Fall 1998
Vol 7 Issue 1
IN THIS ISSUE...
Signposts for the New Millennium
Year 2000: Same, but Different
Chinese Higher Education, In My Eyes
Fibber McGee's Closet: Peeking Around the Corner into the Next Millennium
SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction
Chinese Higher Education, In My Eyes
Yang Xu Hin, Wuyi University, China
Note: Due to the unique perspective of the author, this article has not been edited for grammar and is presented in its full length as written by the author.
Abstract
This paper analyzed problems currently existing within Chinese higher education system, and presents suggestion on how to resolve them. It also recommends three principles to be included in an ideal higher education system. Those principles are--morality, mentality and basic and specialization competency. The content of this paper will be beneficial to academicians from all the countries.
Introduction
Let me begin by saying that the content of this paper does not reflect any official comments from my institution or government regarding the development of Chinese higher education system. Although I am not an official in charge of Chinese education, I was a student under this system. Furthermore, I was born in a teacher's family, and studied under this system. Currently, I am employed in the Chinese higher education system as a teacher in a university. Therefore, I feel I have much experience to share regarding the subject. Spontaneously, I have much of my opinions on Chinese higher education and have strong feeling in expressing my opinion. So, at this conference, first of all, I would like to thanks you for the opportunity to express my opinions and perhaps to take my hope and someday make it a reality. Detailed information cannot be provided due to the limitation of the length of the article.
Review Chinese Higher Education
In December 1977, Chinese government recorded the examination for higher education which marked the Chinese education system reformation from the "Great Cultural Revolution" and ended "the recommended systems for entrance of higher education." As a social consequence, all students were so encouraged to follow this policy that they began to understand that the fortune was no longer left to tender mercy of officials at various levels, but depended on the efforts of one's knowledge, and students began to make much effort in an all-time concentration of learning. We should be aware that was a great achievement in the development of Chinese higher education and it was a positive movement to expedite the science and technology in China. This also is fundamental for the current Chinese higher education.
Current Chinese Higher Education
Now, Chinese higher education systems, which were established since the reform in 1977, have been carried out, and have been developed for more than 20 years. When we review and meditate up on this system, we can find out some negative phenomenon. Under this system, there were so many compulsory subjects that they forced all students to develop at a same pace. Therefore, it was impossible to groom the student individually, which is inevitable to train higher level talent. At the beginning of 1990s, Chines higher education gradually introduced the credit system, in which, students can select some subjects upon their own interest.
However, the following questions remain in the current Chinese higher education:
Problem 1: The specialization is so detailed that the student can not acquire an adequate background knowledge beyond their specialization field. Take the accounting as an example. In China higher education, most of universities eager for quick success and instant benefit, focuses on the so-called hot specialization and demotes the background and universal knowledge. Therefore, there are specializations of commerce accounting, manufacture accounting, banking accounting, construction accounting, tour accounting, hotel accounting, and so on. We can not imagine how to teach student in just one specialization for four years. I advocate that students become versatile and erudite, especially in the today's market economical environment, in which, everyone's job is precarious and even more each job need the versatile talents. Without the versatile and erudite, our students can not fund their new job conveniently and do the job well.
Problem 2: Distorted concept of result from scientific researching and distorted concept of talent person. In China, most higher education institutions must undertake some scientific researching programs. However, for the scientific researching in Chinese higher education system, it is difficulty to combine scientific researching results with social practice especially in economics and accounting. Under this scientific researching system, the most scientific researching result that can be easily recognized by various officials is only the published paper. A person who has the ability to do something practically can not be regarded as a talented person. While a person who has published papers can be easily regarded as talented, while the published paper is only the symbol of talent capacity. As a result, so many papers are in a bid for publication, some people pay money for publication, but few ideas can be introduce into practice, especially in economics and accounting. In Chinese higher education, so many teachers scramble for engages in a so-called scientific researching project, by which they can acquire more money from the government to be profuse in their living affairs and then present a non-pragmatic paper perfunctorily to the superiors after accomplishing such scientific researching. Under this system, there are many so-called scientific researchers undertaking such so-called scientific research which are divorced from reality and are plagiarized blindly, As Chinese saying goes "all scholars are in one family, you plagiarize from me , and I plagiarize from him her." In most case, there are many person who can gain an award in scientific researching but few people can solve the practice problem, I believe that the published papers. in most cases, only indicate putting forward the author's opinions or ideas, which means the beginning of the so-called scientific research, not the result of it.
