If you flip through the pages of an expat magazine this month, you’ll see 17 international schools advertised in its classifieds section. The languages of instruction are diverse, from English-speaking schools (US, Canada, UK, Australia) to French and Japanese. Other sections include advertisements for overseas study agencies and training schools – its clear education in China is big business.

With so many different types of schools to choose from, foreign parents often send their children to international schools due to the structure of China’s current educational system: big classes, rote memorization, too many standardized tests and lots of homework. In a competitive world, landing that dream job means receiving the best education right off the bat. For Chinese parents who can afford higher tuition fees there is often the question of paying for International schools now, or waiting and sending their children abroad for university. But what do international schools in China have that the public schools don’t? Does attending an international school guarantee success?

Source: Editor B

Why do Chinese parents want to send their kids to international schools?

Many Chinese parents think back on their school days as an endless memorization of facts from subjects that included Chinese, mathematics, music, and maybe some English lessons taught by locals. But with the rise in incomes, both parents working, and the birth of the ‘nouveau riche,’ many Chinese families don’t have to send their kids to public school now. For many, International schools conjure up an image of smaller groups, better relationships with teachers and bigger facilities with the latest high-tech gadgets like brand name computers and wifi-access in all classrooms. It is assumed that international schools will better prepare students for the future of tomorrow.

Peggie Yang is one of those parents who decided to send her two sons to Clifford International School. She lives in a ‘Bel Air’ style neighborhood of Guangzhou and every morning drives her two sons to Clifford School because of its unique bilingual educational system. Her eldest son, Mathew, is in grade 3, goes to school everyday and has soccer practice on Saturday mornings. It would appear that he has less homework, but he is struggling with the amount of English homework and so he and his younger brother, Henry, receive private English tutoring at home, in addition to school.

What are the differences between international and public schools?

Browsing through the websites of many of China’s international schools, their curricula clearly dictate their methods of teaching and their philosophies behind them. Beginning with smaller groups (a teacher student ratio of 1:16), they believe in the importance of the teacher-student relationships. Compared to a public school, where on average, groups hover at around 45 students per teacher. Due to the sheer size of a class, hierarchies have been set-up where teachers appoint the best students with leadership roles, whether it is overseeing the cleanliness of the classroom or inspecting the tidiness of the schoolyard.

At international schools, work is more focused on communication skills. Chinese students are encouraged to mingle with their foreign teachers and classmates, creating a cosmopolitan world inside the school grounds. For international middle- and high schools, students are exposed to the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and university preparation examinations like SATs and A levels. This focus on foreign curricula provides an edge to those wanting to study overseas, as they will much better equipped to deal with the challenges faced at foreign universities.

At public schools, they do provide the basic facilities for their students to succeed, like a gym, a music room, a library and a computer room. But in order for their students to get into a top-tier university, choosing the ‘right’ public school is crucial. Chinese parents with lower socio-economic background would send their children to an out-of-province school just so that they have a better chance of getting into a good university. The hierarchy of the quality of schools in each district differs. Credits are given to schools where students receive the most awards in respect to other public schools in a city and the best schools are determined by their students’ success rates in the infamous ‘gaokao’ held once a year.

In terms of foreign teachers, International schools do have the edge of paper, while some public schools can have great teachers, International schools are more likely to hire foreign teachers that have taught outside of China, are better qualified and have been trained in international curricula. This diverse learning environment is beneficial to many Chinese students who might not have the same exposure at a public school. Moreover, there is a greater emphasis on cultural knowledge at International schools, and students are better able to hone their critical thinking and social skills. Local children are also expose to Western norms and etiquette which they wouldn’t encounter at public schools, which will help if they head abroad later. .

International schools are not always the answer

Countries like the United States, Canada and Britain are the big names in this competitive business. Established in 1981, the American International School of Guangzhou, for example, is the oldest international school in southern China. But to get their expertise is going to cost you. For students between kindergarten and grade 5, the tuition fee alone for one semester is upwards of 71,000 RMB (11, 450 USD). The Shanghai American International School is even more expensive at 94,000 RMB (15,427 USD) for the same age group. In most international schools, there are also add on fees for meal-plans, boarding school costs, uniforms and other extra-curricular activities.

International schools can also give children instability. Bonita Lee sent her eldest son, Tony, to an international kindergarten school when he was four years old so that he could be exposed to English native speakers. But according to Bonita, it was a bittersweet experience for Tony since his school had a high turnover rate of foreign teachers. This could be due to salaries being lower compared to other recognized international schools. But whatever the reason, Lee said the learning environment created instability because students had to constantly re-acquaint themselves with their new teachers. Tony is now in grade 1 and attends a public school where teacher retention rate is more stable, Bonita said.

The learning curve - Perspective of those who made it abroad

In an email interview, Amber Liu said she went to public schools throughout her life in China. She worked hard to enter a first-tier government-run university where she could receive better medical coverage and is now living in Chicago, USA as a search engine optimization and social media specialist,.

Growing up, Liu had wished that the Chinese educational system had less homework and that she was more inspired by her teachers to think more critically rather than rote memorizing. Masters degree student Monique Kwok, who is now studying at Henley Business School in Reading, England, expresses the same sentiment. These days, writing essays is a challenge and she wishes her high school in China had better trained her critical thinking skills. When asked what schooling they would have preferred Liu said she still prefers public schools because international schools in China couldn’t be compared to the ‘real school’ in the United States whereas Kwok said she would’ve preferred to study overseas if given the chance.

However, despite studying abroad, Kwok remains pessimistic about future job opportunities, “After my four years [studying in university in China], I didn’t have any meaningful experience. Everyone just pushed me to go and find an ‘appropriate’ job, but it means nothing. But actually, it did not change anything even after moving to England. I still need to face this issue after I get back to China.”

Can public schools adjust?

Last August, the Chinese education ministry reformed its school curriculum by reducing standardized tests, homework and tracking in the hopes of reducing stress for students and improving the very areas of learning that Liu and Kwok say they lacked. The reforms for example, encouraged more trips to museums and hands-on activities. While this indicates that the education ministry is moving away from its devotion to rote memorization, these reforms left many parents unsatisfied with the school system, who went out and bought activity books as extra ‘homework’ for their children. For Tony, alongside his school homework and piano lessons, his mother asks him to complete extra math worksheets after school on top of his two extra English lessons a week.

Warning：The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: best schools in China China’s international schools International schools in China