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SHANGHAI, CHINA
According to the Asia Society, a nonprofit organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia, Shanghai, the largest city in China, was the first to achieve 100 percent primary and junior high school enrollment and was also one of the first to achieve almost universal secondary school attendance. Furthermore, if students want to attend a certain type of higher education, they are easily able to do that as well.
China has implemented numerous changes to its education system as of late; however, it has struggled to move away from the exam-based system that drives the curriculum, which requires memorizing an array of facts just to pass the test. In 1985, Shanghai began a process of reform and introduced exams that test the application of real-life skills. This has also captured the interest of students. As a result, multiple-choice questions no longer appear on the exams. An estimated 80 percent of students attend night and weekend "cram schools” to ensure that they pass. This comes alongside nightly homework and extracurricular activities, thus making the life of a Chinese student overwhelming. The central Chinese government is aware of this nationwide problem, and its new 2020 reform efforts call for a reduction in student workload. Additionally, Shanghai is working towards improving students’ education experience so that they will learn to learn, as opposed to merely learning a series of facts. An updated curriculum is at the center of this process.
Beginning in 1985, in an attempt to move away from the highpressure exam system and increase the quality of education, Shanghai began to allow students to take elective courses, which led to new textbooks and materials. Implemented in 2008, a renewed effort to encourage student learning rather than knowledge accumulation led to eight curricular "learning domains:” language and literature, mathematics, natural science, social sciences, technology, arts, physical education, and practicum.
Schools were then encouraged to create their own curricula, and outside groups such as museums became partners in education. Part of the new curriculum includes an emphasis on inquiry-based education. Students independently explore their research topics of interest to promote social well-being, creative and critical thinking, and again, learning to learn.
To support the new changes in education, certification processes for teachers were implemented. Teachers’ professional development requirements also increased—teachers in Shanghai must now complete 240 hours of professional development over the course of five years.
An online database provides help with design and implementation of the curriculum, research papers, and best practice examples. Teachers are now encouraged to allow time for student activities in classrooms, rather than relying solely on presentations.
One interesting strategy employed in Shanghai to improve weak schools is the commissioned education program.
Under this scheme, top-performing schools are assigned a weak school to administer. The "good” school sends a team of teachers and a principal to lead the weak school and improve it. This, as well as an exchange program for poor rural schools, has been implemented in the city. Such a system assists the poor schools and benefits Shanghai schools by allowing them to promote teachers and administrators.
In Shanghai, there is a clear awareness that education needs a transformation to keep pace with the rate of change in society— and not just the current change. Hence, a conscious effort has been made to take into account the future of society, the economy, and education.