Chinese
applications and enrollments at American universities and colleges have been
skyrocketing over the last five years, and especially so at the undergraduate
level. According to the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) latest Open Doors report, total
undergraduate enrollment of Chinese students surged to 56,976 in 2010-2011 –
growth of 42 percent versus the previous academic year.
Furthermore, 41.3 percent of all Chinese students enrolled in
the U.S. higher education system are majoring in a science, technology, engineering
or mathematics field (STEM). All indications suggest that U.S. institutions of
higher education can expect continued strength in applications from China, and
especially so at the undergraduate level and in the STEM fields.
Mathematics
education has long been highly valued in China. There is a famous Chinese
saying that with ‘a mastery of math, physics and chemistry, you will be
fearless anywhere in the world,’ and while this may be an old-fashioned idiom
for those born in the 1990s, most are still convinced of the significance and
importance of academic study in technical fields and the hard sciences. The National
Science Foundation reports that in 2008, 43 percent of all Chinese
bachelor’s degrees were awarded in the natural sciences and engineering
(approximately 1 million total), with bachelor of engineering degrees alone
accounting for 30 percent of the total. In the same year, the share in the
United States was just 5 percent.3
Chinese
senior secondary schools view mathematics education as a key component of
secondary education. This is partly because math is a required subject in the
National College Entrance Exam (NCEE), or gaokao (高 考), the highly competitive national
college admissions examination, and also because excellence in mathematics
broadens student choices in other STEM majors, which potentially lead to better
job prospects.
In
this article, we offer an overview of the Chinese secondary mathematics
curriculum as an aid to international undergraduate admissions departments
evaluating Chinese university applications.
Overview
of Senior Secondary Education in China
Senior
secondary education in China comprises three years of schooling from Grade 10
to 12, and follows nine years of compulsory primary and junior secondary
education. In 2010, senior high schools accommodated 46.8 million students,
among which nearly 52 percent were enrolled in general senior high school, 48
percent in vocational senior high schools, and a small fraction in adult senior
high schools. While most high schools in China are government funded, 2.3
million and 3.1 million students attended private general high schools and
private vocational high schools respectively in 2010.
A
credit accumulation system was recently adopted by general senior schools in
all provinces, after experimentation in a handful of provinces beginning in
2004. Students are required to accumulate 144 credits for graduation, including
116 compulsory credits and 28 elective credits. In the vocational stream, high
schools are currently being encouraged by the Ministry of Education to explore
the credit system.
National
Mathematics Curriculum: Goals and Objectives
The
latest national secondary math curriculum was released in 2003, and is known as
the Senior High School Mathematics Curriculum Standard (experiment) 普通高中数学课程标准（实验), or New Curriculum Standard 新课标.
It was first introduced experimentally in the provinces of Guangdong, Shandong,
Hainan and Ningxia in 2004, and has now been adopted by most general senior
high schools across the country.
The
overall goal of the New Curriculum Standard is to further build the
mathematical aptitude of secondary school graduates from the foundation
achieved in the nine years of the compulsory curriculum, and also to meet the
needs of individual and social development. It includes six broad objectives
that aim to:
1.
Foster basic knowledge and skills by
teaching students basic concepts and conclusions, while also introducing the
mathematical thinking and methodology to be applied in further study, and
exploring the process of discovery and creation through self-study and
research.
2.
Enhance spatial imagination,
abstraction, reasoning, computing and data processing skills.
3.
Improve the ability to
mathematically articulate, analyze and solve (simple practical) problems;
promote mathematical expression and communication, and independent knowledge
acquisition.
4.
Encourage application and creation,
mathematical thinking and judgment to real world models.
5.
Foster interest and confidence in
learning mathematics, and cultivate persistence and scientific thinking.
6.
Develop an appreciation of
mathematics in its scientific, practical, cultural and aesthetic aspects,
foster critical thinking and reasoning, establish a worldview of dialectical
and historical materialism.
Curriculum
Framework
In
light of the objectives, the New Curriculum Standard includes five compulsory
modules and four elective courses. Electives 1 and 2 are composed of two and
three modules respectively, while Electives 3 and 4 include six and 10 lectures
each. The five compulsory modules are designed to develop aptitude in basic
math and prepare students for further study, whereas elective classes are
offered to motivate interest and achievement in higher math.
Unlike
the time-based credit-hour system common to U.S. institutions of education, the
credit system used in Chinese secondary education is a module/lecture-based
reference for measuring educational achievement. Students earn two
credits (36 class hours) for each module and one credit (18 class hours) for
each lecture. Students are required to complete – at a minimum – the 10
compulsory math credits (five modules) in order to graduate.
In
addition to compulsory modules, students who follow the humanities and social
sciences streams are encouraged to study Elective 1 modules and two lectures
from Elective 3 (total 16 credits with compulsory modules). Those who aim to
pursue further study in STEM fields – or some economics majors – may consider
the combination of Elective 2 and two lectures in Elective 3 plus 2 lectures in
Elective 4 (20 credits), or an additional 2 lectures in Elective 4 (total 24
credits) for those truly interested in polishing their math skills.
