Is school in China stressful?
Within such a system and under the weight of elevated educational expectations, Chinese adolescents commonly endure heavy academic stress that is considered to be their most relevant perceived and experienced pressure.
Chinese students are believed to have high academic burden and pressure due to high expectations of their parents and fierce competitions with their peers. Knowledge of the nature and health effects of academic stress may be useful to inform quality education and mental health promotions.
Students experienced excessive stress in their daily lives. The primary source of stress came from high expectations for academic achievement. Other sources of stress were peer relationships and family issues.
That is mostly because the curriculum in Chinese schools differs from the typical Western standards. Strict rules, the emphasis of discipline, endless homework and tests, and constant pressure from peers and teachers – that seems to be the daily life of a Chinese student.
The Chinese government's efforts to reduce the burden on parents to educate their children appear to have backfired as mothers and fathers are more stressed than ever about schoolwork.
School schedules usually run from early morning (around 7) until early evening (around 4). The students have a break lasting up to two hours in the middle of the day so they can go home or stay at school to eat and perhaps take a nap.
Neither system is better than the other, but in the world of education, it is important to develop an international awareness and acceptance of different learning approaches, cultures and knowledge.
Depression and anxiety are the two most prevalent mental health disorders in China. Other mental health disorders include bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia and other psychoses, dementia, intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders including autism.
In American context: Silence after a teacher asks a question may be perceived as negative and as a sign of disrespect to the teacher. The Chinese students' silence is aggravated by the attitudes and stereotypes imposed on them as they are seen as passive learners. This may perpetuate the circle of silence.
One of the biggest challenges faced by international students in China is the language barrier. Many universities now offer a good range programs in English, but outside of class you'll find that Chinese people's overall English ability is not as strong as that of most western countries.
Are schools in China strict?
It's no secret that education, and the strict discipline that comes with it, is now a prized facet of Chinese culture. School is mandatory from grades 1-9, with a 91.4% attendance rate for secondary schools in 2021.
In China, the summer vacation typically begins around mid-July, though some schools will break up as early as late June. The vacation period lasts for about 2 months, which students can spend doing different things.
![Is school in China stressful? (2024)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ovxXYMsz37g/hq720.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEcCNAFEJQDSFXyq4qpAw4IARUAAIhCGAFwAcABBg==&rs=AOn4CLDqS8LK5bPKWB2r02mr0Bihethk8Q)
Country | Prevalence of Student Stress (%) |
---|---|
United States | 67% |
United Kingdom | 55% |
Australia | 64% |
Canada | 72% |
A survey report shows that the average daily homework of primary and middle school students in China is 3 hours, which is twice the global average, with sleep less than 7 hours.
According to a newly released report on the homework pressures facing primary and secondary school students, Chinese students' average daily homework time has dropped from 3.03 hours to 2.82 hours a day over the past three years, but it is still much longer than the global average.
Country | 2021 Rank | Literacy Rate |
---|---|---|
United States | 1 | 99% |
United Kingdom | 2 | 99% |
Germany | 3 | 99% |
Canada | 4 | 99% |
The pacesetter has been the Shanghai Night School, which offers a course which includes 12 classes led by masters in their fields for only 500 yuan ($70). When Shanghai's autumn 2023 semester enrollment began, attendance numbers were as high as 650,000 to get their places on one of the 10,000 courses.
China School Hours
In large cities like Shanghai, for example, Chinese students spend 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at school with an hour and a half for lunch, but in other areas, kids get to head home for nap time at lunch!
The language can benefit you if your work requires you to do business in these countries. You can still travel and work without speaking a single Chinese word. But, your Chinese skills will help you get along quickly with native speakers during your visit. It will be a fresh experience on a more personal level.
Grade | Scale | Grade Description |
---|---|---|
A | 90.00 - 100.00 | Excellent (优秀) |
B | 80.00 - 89.99 | Good (良好) |
C | 70.00 - 79.99 | Satisfactory (中等) |
D | 60.00 - 69.99 | Pass (及格 ) |
Does China outrank us in education?
Children in countries as diverse as Canada, China, Estonia, Germany, Finland, Netherland, New Zealand and Singapore consistently outrank their US counterparts on the basics of education. According to OECD, on PISA 2015 a score difference of 30 points is the equivalent of one year of formal schooling.
In a Chinese household, every individual shares the responsibility of maintaining and raising the family's reputation. It is believed that mental health will hinder individuals from achieving the standards and goals- whether academic, social, career-based, or other- expected from parents.
According to this study, the prevalence of mental disorders in adulthood is 16.6% during the lifetime and 9.3% in the 12 months before the interview (Huang et al., 2019b). The most prevalent psychiatric diagnosis was anxiety disorder, with a lifetime prevalence of 7.6% and a 12-month prevalence of 5.0% (Fig.
The Chinese experience social anxiety not only in terms of the subjective experiences of the individual, but also as a concern for others. They focus their attention on how their own individual performance might impact or reflected on social others.
There are many reasons proposed by academics and researchers that explain this phenomenon. Malcolm Gladwell, for example, in his book, Outliers argues that the simplicity and brevity of Chinese numbers made numbers easier to memorise. Contrary to English, numbers in Chinese are regular and 'transparent'.
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