The Global Search for Education
“70% of the variation in student achievement is accounted for by factors outside of the control of schools.” — Charles Ungerleider
How to Support Your Education System
By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn
Professor Charles Ungerleider tells me he wrote his book, Failing Our Kids – How we are Ruining Our Public Schools (McClelland & Stewart, 2004), after he completed a term as Deputy Minister of Education for British Columbia. For 40 years he had observed the Canadian education system from a variety of vantage points: as teacher, professor, trustee, parent, and deputy minister. During this period, he watched the largely successful Canadian educational system become so overburdened with increasing demands, he believed the system would ultimately collapse unless expectations were properly reconsidered.
Charles Ungerleider is Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of British Columbia. He is also Director of Research and Managing Director of Directions, Evidence and Policy Research Group. This week in The Global Search for Education, he discusses our big picture questions and shares his views on how to nurture and support a successful education system. (Editor’s note: Canada currently ranks in the top 10 countries in all the PISA test subjects, well ahead of the U. S.)
What kind of educational system will permit a country to have the people skills needed to compete globally?
There is an inherent tension in education between its traditional mission of social development and nation building, and the post war development of human capital and international economic competition. The extreme post war emphasis on economic development is a burden on public schools because the ability to compete economically with other nations is not entirely, or even mostly, dependent upon the education system.
I bristle a little bit when people talk about global competitiveness, because I worry we’re focused on global economic competitiveness and sacrificing social and cultural development. Every society wrestles with the question of what kind of an educational system it will create to realize its vision of itself as a nation. I worry about an education system that cultivates its human capital to produce economically and ignores the social and cultural development of its people.
What are your views on standardized testing?
I am not an opponent of standardized testing, but I am an opponent of high stakes standardized testing. I am opposed to punishing schools and teachers on the basis of standardized testing results and depriving them of the resources they need to improve learning. Anyone who thinks about assessment will recognize that a child’s performance on any given assessment is the cumulative expression of all their prior learning, not just what happened that year or in that school. Moreover, 70% of the variation in student achievement is accounted for by factors outside of the control of schools. Only about 30% of the variance in student achievement is attributable to school related factors, and only about half of those are ones that we can explain.
Recognizing the 70/30 ratio has two important implications for those who wish to improve student achievement. First, assessment is the starting point, not the end point. What you have to be able to do is identify school factors amenable to policy influence that are capable of affecting change in student achievement. Second, you will maximize the benefits of the school’s efforts if they are complemented by policies to support families and communities, such as living wages, equal pay for work of equal value, generous maternity and parenting leaves, affordable day and after school care, and the like.
“I worry about an education system that cultivates its human capital to produce economically and ignores the social and cultural development of its people” — Charles Ungerleider
What is the biggest school factor that affects change in student achievement?
The most important thing is the teachers in the classroom. You are not going to do anything of any serious consequence to improve student achievement or accomplish any serious educational purpose without ensuring that you have well-educated, well-prepared professionals in the classroom. It is not the material or the way schools are organized, but the teacher who makes most of the difference in the school’s contribution to student achievement. Excellent teaching means recruiting people who have the requisite knowledge and dispositions to the tasks, and paying them well.
What are the main steps that must be taken to improve the caliber of teachers in the public education system?
The initial professional preparation that teachers receive, and the continuing professional education that occurs over the course of their careers, influence their performance. Despite improvement over time, the preparation that teachers receive is more guided by ideology than evidence, and is not commensurate with the challenges that teachers face. Teacher certification authorities could help by strengthening the standards by which applicants for initial certification are evaluated and by applying standards that ensure currency of professional knowledge and practice.
What can be done to better address the emotional well-being of kids today given the rise in competition and the pressure to achieve?
This is the first generation in the history of mental health statistics where the mental health of the kids is not superior to that of their seniors. It is much harder to grow up today. We had a more nurturing and respectful notion of child rearing in the past.
