6 days in Guangdong Province - school visits

Interesting talks with teachers

Burnaby School Board delegation

The last week in Guangdong has included visits to ten schools, 5 bureaus of Education, one university and the Director of Education for the Province.  It was a unique window into the heart of Chinese schools as they are in 2015 (at least in Guangdong Province) – huge, modern and impressive.  The schools we visited were in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhuhai and Zhongshan.

Foshan - huge and modern

I’ll give some general impressions and then some specifics with reference to my photos.  There is a wide variety of types of school including public and private, International schools, language schools and experimental schools.  They are divided into primary, middle schools and High schools which are sometimes together in one complex.  School architecture varies wildly, much more than in the West, but the most dramatic difference is in numbers – anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 students in a school.  Most schools include some percentage of boarders who occupy dormitories with perhaps six students to a room.       Classes average around 40 – 50 students; although

Vocational school in Zhuhai

one experimental private school had classes of 24.  Most classrooms seem designed for 48.  The desks are packed in, so there is very little possibility of varying the seating.  None of the school buildings we saw looked old; some were very modern.  In Zhongshan we went from a brand new school (right next to a Walmart) to one with a proud 90 year history.

The core of the teacher/student relationship

Principals were very welcoming and, of course, very proud of their schools.  Usually we were met by administrators accompanied by an English language teacher for translation. There was only one school where we were welcomed by students.  Some of the administrators seemed quite oblivious to the presence or absence of students.  Many of the students, on the other hand, looked at us with great curiosity.  If we showed any openness they were very friendly, happy and keen to pose for photos.  Chinese schools have tight security, but once you are in there are no restrictions regarding taking photos.

Plenty of 'state of the art' computers

Traditional school in Zhongshan

Our meeting with the director of Education for the Province clarified how Chinese education is organized.  Funding comes from the central government in Beijing with contributions at the Provincial and Municipal levels.  The numbers are so huge that is hard to imagine.  The Director used certain words many times that were translated as 'co-ordinating'. Everything has to be in line with the requirements from Beijing.  Within that context they allow an extraordinary amount of internationalism, particularly in high functioning schools.  The sheer size of the school budget facilitates the design of impressive buildings and the purchase of sophisticated equipment.

We have much to share with them about how to individualize learning and promote higher level thinking.  A teacher with a class of 50 cannot spend much time encouraging students to question everything.  Also, they do not have a tradition of recognizing and supporting students with special needs.  In other areas (vocational training is a clear example) we have much to learn from them.  Between East and West there are many barriers imposed by geography, by language and by history.  However, it was exciting to learn that in our concern for the development of the children, our enthusiasm for improving the profession of teaching and our frustration with budgetary restraints we all share the same world.