Sleeping giant: Chinese teacher education system past, present and future (I)

Hongzhuan Song

Hongzhuan Song is PhD and President, International Council for Education Development (USA), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how well Chinese teacher education positions itself in preparing qualied teachers for its vast k-12 education system, especially in the transition from examination-oriented to that of future-oriented education. Design/methodology/approach This paper looks at literature discussing background, strengths and weakness of current Chinese teacher training programs. It also employs the Delphi-based scenario research method to explore plausible futures of curriculum design for teacher education. Findings The paper nds that, in order to ensure its astonishing economic development and present itself as a constructive force to the world betterment, it is crucial for China to carry on its ongoing educational reform, especially in the area of curriculum for its teacher training programs. It also concludes that the disciplinary curriculum currently employed in Chinese teacher education should be shifted to the trans-disciplinary curriculum to produce future-oriented and internationally-prepared graduates the country demands in its effort to play an important role on the international stage. Originality/value This research, while meriting the structured instruction displayed by the Chinese education system, argues that the system should strive to provide students with such skills as creativity, exibility, initiative, leadership, all necessary in the globally connected future world. The second part of this paper will focus on four scenarios as a result of his recent research among Chinese educators and administrators. Keywords Curriculum development, Teachers, Education, Education policy, China Paper type Research paper

Introduction
China claims to have teacher training programs which provide approximately 11 million teachers for the world largest k-12 education system (Song, 2007). To some extent, to know how sustainable Chinas astonishing economic growth will become depends on how well its vast teacher education system will position itself in providing the much needed contingent of qualied teachers for the future demands. It is essential, however, to briey describe how the practices and policies of teacher education in China came into being. Therefore, this section of the paper intends to give readers some background information about the Chinese teacher education system, to be followed by a discussion of how it prepares to address the increasing challenges from the greater society. Two types of teacher training systems Traditionally, teachers of elementary and secondary schools in China are trained through two main types of institutions at three levels: pre-service and in-service teacher training at the four-year college level, at the two to three year junior college level and at the secondary level of teacher training institutes. Pre-service training institutes are normally full-time educational institutes to provide the education that beginning teachers need in order to enter into the teaching profession. In

DOI 10.1108/10748120810901431

VOL. 16 NO. 3 2008, pp. 137-142, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1074-8121

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addition, each level of government from county level to provincial level has formed an in-service teacher training system along the following manner: the provincial level provides training for teachers from senior high schools; the prefecture level trains teachers from junior high schools, and the county level focuses on training teachers from elementary schools (Guo, 2002). According to the Ministry of Education (Guo, 2002), every year four years colleges are capable of producing approximately 51,000 graduates, while two- and three-year junior colleges and secondary teacher training schools produce approximately 139,000 and 277,000 graduates respectively. With an increasing demand for qualied teachers, the national government is trying to upgrade the level of teacher training institutes from secondary level or junior college level to four-year college level. In addition, in recent years some comprehensive universities have been encouraged to undertake the responsibilities of training teachers (Guo, 2002). By the end of year of 2003, the number of secondary teacher training institutes was cut down to 500 from 892 in 1997. Curriculum structure Overall, the curriculum structure for the teacher training schools, especially those pre-service training schools, consists of three main components: 1. general education courses which offer a series of classes to equip students with comprehensive training in political/ideological (including civic) issues, foreign languages, physical education and computer science; 2. subject matter courses which provide a wide range of classes within the academic areas in which the student teachers are enrolled (e.g. English, Physics, Chemistry, or History, etc.); and 3. educational/pedagogical courses which offer classes to help student teachers with training in such areas as pedagogy, psychology, and subject matter content teaching methodology, etc. On the average, the percentage of teaching hours for general education courses, subject matter courses, and educational theory courses is usually 21 percent, 72 percent and 7 percent respectively. Similarly, the in-service training schools place a heavy emphasis on courses in the subject matter areas which account for 50 percent of the total teaching hours, whereas general education courses account for 10 percent, pedagogy/psychology and practicum takes 35 percent and professional development offers 5 percent of the total instruction hours (Guo, 2002). Specialization In teacher training institutes, once an applicant is accepted into the training program, s/he is enrolled directly into a particular program/major (e.g. Chinese, English, mathematics, etc.). As a result, the curriculum is normally designed on the basis of disciplinary specialization. In other words, each major/program has its own academic department with a specic area focus that turns out to be a closed system. Curriculum for an individual major is normally designed in such a manner that enables each teaching unit (e.g. department or program) to undertake the instruction and assessment of all courses necessary for students to complete their programs. Exceptions to this practice are the general education courses and pedagogical courses that are delivered by faculties from other departments. Destiny of student teachers Graduates from Chinese teacher training institutes are assigned to schools, most of which are elementary and secondary schools, although the graduates must now nd teaching positions on their own initiative. In these positions, they are assigned to teach the subject matter area in which they majored during their formal training. In other words, chances are that most of these newly appointed graduates will teach the subject for the rest of their lives unless they choose to change their profession, or leave education entirely. Still, since China is well known for its examination system throughout all levels of its education system, these