As a society, we are not as concerned about the young as we once were. The attention of the community has moved away from being nurturing and raising the young to how am I doing. Am I going to be all right? And, how does my child’s achievement reflect on me?
We need to equip kids with the dispositions and the knowledge that they need in order to thrive in a changing world. We also need to think about the dispositions that people need to live in community with others, to contribute socially and culturally to their communities. For this, a caring and nurturing environment is important.
Aside from addressing the family and economic issues of students in poverty, what are the main steps you would take to improve the academic capabilities of these students?
Students living in impoverished circumstances often exhibit inadequate school readiness. There are a number of policies that will help to address the problems.
- Equip kindergarten classrooms with toys and materials appropriate to learning numbers, colors, and shapes.
- Provide opportunities for students to develop fine motor skills.
- Encourage oral expression. Ensure that teachers answer students’ questions, listen to their speech, respond to their requests, and help them demonstrate some achievement. Provide an environment in which children are emotionally supported and teachers use complex vocabulary and sentences in their communication with them.
- Ensure that teachers take children out of school to explore the community and to visit neighborhood institutions.
- Ensure that teachers display the products of student school work in visible places within the school and in the community.
- Administer diagnostic assessments of (1) phonemic awareness, (2) vocabulary, (3) letter naming, and (4) single word reading; provide interventions to address identified deficits, and ensure that teachers concentrate on deficiencies in these areas, monitoring student progress until students consistently meet or exceed grade level expectations.
World Wisdom
- We should be concerned about an educational system that cultivates its human capital to produce economically and ignores the social and cultural development of its people.
- 70% of the variation in student achievement is attributable to factors outside of the control of schools. Successful education depends upon complementary social policies.
- The most important factor that affects student achievement is the teachers in the classroom.
- Professional preparation and ongoing education of teachers are essential factors in teacher performance.
Professor Charles Ungerleider and C. M. Rubin
(Photos are provided courtesy of the Dwight International School in Canada and Charles Ungerleider)
In The Global Search for Education, join C. M. Rubin and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice In Wonderland.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
The Global Search for Education
Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland
A View from Norway
By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn
Why have I never been to Norway, I wonder as I view the breathtaking images of this amazing country on Google search. I email my close friend, Norwegian expert and talented architect, Maddy Vigeland, and ask her to share with me a Norwegian view for my new education post.
“A few things come to mind,” Maddy emails back. “In addition to skiing, the fjords — miles and miles of dramatic landscape, salmon/lox, something called lutefisk. Then, folk songs, the bravery of Leif Ericson, the adventures of Thor Heyerdahl and his Kon-Tiki, the sadness of Edvard Munch paintings, the bold and brutal sculptures of Gustav Vigeland, the outrageous integration of landscape with culture in Oslo’s new ballet and opera house by Snohetta architects. Also, Liv Ullman, Sonje Henie, and perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of all — the general agreement by all Norwegians on the way to live – focused on the quality of life.”
Thank you Maddy Vigeland. I’m hooked, but before I will commit to admitting I’m booked, allow me to share an educational view of Norway from my newer Norwegian friend, Dr. Kirsten Sivesind, distinguished professor in the University of Oslo Faculty of Education.
What kind of educational system will permit a country to have the people skills needed to compete globally?
The latest findings from large scale assessment and knowledge reviews support conclusions that comprehensive education is most successful. In comprehensive education, students acquire knowledge and experience within demographically diverse learning milieus and face a multitude of expectations that are both cultivating and qualifying. Schools where students are grouped according to their abilities and aptitudes, are not as effective.
What is your view of standardized testing?
Standardized testing informs policy makers and practitioners about some of the outcomes of education. However, these tests are limited in scope in measuring the quality of teaching and learning in schools. Some assessment systems, like PISA, measure competencies of large populations, between 4,500 and 10,000 15-16 year old students in each country. These tests might stimulate debates on what is the intellectual capability of students around the globe, but are not so good at measuring the content and methods of teaching.
If generalization is possible, what elements are missing from the current systems, such as critical thinking or other dimensions of human interest and intelligence?
