一位国际学校外教的10年观察

这是一位国际学校资深外籍教师给顶思的来稿，分享了他眼中的中西教育教学的碰撞与比较。在西方教育的亲历者眼中，批判性思维、以学生为中心的真实课堂是怎样的情况？中国学生对于小组活动的顾虑，对于知识性内容的记忆能力如何？西方的个人主义、中国的孔儒思想，又对各自教育产生了怎样的深远影响？本期，我们一起来感受和思考。

* 最终文意请以英文原稿为主

导言（Introduction）

The intention of this short essay is to convey some contrasts between Asian students (particularly Chinese students) and students in the English-speaking world. Given a length of the order of eighteen hundred words， the essay does not intend to be exhaustive but does intend to offer some insights into cultural and educational practices.

这篇短文的目的是传达亚洲学生（尤其是中国学生）和英语母语国家学生之间的一些对比。鉴于这篇文章的长度约为1800字，作者并不打算详尽无遗，而是提供一些对文化和教育实践的见解。

Internet sites such as YouTube have rather crude or overgeneralised comparisons between western and Chinese cultural perspectives. The West， certainly since the end of World War II， has promoted individualism a the (so called) nuclear-family at the expense of extended family relations or indeed moral themes that can be observed in the Ancient Greek or Roman plays. To a large extent the conduct of the individual in Asia still has a bearing on the reputation of the family. To this end， largely， Asian children have an awareness to the extent that their behaviour  affects them and their wider social interactions; particularly family interactions. The microcosm of this contrast is often witnessed in the classrooms of the respective regions; the West and Asia.

YouTube等互联网网站对西方和中国在文化视角上的比较相当粗略或笼统。自第二次世界大战结束以来，西方一直在促进个人主义，即（所谓的）核心家庭，而牺牲了在古希腊或罗马戏剧中可以看到的大家庭关系或观念道德。在很大程度上，亚洲人的个人行为仍然与家族的声誉有关。为此，在很大程度上，亚洲儿童意识到他们的行为会影响他们和他们更广泛的社会互动，尤其是家庭互动。这种对比的缩影经常在东西方各自地区的教室里看到。

For the English-speaking world The Elementary Education Act of 1870 and sometimes referred to as Forster's Act came into effect in England. The school boards， established by the Act eventually imposed prescribed "standards" that were to be attained from ages 7-8 to 12-13. There were six standards， numbered 1-6， and corresponded to a school year where standard 1 was directed to seven year old children. This method of education continued into the late 1970s for Australia and New Zealand. However， it was common for children in the British Empire (as it was then) to commence school at age five.

对于西方英语国家来说，1870年的《初等教育法案》，有时被称为《福斯特法案》在英国生效。根据该法案成立的学校董事会最终实施了针对7～8岁和12～13岁学生规定的“标准”。共有六个阶段的标准，编号为1～6，分别对应一个完整的学年，其中第一阶段针对7岁儿童。这种教育方法在澳大利亚和新西兰一直延续到20世纪70年代末。然而，在英国，孩子们五岁就开始上学是很常见的。  

Having completed the fourth standard it was typical for children， at age 11 from 1900-1930， to leave school numerate and literate. Secondary education became free and compulsory for two years from about 1936 for the British Empire. The initial Acts of parliament， of the House of Commons (London)  prescribed education to be compulsory， secular and free but only for primary-standard education and this aspect continued across the Empire. The system was far from perfect but the system of standards (to be attained each year) was effective and measurable. From the early 1980s the effectiveness of education within the English-speaking West declined in large measure.

从1900年到1930年，11岁的孩子通常会离开学校，完成第四阶段的算术和识字。大约从1936年起，中等教育成为两年的免费义务教育。大英帝国议会和下议院（伦敦）的最初法案规定教育是义务的、长期的和免费的，但只适用于初级标准教育，这个法案在整个帝国实行。该体系远非完美，但（每年要达到的）标准体系是有效的和可量化的。从20世纪80年代初开始，西方英语国家的教育效果大幅下降。

Nowadays， from the year 2000， it is entirely possible for a student in the English-speaking world to complete primary school (age 12-13) and remain only semi-literate or barely literate and numerate. This condition can continue through the highschool years for a given student. As conveyed， half a century ago， for New Zealand， Australia and the USA such a situation would have been the exception. In the case of Australia all State departments of education recognise the (so called) "Crisis of Literacy". A recent report from the Grattan Institute shows that a third of Australian children cannot read proficiently1. A google search of "crisis of literacy [country]" will yield similar results. By comparison "The People's Republic of China's overall literacy rate reached 99.8% in 2021. Adult literacy in China， defined as literacy in those aged 15 and above was measured at 97% in 2020 by the World Bank. Youth literacy， defined as literacy in those aged 15-24， was 100% since 2010 and remained so in 20202". 

