Differences in education theories in China and United States Essay

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Introduction

People of different cultures are bound to practice their customs and their own way of life in a manner that is not common to others. Regardless of the cultures, it is difficult to settle the differences that exist especially in the education and the society at large. In this paper, we are going to compare the education practices in China and American cultures.

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The main cause of the differences of education theories is due to the fact that Chinese education system relies on Confucianism while the American system is based on egalitarianism. Confucianism revolves around critical stages and rituals in a lifetime of an individual while egalitarianism favors treatment of people as equals and that all people have an opportunity to excel.

Chinese social education theory

Education system in china has a strong foundation on Chinese socialist theory which emphasizes that the aim of education is to provide scientific and technological knowledge to boost development and meet the demands of the society. Since current developments in technology rely on education, all efforts put on education in China are seen as investment and uplift to the economy.

The Chinese government has been facing crucial challenges with regard to industrial and agricultural production hence making the demand for training and labor rise. This has led the governments to run two parallel systems of education, for labor force from rural areas and urban centers. To a large extent, the Chinese education socialist theory borrows a lot of practices from the Marxist theory (Fairbank, 102).

American education theories

Unlike China, American theories of education serve to meet the demands of the economy and politics. There are three theories of education that represent the American system of education. First, is the functionalist theory that states that universal education is meant to meet the needs of the community.

The proponents of the theory emphasize that the main goal of education is to give essential skills and knowledge to the coming generation. This theory of education has been considered to bring cohesion between people of different backgrounds especially the immigrants and Native Americans.

Another theory that explains the American system of education is the conflict theory. Just like the Chinese social theory of education, this theory explains that the purpose of education is to maintain inequity and keep power among the dominant people in the society.

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According to the theories, functional and conflict theory, education brings categorization or sorting in the society but disagree on how it occurs. Symbolic Interactions theory also explains the nature of education system in the United States and focuses mainly on what happens within a classroom setting.

This theory focuses on the ability of the teacher’s prospects to manipulate the performance and approach of learners. According to Chan, Khan, and Chan Chak (385), “students who are closer to teachers perform better and receive most attention.”

Differences and conclusion

There are several differences that arise as a result of the theories of education in China and the United States. Parents participate actively in the performance of the child by using their investments, time and effort to steer them to higher institutions of learning. The education system is structured differently in that competition begins from kindergarten unlike the US system where it starts from High School.

For one to gain entry to the best schools, performance of tests and extracurricular activities in every stage is considered. Students begin choosing subjects at high school level which is not the same with the American system. Admissions into higher institutions of learning rely on the performance of the learner on extracurricular activities.

The learner is subjected to demonstrate his or her abilities in sporting events rather than American system which emphasizes on performance alone. These differences in the systems of education, though not much, arise as a result of the fundamental theories in the systems of education.

Works Cited

Chan, Khan, and Chan Chak. Chinese culture, Social Work and Education Research. International social work, 48(4), 2005: 381-389.

Fairbank, Jean. China: A new History. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2006.

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IvyPanda. (2019, May 6). Differences in education theories in China and United States. https://ivypanda.com/essays/differences-in-education-theories-in-china-and-united-states-essay/

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"Differences in education theories in China and United States." IvyPanda, 6 May 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/differences-in-education-theories-in-china-and-united-states-essay/.

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IvyPanda. (2019) 'Differences in education theories in China and United States'. 6 May.

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IvyPanda. 2019. "Differences in education theories in China and United States." May 6, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/differences-in-education-theories-in-china-and-united-states-essay/.

1. IvyPanda. "Differences in education theories in China and United States." May 6, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/differences-in-education-theories-in-china-and-united-states-essay/.


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IvyPanda. "Differences in education theories in China and United States." May 6, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/differences-in-education-theories-in-china-and-united-states-essay/.

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