The Chinese Education System

Having grown up in Kenya where there is a system of national exams that determine progress and entry into the next stages of education for all students, I was very intrigued to learn about the Chinese Gao-Kao, which basically determines who will get to go to university, and who will not. An extra layer of interest was added last week with some articles in the New York Times discussing the level of security required to protect the integrity of the gao-kao in an era of technology and stiff competition. How do schools make sure students do not cheat on the exam using cell-phones?

On a more intellectual level, here are some more questions I will be exploring that came up in discussions with colleagues at my school.

How do the "Chinese" see their educational mission both in the abstract and in the particular. Do they believe that schools are part of a socialization process in a very deliberative way? If so, what sorts of strategies do they find most valuable for shaping children's world views? What controls do they have over this process? Are they interested in educational research, brain research, the Chinese equivalent of "best practices"?

What is the Chinese vision of a great teacher? Do they see a split between conventional academic culture and the real values and interior life of students? How do they encourage students to take appropriate academic risks?