Teaching, Chinese-style

That Chinese lecturers think differently about teaching from Dutch lecturers is well known.  But what exactly are those differences, and what causes them?  To find the answer, Wu Wei held a survey among lecturers at Leiden University.

Wu Wei: ‘In China the distance between lecturers and students is greater.’

Doctorate

Wu Wei studied at Xiamen University in South-East China before coming to Leiden. With a grant from the Chinese authorities, she is conducting comparative research in China and the Netherlands into assumptions held by university lecturers about the teaching profession. Her research is expected to lead to a doctorate at Leiden University. 

Culture

In preparation for her research, Wu Wei interviewed ten Dutch lecturers who have taught in China and ten Chinese lecturers who have taught in the Netherlands. She asked them about their ideas about teaching, learning and lecturer-student interaction, and about the differences they perceived between the two countries. The lecturers were also asked about the factors which in their opinion played a role in those differences.  Her research showed that Dutch and Chinese lecturers had different assumptions about teaching, which could be explained to some extent by cultural differences.

Questionnaire

On the basis of her preliminary research, Wu Wei drew up a questionnaire that is now being sent to lecturers at Leiden University and Xiamen University. The universities of Leiden and Xiamen are suitable for comparison because both promote themselves as international research universities. Lecturers at other comparable institutes will also be approached. The aim is to arrive at a more precise summary of the similarities and differences in their assumptions, using a large number of questionnaires to provide statistical information. 

Wu Wei during a discussion of her research proposal at Xiamen University.

Language

Apart from the language, the questionnaires are identical; that for Dutch lecturers is in English, and that for their Chineses colleagues is in Chinese. Wu Wei: ‘Finalising the questionnaire involved some preliminary research and a lot of translating and re-translating the texts to check that all the questions were clear for both groups of lecturers.'The questions are about the lecturer's personal background and position, his courses and students, and his thoughts on lecturing and interaction with students. The lecturers are also asked to indicate to what extent they agree with statements such as 'Learning is being trained te become an independent researcher.' 

Work environment

Wu Wei also asks about the work environment: how this is organised, what the balance is between teaching and research, and what the lecturer thinks about the size of the groups. Wu Wei: ‘We want to see how much influence the work environment has on the lecturer's view of teaching.' In the final part of the questionnaire, the lecturers are asked questions which have been shown to indicate how cultural orientations are related to assumptions about such issues as teaching. An example is the question of whether an individual is the same person at home as at his work, and how proud he is of his home country. Wu Wei: ‘It's not a problem at all to ask Chinese lecturers such questions, but we're not sure how Dutch lecturers will react.'

Wu Wei with her supervisors Professor Xie Zuoxu and Professor Nico Verloop at Ziamen University.

Internationalisation

No reasearch has been done previously into the different views on teaching and learning, and no comparisons have been made between China and the Netherlands on this issue. Research into views on teaching are generally carried out among groups of international students in the West. Comparisons are more generally made between the United States or Great Britain and Asia.

According to Professor Nico Verloop of the ICLON, this could be a possible application of the results: 'The findings of the research may be relevant to internationalisation. International students and lecturers often have different ideas about learning, teaching and lecturer-student relations. If you have a better idea of the differences in their underlying assumptions, you can modify the teaching where necessary or take the differences more into account.'

Styles

Wu Wei can comment on the different teaching styles based on her own experience. Wu Wei: ‘In China there is more distance between lecturers and students. Lecturers are treated with great respect. The interaction between students and lecturers is based more on equality here.  The interaction between students themselves is also much more direct.  They are always asking questions and talking about their ideas.'  

(28 April 2009)