The OECD studies concentrate on the human competencies that are needed in a learning society. This might lead to an orientation to productive learning and performance. However, individual capacity as well as communication is also dependent on receptive skills, which develop through understanding, interpretation and reflection. These skills are not easily measured, but still are essential to become an educated citizen.
Children hug Vigeland sculpture
What can be done to better address the emotional well-being and intellectual potential of the individual, which appear to be suffering under the current system?
The overall charge of school leaders is to promote school systems which are based on core values like human dignity and respect. This means to stress responsibility rather than accountability and form assessment systems according to overall aims of schooling. It is important that the school system stands on “two legs”: on a well designed curriculum and assessment for learning. For the moment, policy makers have been most concerned about one leg, to create expectations about performance through assessment and accountability systems. They forget that a well-working system depends on good structures, framed by systemic reform and the curriculum.
In Norway, there is a tradition to formulate national curriculum guidelines which are broad based, yet provide a framework for what schooling is about. The guidelines are focused on central aims and subject matter which presuppose thoughtful teaching to be accomplished well. This approach is deliberative in character and guarantees that teaching manuals and prescriptions, whether they be scientific or political, are adjusted to deliberative practices in schools. Emphasis on deliberation will address both emotional well-being and the intellectual potential of the individual.
From a larger perspective, does your country’s definition of educational excellence take into account the quality of life of individuals and of a society, including its artistic and cultural achievements?
The most prominent example of this approach is the Finnish educational system. In Finland, a new national curriculum will be implemented in a few years, giving priority to aesthetic subjects. The curriculum is comprehensive, yet students in Finland perform very well in large scale assessment, such as PISA, so a comprehensive curriculum might stimulate good results/outcomes. The General Curriculum in Norway describes a comprehensive curriculum as well and the integrated human being as one that is both cultivated and qualified. Here the tradition is to guarantee not only good results on national tests, but also a school system where students enjoy themselves and experience a good learning environment. I think joy and hard work must go hand in hand.
World Wisdom from Norway
Standardized tests do not measure the quality of teaching or the quality of learning in schools. There is too much emphasis in our education systems on assessment and accountability instead of on curriculum and responsibility. Give teachers more leeway to adapt guidelines to needs of students. The definition of educational excellence in Norway: a comprehensive curriculum, much like in Finland, where the student becomes both cultivated and qualified. Joy and hard work must go hand in hand.
In The Global Search for Education, join C.M. Rubin and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Professor R. Natarajan (India), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Dr. Kirsten Sivesind (Norway), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
The Global Search for Education Community Page
Dr. Kirsten Sivesind and C. M. Rubin
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice In Wonderland.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
The Global Search for Education
Dwight teacher Paul Sanders and student learn Mandarin in Beijing
How to Develop World Leaders
By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn
“I don’t speak a foreign language. It’s embarrassing,” said President Obama recently.
It is embarrassing, Mr. President, but it does not surprise me. You did not grow up like I did. Five different overseas schools and numerous cultures before I was 12, and then an international boarding school. My parents (with six children) were following a pay check and a conviction that world travel would give us a better life and make us global citizens with a richer appreciation of all humanity (my father made us study the language of every country we visited, because not to speak the language of your host country was quite frankly, uneducated!). So, now you’re wondering, can I produce a copy of my birth certificate? Yes, but while it will tell you that I am a British Citizen born in Georgetown, Guyana, my husband will tell you, “She’s a multi-national with an international rolodex to be envied.”
Some people talk about preparing children for the global world, others just do it, like my parents. And like Stephen Spahn, Chancellor of the Dwight School in New York City, who has established affiliate Dwight campuses in London, Vancouver Island, and Beijing, where Dwight has a joint diploma program with China’s Capital Normal High School (CNHS), a leading provincial high school. As an International Baccalaureate leader, Spahn’s vision is to educate students to make a difference nationally and internationally. Plans are currently underway for a South Korean Dwight school launch in 2012.
