What I do not want to remember.

The Education System in China

In China, the education system is divided into three categorizes: basic education, higher education, and adult education. The Compulsory Education Law of stipulates that each child have nine years of formal education. [1] I will introduce it own characters from the following main points.

The structure of the system in China has three main periods. First, the basic education includes pre-school education, primary education and secondary education. The secondary education is divided into the regular/academic secondary education which contains the junior middle school and the senior middle school, and specialized/vocational/technical secondary education. Second, the higher education at the undergraduate level includes two-and three-year junior colleges (sometimes also called short-cycle colleges, four-year colleges, and universities offering programs in both academic and vocational subjects. 2Many colleges and universities also offer graduate programs, leading to the Master's or Ph.D. degrees. Third, the adult education category overlaps all three of the above categories. In addition, students in China have no choice of the majors before entering the high school. In primary school, every student has to study 3 main subjects: Chinese, Math, and Nature Science. During the 3 years of middle school, students have to study 5 main subjects: Chinese, Math, Social Science, English, and Nature Science. Students in high school need to take 6 subjects: Chinese, Math, English, and choose 3 Arts courses or 3 Science courses.

Secondly, the examination in China has some special characters, too. It’s known to all that Chinese examination is one of the most difficult examinations in the world. Students should have a large and wide rang of knowledge in order to pass them and get high marks. Each term has at lest two normal examinations, i.e. the middle exam and the final exam. They are always the things to show whether a student’s abilities in study are good or not. In the real study life, there are a lot of examinations for students, especially the numbers of tests in the higher studying level. The examinations and the results are very important to students, teachers and parents. They mean a lot to all of them. Because there is an idea in the society that attending a good school can bring you a bright future, so sometime, they can “decide” a student’s future. For example, if a student wants to attend to the university, he/she should get contain marks to match the requirement. At this time, the examination will decide this student’s future. Because of this, students have to devote themselves into the homework, texts and extracurricular study. Usually, a student spends averagely 60 hours a week on studying. But the formal examinations take place at the end of each term, so students can have a holiday during which they do not need to prepare for the exam at the beginning of the next term. The system of grades used in China can either follow a three-scale or a four-scale system. The three-scale system includes A (75~100 marks), B (60~74 marks), C (0~59 marks). The four-scale system includes A (85~100 marks), B (75~84 marks), C (60~74 marks), D (0~60 marks). Often, numerical grades are also reported.

Finally, the teaching style may be the most different point between China and most of the western countries. In the classes, most of the time, Chinese teachers will speak and students will take notes from the blackboard all the time. The only job for students seems to accept all the words and ideas from their teachers. Sometimes, students also answer the questions in classes, but they are all passive. The most important reason for this may be the large numbers of population forcing schools to establish strict rules to control students well. But these years, schools have improved their teaching style step by step. For example, Teaching in Chinese universities is strictly implemented according to teaching plans and teaching programs. Teaching in universities usually includes classroom lecture, classroom discussion, experiment class, exercise doing, and guidance class. In line with classroom teaching, other teaching forms are also organized, such as on-the-spot teaching, visits, practice teaching, and social investigations, in a bid to reinforce the effect of classroom teaching, and improve students, ability of doing practical work and using the knowledge they have learned. Libraries and reference rooms are open to students both at the university or department level, creating good conditions for students, study and research. Universities and colleges are well equipped with modernized teaching facilities to make sure all teaching plans should be realized. In other words, schools have already paid more attention to reduce the pressure of students and make students to learn knowledge actively by themselves as well as to be more creative. They also began to training the students’ abilities about team-working, how to communicating well with others to express their own idea and apply their knowledge in the practical real life instead of just learning for passing exams.
From the above, it is easy for us to draw a conclusion that the education system in China has some special characters, especially in the structure, examination and teaching style. Schools and society have realized to improve the system to come into a better situation. We all believe that Chinese education system will become an advanced system after a few years continued improving.
[1] From: http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~dbski/publication/overview
2 From: http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~dbski/publication/overview