China said it would issue new rules cracking down on “undesirable” elements of online games amid fears of growing Internet addiction as the number of players soars, state media reported on Thursday.

The number of online game players in China rose 23 percent to 40.17 million last year, Xinhua news agency said this week, citing an industry survey. Regular subscribers, accounting for over half the players, soared 30 percent.

The demand propelled online games sales to top 10.57 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) in 2007, up 61.5 percent, the agency said.

The industry’s growth comes amid media reports of soaring rates of online addiction, and officials blaming Internet obsessions for the majority of juvenile crime.

“Although China’s online gaming industry had been hot in recent years, online games are regarded by many as a sort of spiritual opium and the whole industry is marginalized by mainstream society,” Thursday’s China Daily quoted Kou Xiaowei, a senior official with the General Administration of Press and Publication, as saying.

“If we don’t make adjustments, the industry will suffer sooner or later,” Kou said.

China has banned children from Internet cafes and last year ordered their owners to enforce time restrictions in the wake of several cases involving obsessive players dying of fatigue after marathon game sessions.

But attempts to regulate the booming industry have been undermined by a lack of a proper rating system in China and easy access to pirated games online and on street corners. (…)

Source: Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSPEK3508320080117

(…) Parents are pushing their children too hard to excel academically at very early ages, says Professor Yang Xiong, director of the Institute of Youth and Juveniles with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

“Parents, many of whom are white-collar workers with good educational backgrounds, place excessive expectations on their children,” he says.

“Some kids are even deprived of a happy childhood since they are trained and supposed to be ‘geniuses.’ Yet a wise approach is to let children be children.”

He warns that though kids today, overwhelmingly in one-child families, are smarter or more knowledgeable than those in the past, they are also facing new problems such as lack of sleep and free time, anxiety over performance and pleasing their parents and even retrogression in their daily-life abilities and skills.

“It’s sad that some primary-school students still don’t know how to tie their shoes or take a bath on their own,” says Yang. Because of all the attention focused on them, he says, “they are also likely to become selfish and self-centered.”

Education these days is overwhelmingly exam-oriented. “Teaching for examination and learning for examination” has been the motto for years, and it’s difficult to change the mindset. The system is much criticized for turning out good test-takers but relatively few well-rounded students who are curious, inquiring and who take the initiative. Passive, not active learners.

The concept of “quality-oriented education” or quality education has been around since the 1980s and Chinese educators have tried to gradually put it into practice since the 1990s, encouraging students to think for themselves and be creative.

Turning out well-rounded, physically and emotionally healthy people is a slow process. Parents push their children to score high, and teachers still focus on the tests. (…)

Source: Xinhua, China
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/14/content_7416264.htm

Despite an improved economy, Japan is suffering a crisis of confidence these days about its ability to compete with its emerging Asian rivals, China and India.

One result has been a growing craze for Indian education in this fad-obsessed nation.
The Indian boomlet reflects the insecurity many Japanese feel about schools in their country, facilities that once turned out students who consistently ranked at the top of international tests.

But now many are looking for lessons from India, a country seen by many in Japan as the world’s ascendant education superpower. (…)

The thought of viewing another Asian country as a model in education, or almost anything else, would have been unheard of a few years ago, education experts and historians say.

Much of Japan has long looked down on the rest of Asia, priding itself on being the most advanced country in the region. Indeed, Japan has dominated the continent for more than a century, first as an imperial power and more recently as the first Asian economy to achieve Western levels of development.

But in recent years, Japan has grown increasingly insecure, gripped by fear that it was being overshadowed by India and China, which were rapidly gaining in economic weight and sophistication. The government in Tokyo has tried to preserve the Japanese technological lead and strengthen its military. But the Japanese have been forced to shed a traditional indifference to their neighbors in the region.

Suddenly, Japan is, grudgingly, starting to show a new sense of respect.

“Until now, Japanese saw China and India as backward and poor,” said Yoshinori Murai, a professor of Asian cultures at Sophia University in Tokyo. “As Japan loses confidence in itself, its attitudes toward Asia are changing. It has started seeing India and China as nations with something to offer.”

In education, Japanese respect has grown in seemingly direct proportion to how far its performance has slipped below its Asian rivals on international tests.

Last month, a cry of alarm greeted the announcement by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that in an international survey of math skills, Japan had fallen from first place in 2000 to 10th place, behind Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. From second in science in 2000, Japan dropped to sixth place. (…)

Most annoying for many Japanese is that the aspects of Indian education they now praise are similar to those that once made Japan famous for its work ethic and discipline: learning more at an earlier age, a heavier reliance on rote memorization and cramming, and a stronger focus on the basics, particularly in math and science.