“The Chinese government valued Chancellor Spahn’s international mindedness, cultural sensitivity and expertise,” explains Dianne Drew, Principal of Dwight School in New York City and Project Manager of the school in China. “They also wished to improve admissions of Chinese students to American colleges, which the Chinese consider the best universities in the world.”
Mandarin study at Dwight in New York starts as a core subject from pre-school onwards with more intensive classes available from Grades 8 -12. Other curriculum offerings include Asian cultural and history studies. Each student who participates in the program in China receives a diploma based on concurrent study of a full Chinese National Curriculum and a U.S. AP curriculum. The Dwight college guidance and admissions team assists Chinese students in their application process to American colleges.
I had the pleasure of speaking further with Chancellor Spahn about his roadmap to develop world leaders.
What is your global vision?
Our global vision, as an International Baccalaureate leader, is to build strong relationships between cultures around the world. We want to educationally integrate our campuses in New York, London, Beijing, Vancouver Island, and Seoul in 2012. Our personalized learning approach ignites a spark of genius in every student through a multi-grade mentoring system. We are expanding opportunities for all students and teachers to experience other cultures. Each individual country campus has unique strengths that can be shared with students at the other schools. For example, Korean and New York students will be equipped with the latest digital technology; the campus on Vancouver Island in Canada is a model of environmental sustainability (one-third of the faculty are organic farmers); the London and New York performing arts programs are equivalent to first-year college programs.
What were the challenges in founding the first American high school in China?
The first challenge was to build trust between our schools. When we started in 2007, Chinese students were almost exclusively exam-focused. We had to teach them that learning does not end with an AP exam but that it is an ongoing lifelong process. We thought that the Chinese would have a strict censorship policy. However, we discovered that all of the literary works we taught in New York were able to be taught in Beijing. We have successfully met the challenge of educating Chinese parents on the full spectrum of American universities available to their children. Sixty students are about to receive both a Dwight and a CNHS Diploma. Our first graduation will be held on June 10. All graduating Chinese students have been admitted to leading American Universities.
What are your next steps relating to China?
Our relationship with our school in China will continue to foster international mindedness amongst our students and faculty. Over the last three years, we have had teacher exchange opportunities where we have shared best teaching and learning practices. Our students have travelled to Capital Normal, and this summer we will send six students and one teacher to Beijing for a summer camp opportunity; they will live with CNHS families as guests of the Beijing government. Our program has been a steep but enriching learning curve for both schools. We are moving towards strengthening our ties even further as we make a joint application for the Confucius classroom program run by the Chinese government to promote language and cultural studies. We have been proud to be an instrumental part of preparing Chinese students for Western education models and for their eventual acceptance into North American colleges and universities. We equally want our students to be open to exploring China’s university education and rich culture by having more exchange opportunities in Beijing. We recognize that global sensitivity and expertise will be crucial for future success and for developing world leaders.
Dwight South Korean school project 2012
Why South Korea 2012?
Korea is a significant player in the Asian community from an educational and economic standpoint. Dwight was selected from a review of over 100 leading schools around the world to be the International Baccalaureate model for the Korean educational system. 540 students, grades K-12, will be enrolled starting September 2012. We will also act as the regional center for all the IB schools in Korea. The Dwight International School Seoul is being built by the Seoul municipal government. With the opening of the new campus in September 2012, the school in Seoul will offer training programs for IB teachers and will be the center to share IB best practices with interested Korean schools.
World Wisdom – An excerpt borrowed from Chancellor Spahn’s Chinese graduation speech:
“School is a place that is built on dreams. Dreams where each individual is encouraged to blaze a path where none existed. School is a place that is never stuck in the past, but always honors tradition. It is a place that embraces innovation with all its different and difficult challenges. It is a place that honors teamwork and comradeship, but still guides every individual through his or her own unique path. Dare to dream – to have the courage to take risks – to be a person of action – to make service count – to fill every unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run – to acknowledge we only have 24 hours in any day and we should use them in ways that make us proud and nurture our spark of genius, to build a better world.”