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student teachers are expected to be experts in their subject matter to ensure that their students have the opportunity to perform better on tests at all different levels. This is true of teachers for all grades from one to 12. Strength and weakness of Chinese current curriculum system Until recently the current curriculum system of teacher education in China has done fairly well in providing educators for schools and in meeting demands from pre-information age development which itself was based on the development of various disciplines. Generally speaking, even though not better off nancially, Chinese teachers are commended for taking their profession very seriously and, therefore, are often praised for their dedication to what they are doing. Also, it is not uncommon to see most of the Chinese teachers stay in the teaching profession for more than ten years and even for life. Actually, the Chinese basic education system is well known in the world for its quality in producing students who display themselves marvelously well in several international knowledge competitions. Elementary and secondary students are often reported to have a solid knowledge foundation in most of the disciplinary areas, especially mathematics, physics and chemistry. It is undeniable that teacher education institutions have played a very important role in helping sustain the largest basic education system in the world. Also, many Chinese students who do their graduate studies in other countries are more often than not praised for their previous solid academic training. It is for this very same reason, however, that scholars and educational reform advocates (Cui, 2003; Guo, 2002; Li and Chen, 2002) believe that we should hold under careful scrutiny the current curriculum system employed throughout teacher training programs in China. The following is a discussion about the challenges being faced by the curriculum system. Although graduates from teacher training programs feel fairly competent at teaching for tests, they are facing increasing challenges from ever-faster changes taking place both inside and outside the classroom. The old mode of curriculum leaves the future teachers unprepared for these changes in the following four aspects: 1. change of learners; 2. improved educational technology at school; 3. change of demands from employers; 4. societys intensive concern about national and global issues like responsible citizenry, etc.; and 5. the interconnectedness or globalization of the nations economic, social and political life with other parts of the world. First, students at elementary and secondary schools are very different from those of even a couple of decades ago. Unlike their parents, todays students at elementary and secondary schools are much more inuenced by the external factors, whether positive or negative. These inuences in large part are characterized by the increasing interconnectedness due to the popularization of information technology (e.g. computer, cell phone, e-mail, MP3, iPod, digital dictionary, etc.). Schools are no longer the only source of knowledge. In fact, before and after class, students can nd many other ways to have their assignments done apart from the instructions given by their teachers. In this case, it is not uncommon that students feel bored of or even develop a strong resentment toward classroom instructions if teachers or other educators in school are not prepared to make the learning activities more closely related to what learners are interested in or to their previous knowledge/experiences, and/or to their immediate needs in their own lives. Second, these changes are also reected in the improved educational technology available at schools. Thanks to the rapid development of information technology, more and more elementary and secondary schools in China are equipped with advanced educational technology, including computers and internet services. Evidently, this accessibility of high technology by students makes it possible and even inevitable to have interdisciplinary

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inquiries (Guo, 2002). Thus, it becomes impossible that a disciplinary-based training curriculum alone can continue to assume the responsibilities of the present educational enterprise. Third, with its steady economic development and its entry into WTO, Chinas economy is becoming more and more interdependent with other parts of the world. With rapid developments in science and technology, the nature of occupations in the world of work is under frequent change. As a result, employers in China adjust their hiring criteria; instead of hiring people merely with a rm mastery of knowledge accumulated from the textbooks, employers nowadays are looking for potential employees full of creativity and originality, that is, with skills of creative thinking, problem solving, and decision making (Li and Chen, 2002). As some scholar argues, an information-accumulating mode of education does not work for the fast-changing world like ours. What educators need to do now, as he points out, is to develop in students the qualities described above and the ability to learn. Once people acquire the ability to learn, they will develop an attitude of lifelong learning, which will enable them to keep up with the development of the society. Unfortunately, these qualities can hardly be produced by the current compartmentalized curriculum system that is characterized by its negligence of integration and interaction of different sources of knowledge. Fourth, other societal concerns inevitably have impacts on the curriculum design of teacher education as well. These concerns include development in students of responsible citizenship, in terms of citizens both of a nation and of the mankind as a whole. Citizenship education is an important task in all contemporary societies (Cogan, 1997). Unfortunately, the current curriculum seems to make little effort to encourage a healthy development of citizenship which consists of ve attributes: 1) a sense of identity, 2) the enjoyment of certain rights, 3) the fulllment of corresponding obligations, 4) a degree of interest and involvement in public affairs, and 5) an acceptance of basic societal values (Cogan, 1997, p. 4). Finally, as the world is getting more and more interconnected, international education plays a very important role in helping students succeed as citizens and in their professions. It is regarded essential that todays students be internationally prepared with international knowledge, strong training in languages, and deeper cultural understanding. Obviously, among many others, lack of international education constitutes one of the greatest challenges faced by schools in China (Chen, 2002). Living in a world where globalization is at full speed while there exist sharp conicts between cultures and religions, responsible citizens should adopt peace models, judging success by benets to humanity. Unfortunately, a disciplinary curriculum alone cannot fulll this requirement of educators.