Problem 3: So many subjects were designed form the view of current circumstances rather than considered useful for the future. In Chinese higher education institutions, there are many tedious subjects that required students to learn, and the student are so reluctant t to learn that they only cram. Take my experience as an example. When I was in a primary school, I began to cram Chairman Mao's quotations. when I was in middle school, I was forced to criticize Lin Bial (the second highest leader in china during 1966-1971) and the Confucianism. even when I was in higher education I still was involved in criticizing of "the Gang of four" (that mean Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, Jiang Qing and Yao Wenyean, all of them were the leader of the party and country in china before 1976) and learned the Marx's work "On the capital," which is a compulsory course for higher education students who major in economics and Lenin and Starling's works. In 1995, when I studied in abroad, I reviewed what knowledge is learned from the learning by myself, and most of my literate and numerate knowledge were acquired from my family education I strongly felt that I had learned nothing from the Chinese education system, except gained some diplomas. What tragic! This tragedy is in some extent influencing current education system although it has passed.
Problem 4: There are so much trash in the textbook of some specialization subjects, especially in accounting. as accounting teacher in Wuyi University , first, I should show you one of such trash in Chinese accounting textbooks. In the textbook of accounting principal, which is for the university student, it says:
"When you record the books you should use a blue of black pen, and the records must be in the order of date, one by one, and line by line to record all transaction, and the number figures you write should occupy the two-third of a box and transaction, and the number figures you write should occupy the two-third of a box and should be in italic.......The description of each transaction should be written in standard Chinese characters, moreover would be in a simplest and clear way. You should record it in earnest. Nonetheless do not ignore recording any on transaction and do not record any one transaction twice, and after recording you should make an asterisk on the voucher and then...."
(Accounting principle, Designated textbook for Xiamn university, edited by Ge Jiashu, general editor, page 108-112, and 118-120. Liaoning people's publish house 1996 edition)
How tedious and how verbose it is! The author might further write as "you should record books with you right hand rather than your left hand." Should such tedious sentence appear in he textbook for university students. How can I honesty teach my students from such a textbook? I always complain that I am not teaching a primary pupil, but I am teaching a university student. I think such a textbook is aimed to perplex students rather than to help students understand accounting principal, and the authors of such a textbooks always explicate via verbose style rather a simple and clear sentence. The purpose of such author is to make the student worship the author rather to introduce knowledge, or the authors want to earn more money from writing the verbose textbooks. the ironic matter is that most of the textbooks are written by some well-known professors. Take the above as example, the general editor, is the vice-chairman of All China accounting association, the professor of student who work for the doctor degree.
Problem 5: In Chinese higher education, teachers always introduce the obsolete knowledge to their students. What should we teach our student? Every teacher must face this question. With the Chinese traditional view, teachers always are regarded as persons who can introduce the ancestor's experience. However, in the contemporary world, this view has face a challenge. Now, it is more important that a teacher can introduce the development and future of technology and science compared with introducing the ancestor's experience. Also let me take Chinese accouter education in the university as an example. In Chinese accounting education, teachers always spend much time in introducing how to record transactions into the books and somewhat books would be record. Furthermore how to transfer one transaction recording from one book into another and so, I believe such knowledge is so obsolescent that it has gradually been dispensed by computer. Why aren't our teacher focus on how to combine accounting with the computer, and how to develop accounting software for the computer? It is current knowledge. Our teacher need be taught first.
Problem 6: So many examination are with characteristics of lottery. When the Test of English as a foreign Language (TOFL) was introduced into China, most of all the subjects in Chinese high education, gradually adopted the TOFL examination style that contained only three or four question styles, such as: 1) Multiple choice question, 2) Filling in blanks, 3) False and truth, 4) Answer in main point, More over now in China, most teacher regard the question style of TOFL is a standard of examination and if any examination style is not like it, the style would be regard as a violation of some what rules of offense. I argued that, in the style of TOFL questions. every one question can only test student's knowledge from only one point, not test from a view in an entire area, and it also lacks of the connection between the different knowledge points, It somewhat likes painting, The TOFL, style question only can concentrate on how to paint an eye of a nose, it can not think about the relation between the eyes and nose, further more, how to coordinate with other, Inmost subjects it is necessary to require student thinking about the linkage of knowledge points. One point result from one question would be a condition for another question. Question, in the style of TOFL, is not the best way to test this knowledge . Of course, I believe this examination style is suitable for some literate subjects. Nevertheless, if all subjects of application of some computer software? For instance, such question in the examination of application of Windows computer software would be like:
Before you type words in the writer of the windows and in the menu of edit, which of the following items is unavailable?
