Voices > Recent Schooling
Reflections by Chinese undergraduates today
From these pages, you may access the reflections of some contemporary Chinese students - currently studying in the UK. Again, there is no claim that this is a random sampling of experience. The records are drawn from an opportunity sample of students largely in their second undergraduate year.
The commentaries were drawn from an informal interview that lasted between 30 and minutes and an hour. These interviews were transcribed and permission obtained to integrate the responses into a fairly continuous narrative. Prompting questions are indicated in italic script. The conversations have been edited to focus the account, although informal characteristics of speech have been left unaltered.
These conversations are presented without any detailed evaluation or analysis. However, a number of recurring themes might be noticed.
It is apparent that the demands of even early education were considerable by standards familiar in the West. Often, the journey to school was a long one. The day was long and the expectations of work outside of school was considerable. In addition, parental pressure might be felt as something in the background to these demands.
It is also apparent that the experience of school was dominated by teachers (although there is not sign that this was an oppressive or harsh relationship) and by assessment. Again, by standards familiar to the West, the classroom life described often has a regimented and didactic feel to it. While there seems to have been order in these classrooms, there were clearly children who were not inclined to engage - although their behaviour was rarely disruptive. Resources were limited, rooms modestly decorated and the classroom interaction dominated by the blackboard.
There are frequent comments that suggest an awareness of variation in the quality of schooling that might be enjoyed. With explicit reference to rural areas as unlikely to be enjoying the same level of resource. And yet, the interviews are not coloured with any strongly negative memories of these experiences. Rather, students convey a sense of knowing that it was important for them to progress and, thereby, accepting the demands that were put upon them.
These attitudes are of course expressed by students who, in academic terms at least, have proved to be successful graduates of the education system. This must be kept in mind.