Textbook
Structure
While
required to follow the national curriculum, regions and schools have autonomy
in textbook choices. In 2005, the Ministry of Education released a list of
textbooks for schools and local authorities to choose from. Among the six sets
of math textbooks, the ones published by the People’s Education Press (PEP),
known as Ren Jiao Ban 人教版, are the most commonly used. Each
book covers one module or elective lecture. Each module or elective lecture is
followed by one to two class hours of summary and a practical assignment for
some modules.
The
following chart shows PEP’s hour allocation standards and course structure. In
the national curriculum, hour allocation is not evenly distributed among
modules/lectures. In Compulsory 1, for example, the national curriculum
includes four hours for ‘Sets’ and 32 hours for ‘Functions.’ To make the curriculum
easier to teach and learn, PEP allocated hours split over three chapters, but
still fulfilled the requirement. It should also be noted that the New
Curriculum Standard does not specify class hour requirements for Electives 3
and 4, therefore the following overview of the PEP textbook content only
reflects part of the Elective 3 & 4 content.7
Mathematics
Curriculum for Secondary Vocational Schools
By
2010, 47.8 percent of all Grade 10-12 students were enrolled in secondary
vocational schools. Admission to various types of vocational secondary schools
is now based on the same entrance exams as for general senior secondary schools.
The Ministry of Education announced in 2004 that it would implement a credit
system in vocational secondary schools, allowing students to organize academic
coursework and practical training with more flexibility. General guidelines
require that one-third of total class hours be devoted to academic foundation
courses, and two-thirds to professional studies. Math education in vocational
high school has a strong applied focus. It aims to foster basic knowledge to
meet the needs of different career paths.
The
current math curriculum is composed of three parts: a foundation module, a
professional module and an advanced module. The foundation module requires 128
class hours for all students. The professional module can be customized by
schools for different majors, and it requires total study time of 32-64 class
hours. The advanced module offers optional courses designed for students
interested in taking advanced mathematics.
The mathematics coursework in vocational high schools is
generally less demanding than that in general high schools. Many students do
not have a solid math foundation compared to their counterparts in general high
schools. Some provinces and regions provide flexible teaching plans for
students with different mathematics proficiencies and career needs. For
example, the Shanghai Municipal Education Committee designed four teaching
plans of progressive difficulty. Schools may choose one of the four plans for
students to earn 4, 8, 12 or 16 credits.
International
Curriculum in Private Secondary Schools
International
curricula are gaining popularity among students who plan to seek higher
education abroad. Many private high schools are now integrating International
Baccalaureate, GCE A-level, and Advanced Placement courses into their general
high school curricula. There is no official definition for an international
school, but a majority can be categorized as either: 1) privately-funded
international divisions or programs operated by public schools outside of the
general national education programs; 2) private schools that host mostly
foreign students.
Students
taking international programs or courses are typically hoping to undertake
studies in a foreign higher education system. Programs are typically very
expensive. Students might take international courses in addition to their
regular national curriculum program, or sometimes use credits earned through
international courses toward national curriculum standards.
Mathematics
Examination & College Admission
The
Chinese education system emphasizes exercises and testing. How and whether a
subject is tested in the gaokao directly affects classroom teaching.
Even though the gaokao format is constantly changing, mathematics stands
alongside Chinese and English as one of the “big three.” The Elective series of
the New Curriculum Standard can become mandatory if they are required in the gaokao
syllabus. Provinces now have autonomy in test design based on the national
syllabus meaning that content covered in the gaokao may vary across
regions and provinces. For example, in 2008 Hainan Province included compulsory
modules and Elective II and IV in the gaokao syllabus for college
admission to science, engineering, agriculture and medical programs. In the
same year in Shandong Province, Elective II, IV and V were required in addition
to compulsory modules. Requirement for elective modules may also change in
different years and differ between humanities and science streams.
The
Chinese government encourages vocational high school graduates to continue to
higher education after graduation. Admission procedures to vocational higher
education institutions vary depending on the institution. For some, the gaokao
is no longer required and admission is based on written tests and an interview,
or a knowledge test and a professional skill tests. Integrated standards
provide vocational school graduates a new gateway to higher education with less
emphasis on academic performance. Teachers have complained that this raises
challenges in motivating students in math classes.
Conclusion
In
the past 20 years, the Ministry of Education has made secondary curriculum
reform a key nationwide initiative and priority, resulting in the release of
three new national curriculums for senior secondary mathematics education
(1996, 2000, and 2003). The latest reform initiated by the central government
strives to create a curriculum that motivates interest and creativity, fosters
basic knowledge and applicable skills. This is in contrast to previous
curriculums geared almost exclusively to knowledge acquisition. The New
Curriculum Standard encourages more flexibility to meet local and individual
needs. However, the partial autonomy granted to regional authorities and
schools, policy loopholes and on-going changes have caused discrepancies between
practice and central curriculum guidelines.