In The Global Search for Education, join C.M. Rubin and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
Chancellor Stephen Spahn Graduation Speech
The Global Search for Education Community Page
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice In Wonderland.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
The Global Search for Education
Finnish teachers talk with Harvard professor Tony Wagner in The Finland Phenomenon
More Focus on Finland
By C. M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn
“The Finns had a crisis,” life-long educator, best-selling author, and Harvard professor Tony Wagner explains as we discuss his new film, The Finland Phenomenon, made with acclaimed documentary filmmaker, Bob Compton. “Their economy was failing. Their education system was poor. They knew that to grow their economy, they had to transform their educational system.” Starting with the principle that cooperation is a key pillar of success, the Finns revised their educational framework.
“I saw teachers in Finland that were better than 90% of the teachers I see in America,” says Wagner. There were many things that led to Finland topping the international education league tables (ten years and counting). A key driver: a tremendous investment in teaching made it the most sought-after profession in Finland.
Compulsory schooling now begins at seven. School is a place where students discover who they are and what they can contribute. National testing and school inspections are banished (teachers are trusted to assess their students). Classroom size has been reduced (limited to 20 students). Students are permitted to transfer to an academic or vocational school at the age of 16, and no university fees are charged for Finnish or European Union students.
This educational reformation has made them world leaders. Not surprisingly, global policy makers are paying more attention. Pasi Sahlberg, Director General of CIMO in Helsinki, Finland (the Centre for International Mobility and Cooperation) now advises policy-makers in over 40 countries on matters relating to education and its reform. Four months before the release of his highly anticipated new book, “Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn about educational change in Finland,” Pasi Sahlberg spoke with me about the characteristics of successful educational systems, and about what is missing from many systems around the world.
What kind of education system will permit a country to have the people skills needed to compete globally?
The education system must be equitable, accessible, and flexible. Global competitiveness requires that all people develop competencies for life and work, not just some people. This means that a successful education system should help young people to discover their talents and build their lives based on them. Reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy will remain important, but their role as ‘core subjects’ in competitive education systems will be challenged by creativity, networking skills, and imagination.
An equitable education system makes sure that all students will perform well. It will provide early support to those who need more help in their learning than others. It will also emphasize caring and well-being in school (through healthy nutrition, medical, dental and psychological health), rights of students in school, and shared responsibilities in education and upbringing of children with parents.
Accessibility means that the education system provides good schooling for all, regardless of where people live or what they do. The education system that can offer unified and comprehensive basic education, rather than diversified provision of schooling (through private or non-public schools), will have better opportunities to respond to the changing needs of the competitive and complex world.
Flexibility is about providing adequate individual personalization in school, and freedom for schools to craft their curricula based on their capacities and local needs.
I know that Finland has banished national testing. How do you see the problems with standardized testing?
The main problem with standardized testing today is the quality of these tests. As learning in the globalized world is becoming increasingly complex and diverse, to test what pupils have learned through standardized tests is becoming more complicated. The increasing amount of what students learn cognitively today, let alone what they will learn tomorrow, is due to out-of-school influences, not the teacher or school. Standardized tests by definition are designed based on curriculum and textbooks, not the real world. Therefore, most standardized tests promote narrowing pedagogies, focus on core subjects and knowledge, and prevent teachers from teaching their curricula flexibly. Another problem with standardized tests is that as soon as you have invested in them, you want to also use them for all sorts of purposes for which they were not meant to be used, like determining the quality of schools and comparing them to each other, or measuring the effectiveness of teachers.
What elements are missing from the preponderance of the current systems?
Education systems in general pay too little attention to helping everybody find their own talent in school. It is evident everywhere that most people, after they have completed compulsory education at the age of 16 or 17, think that they are not good at anything. There is a small minority of those young people who say that they know what their talents are and that this is because of what they did in school. Another missing emphasis in current education systems all around the world is focus on helping young people to develop social skills and competencies that they need in their lives (that are dominated by communication through gadgets). This could also be called a lack of focus on developing social intelligences in school.