- Copy
- Links
- Insert object
- Object
Such a question is easy to understand when the student uses the software but it would be very difficult to remember. As a result of this examination style, a student, who can use the computer well, can not be sure to get higher marks in this examination. While, a student, who got higher marks in the examination, can not be sure to use the computer well. Furthermore, such questions would further be like: when you are studying a literature, while the examine question would be about the publish date of the literature or the author's birth day. When you are studying Chinese accounting, while the examine question would be about the date when the Chinese certified public accountant association set up, Who is chairman of it, How many branches does it have, and when was the branch set up, and so on. I think even a student can remember it but it is not worthy for practice to do so. All of these are caviling questions utterly. For such caviling question, even the highest professor can not answer correctly and entirely, how can it be expected of our students? Unfortunately, such caviling questions, now, have increasingly predominated in Chinese higher examination. Students always complained about the lottery, ----the winner in the examination would be like, in some extent, the winner in a lottery. In China, it is more common that even the most mediocre teacher is able to fabricate such caviling questions from their tedious and verbose textbooks for such lottery style examinations. However, I argued that the lottery style examination can not select out talented persons for the workforce.
As a consequence, students in Chinese higher education must spend much time and efforts to cram such trashes only for the diploma and the academic degree, which is only issued from the Chinese higher education. Therefore, the student's study in higher education only perfunctonly. A Student complained: "We had to cram what maybe not useful in my all life but only for diploma." (a student's letter. "Beijing evening newspapers" 3 April 1998). On one hand, most students are only concerned what is with in the examination when they studied for it. Passing the lottery examination is the only purpose of their study and learning. We call this a test-oriented learning method. Therefore, there are so many students who make tricks in such lottery examinations regardless of discipline. Under this method, the student's background knowledge is so narrow that they can not be convenient or competent in the practice. On another hand, most subjects are still taught in the traditional Chinese way -- the teacher does all the talking and writing on the blackboard and the students write down what the teacher says and copies from the blackboard. Furthermore, teachers always teach what the textbook says, and then give the students the test context that contains the test question, so the student can only cram up the context to get high marks in the lottery examinations.
Of course, we should be aware that the Chinese higher education has its strong points, such as strict management system of students eligibility, students are more disciplinarian and respect their teachers and the teacher love their students, and so on. However, in order to focus the discussion in this paper, I would not present details of such strong point.
How to improve Chinese Higher Education
It would be extensive and important question for China. Since china open up, each Chinese leader, all of them are very solicitude about it. However, in 1989, the late Chinese senior leader Deng Xiaoping was not satisfied with the Chinese Higher Education still, and he said "the biggest failure is in education during the past 10 years since China open up." (Deng Xiaoping on Education, page 207, People's education publish press) In my opinion, the measurement to improve the Chinese Higher Education (HE) would be following:
1. Open Chinese HE
I dare say that the best way to improve the Chinese HE is opening it to the world. Open Chinese HE means introducing the competitiveness into Chinese HE through inviting foreign teachers into Chinese universities and sending Chinese teachers to the Western countries to update their knowledge. Currently, most Chinese universities actually employ some foreign teachers, but most of them are in foreign language, which is not enough to improve Chinese HE. It is necessary to expand the academic field to employ the foreign teachers. Let Chinese teachers have a competition with their foreign counterparts. For this sake, I have employed a foreigner, who retired from UN, as a teacher in our department. He would be the first foreign teacher engaged in Non-foreign language subjects in our university. Furthermore, I will invite more foreign teacher to our department and I hope I can be post-graduate student or a visiting scholar of these universities reciprocally.
2. Abolish designated textbook
Designated textbook means that examination is within the textbook even it is so tedious and verbose. Also the designated textbook is a monopoly in education that leads students to read only one book, and that is the direct cause of problem 4.5 and 6 above. If we abolish the designated textbooks, we can expedite the development of the knowledge and students absorb it without limits. Let students select suitable textbooks and learn from their selection.