Source: The Asian Pacific Post, Canada
http://tinyurl.com/26hm6e

Not long ago a Korean woman married to a Finn and living in Finland had an unusual experience in her adopted country. One day her child’s nursery school teacher suggested the three-year-old needed some testing. It seems the child was having a hard time following along in class. A pediatrician and a psychotherapist examined the child for a few days to check the child’s hearing, learning ability and development. The child, they decided, was a late developer and should be placed in the nation’s 14-year education system rather than the normal 12-year one.

▶In Finland, 500,000 people or one in five of the economically active population receive vocational training provided free by the state. A factory worker can register for a restaurant management course to learn cooking and restaurant management skills. Finnish people speak English more fluently than people in many other non-English speaking countries, though their official languages are Finnish and Swedish. TV stations even air programs in English. The Finnish government helps its people acquire as much knowledge and training as possible so that they can play a role as valuable citizens. (…)

▶Finland finished top in science, second in math and second in reading skills in the OECD’s Program for International Student Assessment, the results of which were released early this month. In fact, the country topped the overall list of world nations. It also topped the list in the first and second PISA surveys in 2000 and 2003. Finland also finished first in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index for three straight years from 2003 to 2005. Though it is a small country with a population of just five million, Finland has become a powerful and respected nation based on its robust human resources. (…)

Source: Chosun Ilbo, South Korea
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200712/200712190002.html

East Asian states, among them Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, are global leaders in education rankings, according to a survey of secondary school students.

The Republic of China on Taiwan led the list in math skills, while South Korea came first on reading scores.

The findings come amid an annual PISA report by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), showing that many East Asian states and regions have vaulted ahead of far richer countries including the United States.

The report shows that Taiwan is first in math followed by Finland, Hong Kong and South Korea; of the top ten countries five are from the Far East. The rankings reinforce the reputation of the region as “high-technology Asian tigers.”

Reading scores saw South Korea top the list with Nordic Finland coming in second, followed by Hong Kong and Canada. Turn to science and here we find Finland leading the class followed by Hong Kong, Canada, Taiwan, Estonia and Japan. Mainland China did not participate in the 57-country survey.

While school performance excels in East Asia and the Nordic states, sadly it has lagged behind the United States (despite far more spending) and in much of Western Europe. Britain and France achieved only average results. Canada and New Zealand scored impressively in all three categories too. Most importantly, the OECD said that education spending in itself is no guarantee of test success. (…)

Source: China Post, Taiwan
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/editorial/2007/12/08/134081/E.-Asia.htm

Hong Kong students ranked second among 45 jurisdictions participating in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2006, just one point behind Russian pupils who topped the list.

Welcoming the results, Deputy Secretary for Education Bernadette Linn today said Hong Kong students’ performance has improved significantly, up from 14th place in the study conducted in 2001.

Ms Linn said this is great encouragement to teachers, principals and other education professionals who have been making unrelenting efforts in implementing the education and curriculum reforms.

“The success should be attributed to the efforts made by schools and teachers. They have taken up the new Chinese-language curriculum, used quality assessment data, and engaged in targeted professional development. All education professionals know the importance of reading for better learning,” she said…

The study is administered by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement in a five-year cycle to assess the reading literacy of students aged 9 to 10 in the fourth grade.

The Education Faculty of the University of Hong Kong was commissioned to study Hong Kong’s performance. More than 4,700 primary four students and their parents as well as teachers and principals from 144 primary schools participated…

Reading habits

Hong Kong students’ reading habits have improved in the past few years. Their reading attitude has shown positive changes and reading self-concept has improved significantly.

A significant rise was seen in the time students spent on reading and in the frequency of their borrowing books from the library. About 76% students read stories or novels at leisure time at least once or twice a week while 83% went to school or public libraries at least once or twice a week.

The study also showed there was a rise in parents engaging their children in reading activities such as telling stories and visiting the library. There was also improvement in home educational resources, such as the increasing number of books at home. All these helped to provide a favourable reading environment…

Source: News.gov.hk, Hong Kong
http://news.gov.hk/en/category/atschool/071129/html/071129en02003.htm

Finland once again takes the number one spot in OECD’s three-yearly PISA test of the abilities of a sample of 15-year old secondary-school students, followed by Hong Kong (China) and Canada in second and third place while Ireland got a 15th place, according to advance details of results that will be published in full next week.

The PISA survey, based on tests carried out in 2006 in 57 countries that together account for nearly 90% of world GDP, is the most comprehensive and rigorous international yardstick of secondary-school students’ attainments. After focusing in 2000 on reading skills and in 2003 on mathematics, PISA 2006 tested students on how much they knew about science and their ability to use scientific knowledge and understanding to identify and address questions and resolve problems in daily life.

Comparisons between the results of the 2006 tests and those of previous years are not strictly valid, as the nature of the tests varied. Full PISA results will be published on Tuesday 4 December 2007; advance details are being made available following the publication by a Spanish magazine of partial leaked figures.