What can be done to better address the emotional well being and intellectual potential of the individual, which appear to be suffering under current systems?
Emotional well-being can be addressed by reducing the academic dominance in schools and by increasing the social and creative aspects in what students do. It is a common misconception that competitive economies in a globalized world would require that children and students be prepared for them by environments that are based on more competition. It is the opposite. To prepare young people for the competitive world requires more cooperation in classrooms and between schools. All national programs, like Race to the Top, will jeopardize school, teacher, and student efforts to cooperate as they reward winners in the race and punish losers in public tests.
From a larger perspective, does your country’s definition of educational excellence take into account the quality of life of individuals and of a society?
Educational excellence in Finland is a broad concept that spans far beyond academic achievement measured in standardized tests. Indeed, quality of life, overall well-being, and happiness are important criteria when teachers and schools decide whether their individuals or organizations have performed well or not. Artistic and cultural achievements are seen in most of our schools as the main indications of being an educated individual.
World Wisdom from Finland
Global competitiveness requires that all students develop competencies for life and work, not just some students. Therefore, a country’s educational system must be equitable, accessible, and flexible. Cooperation, not competition, is a principal pillar of educational system success. Also essential is a tremendous investment in teaching quality. But beware of standardized testing, as it will undermine the achievement of these objectives.
In The Global Search for Education, join C.M. Rubin and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), Professor Michael Young (UK), and Professor Minxuan Zhang (China) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
Finnish class in session
Professor Pasi Sahlberg and C. M. Rubin
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice In Wonderland.
Follow C. M. Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@cmrubinworld
THE GLOBAL SEARCH FOR EDUCATION
C. M. Rubin at the Shanghai Children’s Library
The New Chinese Education
By C.M. Rubin with Harry Rubin and Michael Freeborn
“The new China is strongly making for good,” proclaimed my great great Uncle George E. Morrison (NY Times feature article, 1912) who advised the Chinese leadership during the formation of the first Republic. Dr. Morrison’s speeches about the vision of his Chinese friends at the turn of the 20th century remind me of Henry Kissinger’s remarks about China’s determination to continue its remarkable economic growth in his new book, On China. Obama recently described China as a “strong, prosperous and successful member of the community of nations.” And educators will not forget Education Secretary Arne Duncan referring to Shanghai ranking #1 on PISA, the global standardized academic test, as a “wake up call” for education reform in the American system.
Meanwhile in China, the national newspapers published the comments of a Chinese mother passionately complaining about the long hours her child was spending on school work. Is this a nation of Tiger Mom test takers who only memorize what teachers and textbooks say, or is this also a nation of creators and innovators?
I had the great honor to interview the highly esteemed Professor Minxuan Zhang, Director-General of the Center for International Education Studies, Ministry of Education, China, and National Project Manager of PISA.
What kind of education system will permit China to have the human skills to compete globally?
I do not think there is one answer to your question. Different countries require different systems. One kind of education system cannot cover all the people skills. In nature, we have various kinds of trees and flowers. In the same way, there are many kinds of education systems which will be workable for a particular culture, economic situation, and social history. In China, we have several types of sub-systems. For example, in Shanghai we have a system suitable for a metropolitan area. I have worked in our rural areas, too. We have systems that are more suitable for them. Of course, in our overall education system, there are common characteristics.
From my personal experience of working in China, an education system should pay attention to all the students. As a nation, we cannot rely on a few elites. All the people in a society need to feel that they are helping that society. Government must ensure all people have a good education. This is very important to the Chinese people. My experience in other countries, even in poor countries, is that you can find good schools, but only for elites.
Do you believe Chinese standardized tests measure the broad range of your students’ skills?