如今，从2000年开始，英语国家的学生完全有可能完成小学学业（12～13岁），却仍然只有半文盲或几乎不会识字和算术。对于一个特定学生来说，这种情况可以持续到高中学段。据报道，半个世纪前，对于新西兰、澳大利亚和美国来说，这种情况是例外。

就澳大利亚而言，所有州的教育部门都认识到了（所谓的）“识字危机”。格拉顿研究所最近的一份报告显示，三分之一的澳大利亚儿童不能熟练阅读。在谷歌上搜索“文学危机【国家】”会得到类似的结果。相比之下，“中华人民共和国的总体识字率在2021年达到99.8%。世界银行测量的中国成人识字率，定义为15岁及以上人群的识字率，在2020年为97%。青年识字率，定义为15～24岁人群的识字率，自2010年以来为100%，并在2020年保持不变”。

中西方对比（Some Comparisons）

It is said with some justification that Asian students are passive learners3.By utilising the word 'passive'it is intended to convey that lessons are teacher-centred (or teacher-directed). Asian students typically do not ask questions in class although as their confidence with the teacher and subject increases the students do often become more forthright. Alternatively， it is often said that Western education promotes critical thinking4 . Yet， it is far from apparent that critical thinking is a Western concept5.

我们说亚洲学生是被动学习者，这是有道理的。通过使用“被动”这个词，旨在传达课程是以教师为中心的（或教师指导的）。亚洲学生通常不会在课堂上提问问题，虽然随着他们对老师和学科的信心的增加，学生们确实经常变得更加直率。或者，人们常说西方教育提倡批判性思维。然而，批判性思维是一个西方概念还远不明显。

Relating passive attitudes to Confucianism would take this paper too far afield but Asian classroom behaviour， from South Korea to Malaysia does seem to have some basis as Kang & Chang (2016) illustrate. Nevertheless a few remarks are warranted.

将被动态度与儒家思想联系起来会有点说远了，但亚洲的课堂行为，从韩国到马来西亚，似乎确实有一些儒家思想的基础，正如Kang&Chang（2016）所说明的那样。然而，少数说法是有根据的。

The paper by Bahtilla & Hu (2021) attempts to explore the educational thought of Confucius and its influence on the contemporary educational system in China. Confucius advocated for education for all which was an objective of Communism for both China and Russia. Confucianism is concerned with moral development， obedience， and social  organization for a community and these principles are influential in contemporary Chinese society which extends to education. Thus the values of duty and loyalty (filialityin the case of parenting) are cultivated in the Chinese curriculum which is very nationalistic.

巴赫蒂拉和胡（2021）的论文试图探讨孔子的教育思想及其对中国的当代教育系统的影响。孔子提倡全民教育，这是中国和俄罗斯的目标。儒家思想关注一个社会的道德发展、服从和社会组织，这些原则对中国的教育社会有影响。因此，责任和忠诚的价值观在中国人得到了培养，它是非常民族主义的课程。

The emphasis on moral development includes  respect for elders and authority which establishes a social harmony from the perspective of Confucianism. The pursuit of knowledge is an obligation for the advancement of the community and for personal (moral) development.

道德发展的重点包括对长者和权威的尊重，从儒家的角度建立社会和谐。追求知识是促进社会发展和个人（道德）发展的一种义务。

As to individual student needs (even appealing to a Confucian context) overall， one has to appreciate the relationship between a student's competence in English and their perception of their competence. In particular， there is the Asian perspective of "face". Asian students are much more adverse to their own mistakes， in a classroom， than are Western students. This reality can be accommodated by the teacher refraining from open-ended questions where a question may be addressed from multiple contexts. A question of the form "what do you think of geography" (or any other subject) is not particularly useful in an Asian classroom. Questions such as "what are some advantages of understanding geography" tend to be better suited to any classroom situation.

就个人学生的总体需求而言（甚至是对儒家背景的吸引力），人们必须理解学生的英语能力和他们对自己能力的看法之间的关系。尤其是亚洲的“面子”。在课堂上，亚洲学生比西方学生更反对自己的错误。这一现实可以通过教师避免开放式问题来适应，在开放式问题中，一个问题可以从多种背景中解决。形式诸如“你对地理有什么看法”的问题在亚洲教室里并不特别好用，而像“了解地理有什么好处”这样的问题往往更适合那里的课堂环境。

The contrast continues with the assertion， along with critical thinking， that Western education encourages active learning inasmuch as students are expected to participate actively in the classroom via class and group discussions. There reality is not so delineated. Not all students in the West enjoy group work and similarly for Asian students6 . For technical topics a teacher-directed strategy has its place.  Overall， the educational comparison turns on the content of the syllabus. In the case of the A2 syllabus for A-Level the material is at university standard and is typically taught as it would be at a British university.