3. Enrich the teaching style
Without a designated textbook, students can acquire a variety of academic opinions in one subject. Some of them maybe correct and some maybe error. It is the teacher's duty to help students to identify it. In this case, teachers should let students put forward various ideas about the subjects to discussion and put forward the argument for and the argument against. Through the discussion, students also can increase their learning. Also, I advocate the individual teaching for university students, and a better teaching style should concentrate on how to teach students to do rather than to write.
4. Enrich the examine styles and abolish any forms of lottery in various examinations
I advocate that the examine style can not be limited in only one, we should adopt various examine styles according to different characteristics of subjects, and prevent it from any of lottery. I believed that a perfect style of examination can examine the student how much they
really have understood rather than how much they have crammed.
5. Bestow award forward to the person who can solve a practice problem
In Chinese High Education, it is necessary to renew the definition of the talented person and to renew the definition of the scientific researching result. I persist that the talented person is who can do something prominently rather one who only can say and write prominently. Currently, in China there are many so called "talented persons" who are so mediocre and can not show their prominence both in doing and writing, except their higher status. These so-called talents are only the ornament for the employers. In China, there are so many students who want to be a such ornament through the lottery examination, that is why so many students make tricks in the examinations regardless of discipline. Furthermore, all teachers scramble for being such ornament through publishing paper but few teachers put much attention to the practice. So, in order to reverse this situation, it is necessary to establish an award for the person who can actually solve a practice problem, which come from social practice instead from superior official scheme.
Conclusion
In my opinion, the ideal model of higher education should contain following:
- training student the capacity of morality,
- make the learner have a good mentality,
- and improve student's intelligence.
Explain as following:
1) Morality, that might contain the integrity and responsibility, these characteristics are most important for a person living in modern society.
Integrity, in most cases, we are usually dependent on the laws to keep the social order, but in modern society, science and technology is updated rapidly and the laws always are obsolete and not current. Take the computer knowledge as an instance, serious computer criminal activities infiltrate the Internet but there is no low to restrict infiltration entirely and effectively. If this is a case we need the integrity to keep the Internet in order. Although, it is not being trusted entirely. In modern society, we should groom the student with responsibility for what he or she has done. The morality may vary dependent upon the different countries. In China, we persist on promoting the contributory altruism and self-sacrificed spirit and demoting the hedonism and selfish.
2) Mentalities, that would contain patience, the ability to coexist and cooperation with others and the ability to be humble.
Patience, we can say that modern society is filled with competitiveness. Living in this society, success is not usual, while life is always filled with failure, or dilemma, or adversity. It is easy for everyone can enjoy their success with pleasure, but patience is more important than the pleasure for a person in struggle. As being a teacher, we should let students better
understand this term.
The ability of coexistence and cooperation with others, it is inevitable and indispensable for the student's career. Students may face various persons with different characteristics in their careers. So students should learn how to coexist and cooperate with such persons.
The ability of being humble, that would be a special characteristic for China students. In line with Chinese tradition, the youths are always obedient to the old. It is a saying that goes "pay more respect to the old." So, imperious, arrogant or naughty students can not be accepted by the old who always decide the fortune for the students. Therefore, the ability of being humble, or even fawn would be a matter of success for Chinese students.
Both 1 and 2 is very important of Chinese HE for the sake of the only-children growing.
3) Intelligence, I think their would include basic and specialization competency. In the basic competence, we should train students to improve their literate, numerate ability, and the ability in analysis and solution of problems. Moreover, the ability in remember for a long time and understand quickly. In the specialization competency, we should train students to enhance the professional skills and understand the development in the specialization field, and update the knowledge in the field frequently. That would require their teacher to update first rather than teach students with what the teacher has learned when the teacher was a student.
Currently the Chinese government is beginning to accentuate the improvement of higher education. The new elected premier Zhu Rongii proposes to buildup the national economy through Scientific education, and Zhou Yuanqing, the vice minister of education stressed the higher education reform at the National education work meeting which was held in Wuham at the end of march of this year. He said that the reform will be including:
- Improve the higher education reform and setup some comprehensive higher education college
- Adjust the specialization according to the social practice and encourage the university to setup specialization
- Improve the pedagogy
We are looking forward to a better result of the higher education reform, and hope the Chinese higher education becomes increasingly pragmatic.
I present the above information to encourage us to struggle to enhance the quality of higher education together. Higher education is a cosmopolitan strategy for the future of human being, not a tool of a government. Better higher education must bring the prosperity in the future.
Effort may be the same but success would be in different way, because effort is a kind of charge and success is a kind of feeling.
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