We have a long history of testing in China. In Old China and perhaps even now, we still have the tradition that we select the best students from testing. But testing is only one way. It comes at the end of education. If we want to build a good system, we cannot only rely on testing at the end of learning. Testing implies that the student has finished the educational system. The most important thing is not just to see the testing results, but to pay close attention to the educational process. The process of education is much more important than the testing.
Are there other capabilities that we should also be evaluating?
Testing is an oversimplified way to check educational results. Education is not just about knowledge. It is also the process of socialization of the individual. There are other important elements such as social responsibility, personal potential in arts and the fine arts, how a student handles himself in relationships with other people, how students handle their work. Those kinds of skills and capacities are very important, sometimes even more important than subject testing. In the PISA test in reading, science, and math, Shanghai students did very well. PISA did not have the tests in the arts or in creative thinking. I have told my colleagues in Shanghai that if our students had been tested in personal potentials and critical thinking, perhaps we would not have done as well. In the next round of PISA testing, they have a new dimension called problem solving. It’s possible that Shanghai students will not do as well as they did in Math and Science.
From a larger perspective, does China’s definition of educational excellence take into account the quality of life of individuals and society?
In the Chinese culture, we have two kinds of perspectives on educational excellence. One is that students should learn more knowledge and skills. In China, because of our heritage and our history, we have always said before you can be happy you must be educated. Learning is the bridge to what you want to do in your future. If our nation had no constructors, no leaders, no people who serve the country, or serve the family, how can we have a bright future? But now we also try to pay attention to happiness in the learning process. We want to help our children not just to learn for the future, but to also enjoy the process of learning. This is our challenge, but we will try hard to find the way forward.
As competition in education accelerates, are we risking the emotional well being of our students in face of increased academic pressure?
After the PISA results, we wondered if we could lessen the learning burden of the students. In China, historically we have encouraged students to work hard and even struggle in their learning, but we do not want students to suffer because of education. We talk about not trying to learn all knowledge today. In the future there will be more knowledge. So the most important thing is not our students’ learning achievements today, but is to cultivate our students to have active learning attitudes. High School should not be the most important time. Of course, they are important years, but it is more important to keep students’ interest in learning so that they continue to learn by themselves.
World Wisdom from China
Different kinds of education systems are needed for different cultures, economic situations, and social history, among countries and within countries. Education systems should pay attention to all the students, not just the elites. A nation cannot just rely on its elites; all people in a society need to feel they are contributing.
The process of education is much more important than the end point testing. Such testing implies that students have finished learning. Educational excellence is about knowledge and skill, but it is also about the socialization of the individual; it is about cultivating students to have active learning interests for the rest of their lives; it is about strong cultural support for education.
In The Global Search for Education, join C.M. Rubin and globally renowned thought leaders including Sir Michael Barber (UK), Dr. Leon Botstein (US), Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond (US), Dr. Madhav Chavan (India), Professor Michael Fullan (Canada), Professor Howard Gardner (US), Professor Yvonne Hellman (The Netherlands), Professor Kristin Helstad (Norway), Professor Rose Hipkins (New Zealand), Professor Cornelia Hoogland (Canada), Mme. Chantal Kaufmann (Belgium), Professor Dominique Lafontaine (Belgium), Professor Hugh Lauder (UK), Professor Ben Levin (Canada), Professor Barry McGaw (Australia), Sridhar Rajagopalan (India), Sir Ken Robinson (UK), Professor Pasi Sahlberg (Finland), Andreas Schleicher (PISA, OECD), Dr. David Shaffer (US), Chancellor Stephen Spahn (US), Yves Theze (Lycee Francais US), Professor Charles Ungerleider (Canada), Professor Tony Wagner (US), Professor Dylan Wiliam (UK), Professor Theo Wubbels (The Netherlands), and Professor Michael Young (UK) as they explore the big picture education questions that all nations face today.
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Professor Zhang and C. M. Rubin
C.M. Rubin has more than two decades of professional experience in development, marketing, and art direction for a diverse range of media businesses. She is also the author of three bestselling books, including The Real Alice In Wonderland.
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