连同批判性思维，这种对比继续伴随着断论，即西方教育鼓励积极的学习，因为学生通过课堂和小组讨论积极参与课堂。现实并不是这样描述的。同亚洲学生类似，不是所有的西方学生都喜欢小组作业。对于技术主题，教师指导的教学策略有其地位。总的来说，教育比较取决于教学大纲的内容。就A-Level的A2教学大纲而言，学习内容是大学的课程，通常是按照英国大学的标准教授的。

Although Western educational systems claim to encourage creative and critical thinking skills these terms tend to remain undefined. Assessment criteria for student work such as "critically analyses" or "logically analyses" seldom provide a quantitative means of division and therefore the discretion for such criteria often resides with the teacher concerned.  In the case of Asian schools there is an emphasis on rote learning and memorisation which has the virtue of constructing a body of facts for the student. For those Asian students who are sufficiently prepared for further education at a foreign university， their body of facts acquired in middle school yields dividends and they are typically considered more productive and conscientious.

尽管西方教育体系声称鼓励创造性和批判性思维技能，但这些术语往往是未完全定义的。学生作业的评估标准，如“批判性分析”或“逻辑分析”很少提供一种定量的划分方法，因此这种标准的自由裁量权通常在于教师本人。就亚洲学校而言，强调死记硬背和记忆，这有助于为学生构建大量的事实。对于那些在海外留学的亚洲学生，他们在中学获得的大量事实性知识会产生红利，他们通常被认为更具生产力和责任心。

Some decades ago it was fashionable in Western education to claim that facts were redundant and that anything could be researched (looked-up if one prefers) on-line. The implicit assumption was that Western students would be able to identify the important from the unimportant irrespective of their quantity of factual knowledge. One has only to appeal to the populist mentality of social media to appreciate that the implicit assumption was never warranted.

几十年前，西方教育中流行的说法是，记忆事实性知识是多余的，任何东西可以在网上查到。隐含的假设是，西方学生能够区分重要和不重要，而不管他们的事实知识量有多大。人们只需诉诸社交媒体的民粹主义心态，就会意识到这种隐含的假设从未得到证实。

With the exception of the Philippines， whose successive governments have offered little inland reform or the amelioration of poverty， a clear acknowledgement by the west cannot be denied for the economic growth and political stability that Asia as experienced without resorting to concessions of social liberalism that Western sphere insist are necessary for prosperity and stability. In point of fact one as only to illustrate the copious instances of outright poverty that exist in Canada and the USA to refute the underpinning assumption.

除了菲律宾，其历届政府几乎没有提供内陆改革或改善贫困，西方不可否认地明确承认亚洲在不诉诸西方领域坚持的繁荣与稳定所必需的社会自由主义让步的情况下所经历的经济增长和政治稳定。事实的本质只是为了说明，大量的例子事实上，这只是为了说明加拿大和美国存在的大量彻底贫困的例子，以反驳这一基本假设。

一些实用的亚洲教室创新（Some Practical Classroom Innovations for Asia）

There exist a number of studies that pertain to group or student interactive work but the sample sizes tend to be small and differences with respect to gender or age are not clearly apparent. As to group work， where there is to be some form of assessment， the undertaking may create similar anxieties to being asked a question directly by a teacher. However， group work may be introduced for a specified short interval with a single task or objective. The  results of the interaction of one group may be compared to those of another group. Guidance， from the teacher， ought to be provided to ensure that each group is approaching the task systematically and for the same objective.

有许多研究涉及小组或学生互动工作，但样本量往往很小，性别或年龄的差异并不明显。至于小组工作，如果要进行某种形式的评估，这项工作可能会产生类似于老师直接问问题的焦虑。然而，小组工作可能会在指定的短时间内引入单个任务或目标。一个组的交互结果可以与另一个组进行比较。老师的指导应确保每个小组都系统地、为同一目标完成任务。

As competence and comprehension increases assessments may take the form of essays or oral presentations or a group collage for agiven topic. These modes of assessment may be extended to debates or seminar discussions where there may be an overall consensus but the details of the consensus may differ.

随着能力和理解力的提高，评估可能会采取论文或口头报告的形式，或者针对某个主题的小组拼贴。这些评估模式可以扩展到辩论或研讨会讨论，在这些讨论中可能会达成总体共识，但共识的细节可能会有所不同。

For those Asian students who at about age 14 anticipate a Western education (such as IB or A-Level) their capacity to organise and synthesise information ought to begin at about age 12. Providing students with a range of sources and activities will develop higher-order analysis of problems that are presented to them. However， the change of emphasis from one form to another is a step-by-step process.

