Understanding how various aspects of mathematics education work together is necessary if reform efforts are to succeed, Ms. Newton argues. She compares U.S. and Chinese mathematics education to provide perspectives that might further such understanding. She highlights the Chinese emphasis on thinking systematically about teaching, curriculum, and…

The new leadership in China wants to move toward higher educational efficiency, excellence, and merit. (Author/IRT)

China's emergence in the global economy has captured the attention of U.S. policy makers, who have a vested interest in understanding how China has advanced so quickly. The Chinese government views education as a key to economic growth and has initiated several rounds of education reform since the late 1970s. To meet the demands of globalization,…

A detailed study of changes that have taken place in Chinese education since the Communists came to power there. (Author)

A recent visitor to China offers four generalizations about China's national policy for education and six impressions about the concrete operations of the schools and colleges. (Author/IRT)

Jinfa Cai's study comparing Chinese and American sixth-grade students' mathematics performance found that American students did better on simple and complex problems than on computation. One reason might be Asian countries' stress on rote learning. Paul George's 1995 monograph "Japanese Schools: A Closer Look" found instruction…

Reviews current literature related to the science achievement "learning gap" between Chinese and U.S. students. Presents an empirical assessment based on a more representative database from both countries. An extended mid-1980s study (the Second International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Study, or SSIS),…

The two biggest educational issues facing China are critical and related--how to provide for equality of educational opportunity and how to maintain an intellectual community that is both "red" and expert. (Author/IRT)

From her own experience as a secondary teacher in the People's Republic of China, the author concludes that multiyear student/teacher relationships have great potential for improving the academic and social/emotional environments of secondary schools. In China, the multiyear commitment gives teachers considerable academic autonomy and demands…

Offers an update on global education programs from around the world, in the hope that American educators will seek dialogue with their international peers. (Author/MLF)

Compares Indian and Chinese educational systems on bases of their channelling of students, school dropouts, and attempts at reform. Emphasizes the conflict of academic schooling and productivity in both nations. (JW)

Having spent 7 months teaching in United States schools, a dozen teachers of English from the People's Republic of China compare teaching methods, rapport with students, and school life in both countries. (JW)

"People's education" in China is rooted in the mass education movement lasting from the 1920s to the 1940s. This article summarizes the Chinese educational system from 1949 to present-day reform efforts. Traditional spoon-feeding and rote learning must yield to a system encouraging sef-understanding and independent, innovative, and…

Describes components of "Seventh Five-Year Plan" for China that identify the importance of educational development. In 1985 the Ministry of Education was replaced by the National Education Commission, emphasizing the new prominence of education. The centralized structure of the education system is being dismantled, and concerns over the…