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

At the ripe old age of 3, Sidney Kinsale is in her second year of learning two foreign languages. She attends a preschool here on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays where she learns Chinese. Then on Fridays, she goes to a second preschool in Scotch Plains where she learns Spanish.

“I’m not sure she’ll totally get it all,” says her mother, Carlene, whose college degree is in early childhood studies. “But our hope is she’ll have a love for language and continue Mandarin and Spanish until she’s fluent.”

The Kinsales are not alone. The Mandarin preschool here, Bilingual Buds, has grown to 110 students from 10 in three years. The Scotch Plains school, Little Lingoes, which opened 15 months ago, now serves 50 students, ages 1 to 8, teaching Spanish and Mandarin.

But while the Kinsales are delighted with the language training — Sidney was at a backyard birthday party recently, swinging and counting in Mandarin, when a Chinese-American woman commented on her “perfect” accent — that is not the only reason the parents like the two preschools.

Ms. Kinsale says that what she wanted for Sidney was a high-quality, nurturing, racially diverse school. At the two language schools, she has come to appreciate the mix of Asian, white, black and Hispanic children. “People who start their children on a language so young understand it’s a multicultural world and they want their children to be part of it,” she says…

“It’s a competitive world, and I want my children to be competitive,” Mr. Kinsale says. “If they’re going to be successful in a white-dominated society, they need to be exposed to this, and I believe they will excel.” …

At Bilingual Buds, Sharon Huang, the owner, says about a third of the 110 children come from Chinese-American families who don’t speak Mandarin, but want their children to do so; a third are families of all backgrounds who have adopted a Chinese child; and a third, like the Kinsales, have no Chinese connection.

It’s total immersion — classes are taught by bilingual, Chinese- or Taiwanese-born teachers who speak Mandarin the whole time. Lessons are familiar, so children understand the context…

Source: New York Times, United States
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/07Rparenting.html

Any expat moving to a foreign country with kids in tow has to decide what sort of education they are going to pursue. The options at either extreme are trying to replicate the schooling the kids would receive in their home country as closely as possible or shoving them into the deep end of their new home, with full immersion into a local school.

In Beijing there are a host of international schools catering to foreigners. Though there are many languages represented, the three biggest are all English language institutions boasting a veritable United Nations of students. Most expats, including us, chose to educate their children in a Western setting.

A small but growing number of expat parents in China make a very different choice, however, sending their kids to local schools. There are a couple of reasons that expats opt for local education. Most who do so are here long-term and want their kids fully immersed both culturally and linguistically. And most of them are “halfpats” — people who have come here on their own, meaning they are not blessed with the incentives-laden expat packages that generally pay for education. Most international schools cost about $20,000 per year…

… Many Westerners fear the Chinese school system because it is considered overly rigid, with strict discipline and an emphasis on rote memorization over creativity or critical thinking. Primary students can have hours of homework a night.

“I think kids should have time to play and be kids,” says Canadian Laura Johnson-Hill, whose seven-year-old daughter is enrolled at the French school (a more affordable international option) after attending Chinese preschool.

Others see it differently. For Irene Tanner, an American parent whose 5-year-old daughter attends a bilingual school, the academic discipline is a large part of the attraction. “Expectations are much higher and I think the kids are pushed higher,” says Ms. Tanner. “I understand that people don’t like it for the same reason but I don’t see anything wrong with a rigorous primary school platform.”

Still, Ms. Tanner moved her daughter from a purely Chinese school to a bilingual alternative in part because she was frustrated by her own inability to stay on top of the education. Though her spoken Chinese is quite good, she couldn’t understand the written memos or adequately discuss her daughters’ education with teachers or administrators. “You have to either be truly fluent in Chinese or willing to be a fairly passive participant in your child’s education,” she says.

Most expats who start out in Chinese schools eventually transfer to a Western option, unless the children plan to attend a Chinese university. Chinese high school diplomas are accepted at U.S. universities but people tend to pick an international curriculum to make sure the students receive sufficient schooling in relevant topics such as Western history. Whether their new curriculum is French, English, American or international, most of the kids find it easier than their old…

Source: Wall Street Journal - USA
http://tinyurl.com/3c3doe

Britain’s young workers are among the lowest achievers at GCSE or equivalent in a league table of countries published today.

The results show that Britain has plummeted to 22nd of 29 countries, from 14th place 40 years ago, despite its pupils attaining ever-higher grades. They raise fears that an underclass is emerging, increasingly unsuited to the job market as manual work declines and competition grows from abroad.

While 97 per cent of South Korean students were awarded the equivalent of five good GCSEs, only 73 per cent of British exam candidates achieved the same results. They were surpassed by those educated in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scandinavian countries and much of Western Europe…

Andreas Schleicher, head of analysis for the OECD education directorate, predicted polarisastion between the university-educated and those who failed to achieve a good secondary education. “It is an issue of globalisation,” he said. “The average British citizen has to compete with the best-educated people in China. Those with poor qualifications will find it harder and harder. There have been huge changes in the labour market and the prospect for those without good qualifications is declining.”