对于那些在14岁左右预计会接受西方教育（如IB或a-Level）的亚洲学生来说，他们组织和综合信息的能力应该从12岁左右开始。为学生提供一系列的资源和活动，将有助于他们对所面临的问题进行更高阶的分析。然而，从一种形式到另一种形式的重点转变是一个循序渐进的过程。

结论（Conclusion）

A naive conclusion might assert that Western education is student-centred whereas Asian education is teacher- centred. The objective of Western educational systems may well be to encourage creative and critical thinking skills  but it doesn't follow that such objectives are realised. In the case of South Australia there area number of final-year subjects that do not require an exam or any great standard of numeracy or literacy. Half a century ago， all final-year school subjects were examinable and the students had to adhere to correct punctuation and grammar. In the case for Asia becoming acquainted with a body of facts for its own sake is rather desirable.

一个天真的结论可能会断言，西方教育是以学生为中心的，而亚洲教育是以教师为中心的。西方教育体系的目标很可能是鼓励创造性和批判性思维能力，但这并不意味着这些目标已经实现。就南澳大利亚州而言，该地区有许多期末科目不需要考试或任何高标准的算术或识字。半个世纪前，所有的最后一年学校科目都是可考的，学生必须坚持正确的标点符号和语法。在这种情况下，亚洲为了自己的利益考虑而熟悉一系列事实性知识操作是相当可取的。

A slightly more realistic assessment between Western and Asian education would include the (relatively recent， post WW2) traits of individualism and hence the encouragement of direct questions along with a sense of personal freedom. The principal characteristic of a democracy is the right of different views to exist. As for Asian education， typically， the emphasis is on one's family or work group which sets a priority on collectivism. Social harmony is an inherent objective and that objective results in communication of an indirect nature. Yet a mixture of traditional Chinese schooling and a Western curriculum is entirely feasible.

西方和亚洲教育之间一个更为现实的评估是（相对较新的，二战后）个人主义的特征，因此鼓励直接提问以及个人自由感。民主的主要特征是不同观点的存在权。至于亚洲教育，通常强调的是一个人的家庭或工作组，他们优先考虑集体主义。社会和谐是一个内在目标，而这一目标导致了间接性的沟通。然而，将中国传统学校教育和西方课程相结合是完全可行的。

1.Grattan Institute 11Feb24

2.Wikipedia "Literacy in China”

3.https://jespnet.com/journals/Vol_4_No_1_March_2017/23.pdf

4.google for examples

5.https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/critical-thinking-western-concept

6.Kee-Kuok Wong， J  2004

References

1.Bahtilla， M;. Xu H.        2021    The Influence of Confucius’s Educational Thoughts on China’s Educational System"

2.Open Access Library Journal， Vol.8 No.5， 2021 doi: 10.4236/oalib.1107370.

3.Kang， H.， & Chang， B.  2016      Examining Culture’s Impact on the Learning Behaviours of International Students from Confucius Culture Studying in Western Online Learning Context. Journal of International Students， 6， 779-797. 

https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v6i3.356

4.Kee-Kuok Wong， J    2004        Are the Learning Styles of Asian International Students Culturally or Contextually Based? International Education Journal Vol 4， No 4， 2004 

https://isana.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/adjusting-to-study.pdf

5.Qu Linxin et al           2024        The Role of Chinese Philosophy in the Education System of China

6.Canadian Journal of Educational and Social Studies Vol. 4 No. 4 (2024) DOI: 

https://doi.org/10.53103/cjess.v4i4.252

7.Watson， D.                2015         Is critical thinking a Western concept? British Council https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/critical-thinking-western-concept

8.http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Zhenhui-TeachingStyles.html

9.https://www.teluq.ca/lin4015/modules/m4/m4_2_2_t3.pdf (1)

10.https://usaprojects.org/education-in-asia-vs-the-west-whats-the-differenc

The Author：Kyle Hargraves

Kyle Hargraves grew up in New Zealand but has spent most of his life in Australia. He has visited many countries and taught AP and A-Level physics， maths and economics along with some history and chemistry in China for a decade. The last job in Asia was teaching statistics at a university in Vietnam during the first year of Covid-19.

Kyle has a number of majors (BA & BSc) along with post graduate degrees in Business， IT and Education. He also has a master in International Relations and a second master in Applied Mathematics. He has had careers in business analysis， IT， aviation (Operations Manager and pilot) and teaching.

The principal motivation for writing articles， for which he as been engaged for some time， is to correct perceptions that the West has towards Asia and to provide some information for Asian audiences regarding Western living.

本文来自微信公众号：顶思，作者：Kyle Hargraves