Commenting on the PISA survey, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría noted that it is a tool to assist governments in their policy choices on education. “In today’s competitive global economy, quality education is one of the most valuable assets that a society and an individual can have,” he said.

In that context, he added, “PISA is much more than just a ranking. It is about how well individual education systems are equipping their young people for the world of tomorrow. First and foremost, it tells countries where their strengths and weaknesses lie.” …

Source: FinFacts Ireland, Ireland
http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_1011958.shtml

You have to wonder why, when the U.S. Census reports that the single child family is the fastest growing family unit, people tell parents with only one child that they really should have another. Those proponents of large or larger families claim your only child will be spoiled, lonely, or selfish.

These social stereotypes and others date back to the 1890s and have no basis, in fact – one could question if they ever did. It is parenting style more than the number of siblings that influences how an only child—or any child for that matter—turns out…

Myth: Only children are aggressive and bossy.

Fact: Only children learn quickly that attempting to run the show, a ploy that they may get away with at home, doesn’t work with friends and a bossy, aggressive attitude is a quick ticket to ostracism from the group. Lacking siblings, only children want to be included and well liked.

Myth: Only children prefer more solitary, non-competitive amusements because they are alone a great deal of the time.

Fact: This preference has more to do with social class than family size. The interests in these amusements stem from parental values and the home environment of middle- and upper-middle class families, which are more likely to have a single child…

Myth: Only children are spoiled.

Fact: Being spoiled is a reflection of our society. The Chinese feared they were raising a generation of “little emperors” when their only child policy was in effect. Looking back 20 years later they found the only children were not particularly spoiled and found no difference in only children’s relationships with friends when studied with children who had siblings.

Myth: Only children are selfish.

Fact: Every child at one time or another believes the world revolves around him…

Myth: Only children must have their way.

Fact: Children with siblings often have more “who’s the boss” difficulties because they are constantly forced to share toys, television times, and parents…

Myth: Only children are dependent.

Fact: Because of adult guidance and lack of siblings to lean on, only children are more self-reliant and independent than those who have brothers and sisters to fend for them.

Myth: Only children become too mature too quickly.

Fact: Children with siblings relate and talk to their siblings rather than their parents. The only child’s primary role models are parents. The result is that only children copy adult behavior as well as adult speech patterns and develop good reasoning skills early on making them better equipped to handle the ups and downs of growing up. A good thing, for sure…

Source: Modern Mom, CA
http://www.modernmom.com/content/2875/2/

Primary and middle school students lack the ability to apply academic skills despite having a basic grounding in areas such as reading, writing and calculation, according to the results of a nationwide achievement test conducted by the Education, Science and Technology Ministry…

The tests, which focused on the Japanese language, primary school arithmetic and middle school mathematics, featured two types of questions. The first type quizzed the students on their basic knowledge of each subject, and the second examined their ability to utilize their knowledge to solve problems they might encounter in their daily lives.

At primary schools, an average of 82 percent of students answered the first part of both tests correctly. However, for the second part of the tests, the scores were 63 percent and 64 percent for the language and arithmetic tests, respectively.

In middle schools, 82 percent of students correctly answered the first part of the language test, and 73 percent passed the first part of that for mathematics. For the second sections, 72 percent and 61 percent were successful in language and mathematics, respectively.

The results revealed that many students lack the ability to think independently and express themselves freely–findings similar to those of the Program for International Student Assessment conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development…

Source: The Daily Yomiuri, Japan
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20071025TDY01305.htm

At one Tokyo public high school, three students who became pregnant over the past year decided they wanted to keep their babies. They were allowed to remain students at the school, though the births deeply embarrassed schoolteachers and officials, who wagged an accusatory finger at the influence of TV–in particular, a hit TV drama series last autumn that centered around a 14-year-old middle school student who has a baby.

“Partly because of the TV drama’s influence, female students who would probably have chosen abortion in the past now tend to choose to keep the baby,” one school official said, adding that parents who would mostly have opposed keeping the babies in the past now tend to be more accepting when girls decide against having an abortion…

The doctor commented, “I feel the students were sexually mature, but lacked the knowledge they need to protect their bodies.”

This school’s case is not unique. Though an increasing number of teenagers are sexually active, many are ill-informed about sex, particularly with regard to birth control–as shown by the number of middle and high school girls who become pregnant or catch sexually transmitted diseases.

Alarmed by this situation, many bodies and groups across the nation are trying to help teenagers make informed choices about life and sex…

“Many teenagers don’t have basic knowledge about, for example, the menstrual cycle and how women become pregnant. Young Japanese are very vulnerable compared with their counterparts in other industrialized countries,” Sekiguchi said…

Source: The Daily Yomiuri, Japan
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20071020TDY04302.htm