The annual report on educational standards compared the qualifications at age 16 of people now aged between 25 and 64. The number of British men and women who attained the equivalent of five GCSEs at A to C grade had risen from 60 per cent among those leaving school 30 or 40 years ago, to 73 per cent for those aged 25 to 34. Improvements in other countries had soared, however, pushing Britain from 14th to 22nd in the table. Only Turkey, Spain, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Mexico scored lower…

The report also questioned 15-year-olds across all the countries to find out how many intended to go to university. Only 32 per cent of British respondents wanted to study for a degree, one of the lowest levels of all countries…

Source: Times Online, UK
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article2484981.ece

Those who say the plan to make migrants learn English is illiberal are wrong - ask my mother

My mother has lived in this country for more than 30 years, and yet she cannot speak English. She arrived in Britain in the early 70s and spent the following three decades at home raising four children. The grocers, butchers and fabric shops she visited were owned by fellow Pakistanis, and visitors to our home were Pakistanis too. My father dealt with everything that necessitated speaking English; while he was having meetings with bank managers and estate agents, my mother remained at home…

It is hard to know how her life would have been different if she had been able to speak English, but I am certain it would have been improved. It has been suggested that Asian parents’ failure to speak English at home can be a factor in children performing poorly at school. Having spent my childhood speaking Urdu with my parents I am not convinced, but there’s little doubt immigrant parents who do not speak English are harming their own life chances. The government’s plan to demand that new migrants learn English before they are allowed entry to the UK seems eminently sensible…

My mother gave all she had for her children. Now she’s in her 70s, it is heartbreaking to contemplate the sacrifices women like her made for their children. Knowledge of English might have given her the confidence to explore the wider community, given her more freedom, inspired her to learn to drive and, in the lonely years that have followed my father’s death, enabled her to find comfort in the community rather than in Pakistani soap operas. If she had been persuaded, even by compulsion, to learn English all those years ago, how different might her life have been?

Source: Guardian Unlimited - UK
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2167027,00.html

Nearly all pregnant women in China have an unhealthy diet, according to a survey released by experts from China Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the city yesterday…

“Most mothers-to-be are only familiar with proteins and vitamins. Many pregnant women do not understand that trace elements are very important for the fetus. Many women continue to eat their traditional diet which emphasizes fatty and rich food,” said Dr Xu Qingmei, vice director of the institute.

“Fewer than 60 percent of the women surveyed knew that the development of intelligence starts from the fetus. The rest believed the brain developed after a child was born.”

She said 96.7 percent of the respondents said they ate too much or lacked appetite and were not eating diets recommended by their doctors. The average intake of cereals for the surveyed women was only 50 percent of the recommended amount. And they consumed less than 20 percent of the recommended amount of vegetables…

Source: Shanghai Daily, China
http://tinyurl.com/yucfwb

A new scientific study finally backs up one of our culture’s most stubborn premises

There has been a long and steady rethink in gender identity over the last few decades. Feminist movements advocated for gender equality. Women began breaking through corporate glass ceilings. Couples’ roles in the home started to blend, even reverse…

As gender norms evolved, so too did ideas about sexuality. Today the topic is still hot: psychologists wonder about the imposition of gender identity on children through such items as toys and clothing…

A twist to the study is that there were two groups. The first was made up of British Caucasians. The second group were all Han Chinese from mainland China, recent arrivals in the U.K.

In China, the blue-pink distinction is far less entrenched. Deep reds are, in fact, the preferred colour, reflecting their “good luck.” So both genders displayed more preference for reds. But even here, Ling says, females “still prefer red more than males.” …

One way to settle the argument would be to examine the phenomenon in babies. But classifying baby responses is notoriously difficult. The scientists are, nonetheless, pursuing this avenue of research.

Source: Toronto Star, Canada
http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/249822

Young Chinese families are trying to give their kids an early start in the ultra-competitive process of education: By starting lessons in the womb.

Pregnant women are talking to their unborn babies, and even playing Mozart music, to their bellies in an effort to help their child get a headstart on education and an edge in intelligence.

According to heath experts, the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice, taijiao, has re-emerged as a trendy way for the new generation of urban mothers.

Taijiao, or fetal education, is designed to boost the mood of mothers-to-be in a bid to ensure a smooth pregnancy and a healthy, intelligent child…

According to M.K. Chin, a nurse-midwife who has delivered more than 3,000 babies, she has seen more expectant mothers take up taijiao in the past five years and says its is beneficial.

However she says no amount of taijiao is as effective as mother-child bonding after birth and says breastfeeding is a far more positive choice for a child’s intelligence than taijiao.

Source: People’s Daily Online, China
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/6245116.html

China’s vaunted engineering grads are good at taking tests but fall short on the job. China is trying to change its technical education.

The perception in the West that China churns out engineers at a factory pace seems less threatening at closer look. Many graduates can’t find work, and corporate recruiters lament a dearth of qualified applicants. Underfunding and other factors have produced an educational crisis that could soon wreak havoc on China’s growth. To sustain its breakneck pace, China will need lots of high-quality engineers and scientists, but it doesn’t have the universities to produce them. Prof. Mao Shoulong of Renmin University, a specialist in government administration, recently spoke with NEWSWEEK’s Wang Zhenru about the challenges facing China’s education system…

In general, the quality of college education is upgraded in China compared with that of the ’80s … In the ’80s, students studied much harder than students do nowadays. At that time, only about 5 percent of the senior middle-school graduates were able to enroll into colleges. But now more than 20 percent of senior middle school graduates are enrolled in college. Even so, compared with famous universities in the developed countries, the quality of education in China is still low…

… In general, compared with what China had before, China now has upgraded its quality of education, but compared famous universities in the world, China is still low in educational quality…

The rote memorization system detracts from the quality of education. But in China this system is welcomed. For example, middle-school students have to do rote memorization. College students and postgraduates also have to do this. In China, students have to take unified national examinations for postgraduate education, so most of the students have to recite or memorize things. In this way, combining theory with practice and making new breakthroughs and creativity are ignored.

Many Chinese graduates today are not employable in big multinational firms, for example, because they don’t have practical training…

Source: Newsweek
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20216224/site/newsweek/