration for Chinas effective fundamental education. In February 2014， a delegation headed by Elizabeth Truss， British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Education and Childcare， visited Shanghai to gain insights on math education. After attending classes， the British experts were impressed both by the teaching methods and the students aptitude. The two sides subsequently reached an agreement to exchange teachers.

On the other hand， research shows that textbooks are not the main source of Chinese students burdens. A research project jointly launched by six of Chinas most authoritative normal universities found that on the international level， Chinese textbooks can be rated as being of medium difficulty. It reached this conclusion by examining textbooks on six subjects from 10 countries， including the U.S.， Russia， the U.K.， France， Germany， Australia， Singapore， South Korea， and Japan. This finding is attributed to a recent curriculum reform in China， intended to reduce students burdens by lowering the difficulty of primary and secondary school textbooks. This research is expected to act as a reference for the governments future education reforms， and also to help Chinese society rationally reassess the issue of study burdens.

Moreover， an internationalized society also expects positive and innovative thinking， broad vision and high comprehensive quality of its members. Overseas Chinese students find that competition in elite high schools and universities in the developed Western world is quite fierce. Students in such schools face stress as high as that of their Chinese counterparts. The latter stems from both academic study and the requirement to improve comprehensive quality. Consequently， China is starting to learn from the advantages of Western education– to teach on the basis of students interests， reasonable study levels and work load， as well as the goal of improving studentsoverall abilities.