The science education of the East Asian regions

Through the lens of PISA, we can have a general picture of the science education of the East Asian regions. First of all, their science performance is definitely very good, with many of them consistently ranked within the top ten in the PISA tests, having a large proportion of top performers, and improving steadily in the past decade. Although East Asian students generally have low self concept on learning science, Chinese students are nevertheless more interested in and value science learning as compared to their Japanese and Korean counterparts. In the East Asian classroom, science teachers tend to teach more traditionally: fewer hands on and investigative activities, less interaction and less emphasis on the application of science. Interaction seems not an effective pedagogy in the East Asian classroom - the more the lesson is interactive, the poorer the students perform, particularly for Japan and Korea. Hands on activity, though not clearly conducive to science achievements, is associated with enjoyment of science learning for Chinese students. Common in East Asian regions is that student performance and enjoyment get enhanced whenever there is more application of science in class. Scientific investigation, to the contrary, is negative to both performance and attitudes in all East Asian regions. The class sizes of the East Asian regions are large as compared to their western OECD counterparts. However, students are attentive in class and there is less disorder and noise. East Asian students often spend lots of time on after-school tutorial classes, which, together with less truancy and greater attentiveness in class, render their actual learning time more than the western students.

The above characteristics of the East Asian education could be better understood with the literature about Chinese learners and teachers and the Confucian Heritage Culture. The paradoxes of the Chinese learners and the Chinese teachers were raised and thoroughly discussed in the three books: The Chinese Learner (Watkins & Biggs, 1996), Teaching the Chinese Learner (Watkins & Biggs, 2001) and Revisiting the Chinese Learner (Chan & Rao, 2009), in which some of the myths of the stereotyped Chinese learners and teachers were debunked. Chinese students do not learn by rote but seek understanding through repetition and memorization. They are motivated both extrinsically and intrinsically by not only individual interest and ambition, but also by social, family and peer expectations. Despite more extrinsically motivated, Chinese students do not necessarily use surface approach to learning; instead, many were found using deep learning approach. Chinese teachers are indeed more authoritarian in classroom, but it was found that good teacher-student relationships are built up through informal interactions outside classroom (Ho, 2001). Given this and the Confucian culture of obedience and respect for teachers, a more teacher-controlled classroom may not necessarily be negative for the Chinese students as construed from the western perspectives; rather, it can make learning more efficient. Besides, a more teacher-controlled lesson is not necessarily passive and didactic; instead, the Chinese teachers carefully orchestrate direct teaching, whole class discussion and group activities in the lesson, which, albeit teacher-centred, can engage students actively in learning (Mok et al., 2001). It is therefore a wrong belief that Chinese teachers and students only aim at memorization without understanding. At last, the intense examination pressure in most Asian education systems might not be negative since it is in alignment with the Confucian culture that stresses efforts, diligence and personal success through education.

Nonetheless, there are variations within the East Asian regions as a result of each region’s unique socio-cultural-political context and the “vernacular Confucianism” (Chang, 2000) developed under it. Japanese and Korean students are different from their Chinese counterparts in many ways: much lower enjoyment and self-concept in science, much less common of the four pedagogies in class, and relatively better in identifying scientific issues and weaker in explaining phenomena scientifically. Though Japan and Korea are still performing strongly in PISA, their students' low enjoyment and interest in science learning may be a concern for sustained performance.

The success of these East Asian regions may be a result of the great efforts they put into the reforms of curricula and school systems in recent decades (Strong Performers, 2013), though more research evidence is still needed to make the connection. Hong Kong had initiated drastic changes in curricula and school structures in 2001, emphasizing joyful learning and learning to learn. Shanghai has put in great efforts in enhancing classroom teaching, in which teachers form teaching-study groups, led by experienced, expert teachers, to prepare lessons collaboratively. Singapore's reforms focus particularly on math, science and technical skills, and, more importantly, on the quality of teachers. Korea's Smart Education has a strong focus on ICT. Japan started "relaxed education" in 2002 with an emphasis on creative thinking, but it was later revised to pay greater attention to basic knowledge and Zest for living. Besides, teachers in Japan are well paid and have ample time for non-teaching work.

Since the characteristics of the East Asian education have their root in their unique sociocultural heritage, it would make no sense of the western countries to "transplant" these "success formula" to their education systems. For instance, the East Asian students could benefit to some extent from the teacher-dominated, expository instruction in a disciplinary classroom, but these may be detrimental for the western students, who would otherwise learn better when the class is interactive and hands on. The East Asian students, despite low in self-concept, could still enjoy learning and perform well since the pressure and challenges have driven them to put in greater efforts rather than to withdraw; the western students, on the other hand, may benefit more from a relaxing classroom culture with less rigorous content standards so that their self concept can be protected. An East Asian classroom can seat in more than 40 students yet teaching and learning can proceed effectively, but it does not mean that such a large class size works for the western students. Therefore, we need to seek culturally appropriate ways to make the best out of a country's characteristic profiles of students, teachers, parents, schools and educational system.

One major drawback of the education in these East Asian regions is the extremely high examination pressure and the accompanying exam-oriented, competitive learning environment. The performance may come at a cost of self concepts and interest in learning, creativity and various important life skills such as independent learning and problem solving skills. If it is true, whether these top science performers can sustain their performance in their life-long learning is called into doubt.