Inevitable reforms
The governments and other key stakeholders in China realize, therefore, the problems of their teacher education systems, especially its curriculum design, if they want to substantially improve the quality of their school systems (Chen, 2002; Li and Chen, 2002; Guo, 2002). Obviously, there are many measures that are being taken to strengthen the curriculum for teacher education. In one of her documentary speeches, Lizhi Chen (2002), former Minister of Education, says that it is important to carry out a six-fold reform of curriculum. These six aspects include: 1. the function of curriculum; 2. curriculum structure; 3. content of curriculum; 4. instruction mode of curriculum; 5. curriculum evaluation; and 6. management of curriculum.

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Chen stresses that curriculum should be designed to encourage students to develop an active learning attitude with a healthy set of values while the curriculum structure should be scientic, well-balanced, and synthetic in addition to being selective in meeting the needs of development in the new era. Equally important, in Chens opinion, the curriculum contents should stress the roles of learners life experience, emphasizing their learning interests, and promoting the development of society as well as of science and technology. A further priority should be given to basic knowledge and skills necessary for fostering their life-long learning. As for proper instructional mode, Chen emphasizes the importance of developing learners initiatives and hands-on skills. Such skills include collecting and analyzing data, and creativity exercises, such as developing competence in acquiring new knowledge, or in analyzing and solving problems. In terms of curriculum evaluation, Chen argues that it functions to promote students all-round development, improve teacher quality, and aid better teaching practice, etc. Naturally, curriculum reform in basic education calls for the concurrent reform of curriculum for teacher education. As Chen points out, it is essential that a curriculum reform, including establishment of programs, curriculum system, teaching contents as well as mode of instruction, in teacher education be enforced to ensure the successful outcome of the current education reform. Many studies have been conducted by leading Chinese educators and researchers that suggest the need for reform (Li and Chen, 2002; Guo, 2002). These authorities all recommend that resources be devoted to investigate the kinds of teacher education that are best suited to meet the demands of the information age and to the philosophic exploration of teaching as a profession. They also recommend comparative education perspective studies of teacher education. Findings from these studies reveal that apart from acquiring a sound academic training, future teachers must be given opportunities to develop themselves as not only mere executors of teaching, but also as thinkers, researchers and innovators of education. Teachers initiatives and innovative orientation are considered essential to the development of student creativity, and this is increasingly view as a fundamental prerequisite for the development of the nation in general and individuals in particular. Obviously, the qualities that are required of teachers cannot be developed through a compartmentalized curriculum that fails to equip future educators with a healthy menu of options to help them construct their own knowledge structure by allowing them to make choices on their own. Such failure results in the inability of future educators to adequately provide their own students with the freedom of inquiry, and this failure is considered detrimental to the development of student creativity. In this case, to ensure a high quality of education, the nation must have a large pool of qualied teachers, and this depends upon pre-and in-service teacher training programs that offer an innovative curriculum system. Therefore, there are now many researchers who propose an open or interdisciplinary curriculum system for teacher training programs. They argue that only when such a system is in place can teacher training programs produce future educators who are balanced in their knowledge structure and, therefore, qualied to develop the full creative potential of their students in the future. As China aspires to become a global leader in the political, cultural, and economic sectors, there is an increasing demand for reform in education, in particular, teacher education, in particular. Government and business leaders have grown concerned that too many students have become the sort of stressed-out, test-acing drone who fails to acquire the skills creativity, exibility, initiative, leadership said to be necessary in the global marketplace (Hulbert, 2007) According to this authors recent studies (Song, 2007), there are such emerging scenarios as what the author terms LEADER and Beacons, both of which are acronyms of English words representing main characteristics of teacher training programs in line with systems thinking paradigm. A detailed discussion of this future outlook will be the second part of this paper.

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References
Chen, Z.L. (2002), Deepening understanding, strengthening leadership in promoting curriculum reform in basic education, Education Weekly (in Chinese). Cogan, J. (1997), Multidimensional Citizenship: Educational Policy for the Twenty-rst Century, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Tokyo. Cui, X. (2003), Multi-disciplinarity and Development of Whole Man, People Education Research Press, Beijing (in Chinese). Guo, C.H. (2002), The current issues and research on teacher education curriculum design in China, in Li, Q.L. and Chen, Y.M. (Eds), International Comparative Studies on Teacher Education Curriculum, Education Science Publishing House, Beijing (in Chinese). Hulbert, A. (2007), For Chinese schools, a creative spark, International Herald Tribune, April 1, available at: www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/01/asia/web-0401reeducate.php Li, Q.L. and Chen, Y.M. (2002), Reections on Chinas teacher education curriculum design, in Li, Q.L. and Chen, Y.M. (Eds), International Comparative Studies on Teacher Education Curriculum, Education Science Publishing House, Beijing. Song, H.Z. (2007), Delphi-based Scenario Studies on Futures of Curriculum for Teacher Education in China, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN.

Corresponding author
Hongzhuan Song can be contacted at: song0110@umn.edu

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