Education Essay: Comparing Chinese and American Math Education

Comparing Chinese and American Math Education
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Comparing Chinese and American Math Education
Reading 1: An, S. (2000). Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs and Their Impact on the Practice of Teaching in China.
The aim of this study was to establish the beliefs that Chinese math teachers had and the influence of such beliefs on their teaching practice. The objectives of the study included recognizing the views of the Chinese teachers on the goals of education, examining the approach to teaching mathematics in Chinese classrooms, and investigating the mode of instruction that Chinese teachers use depending on the levels of students. Data was collected through interviews. The overall goal of the study was focusing on the essence of teachers’ beliefs and their effect on the teaching practice of teachers, as well as providing data and recommending ways through which issues can be identified and addressed in teaching mathematics in Chinese and American schools. The findings of the study showed that the beliefs of teachers of mathematics and the teaching practice help in shaping the way of instruction by the teachers, and social and cultural contexts influence the belief systems of the teachers.
Reading 2: Sanders, B. J., Parkay, F. W., Shen, J., & Xin, T. (1998). A Cross-National Comparison of Fourth-Grade Mathematics Instruction in the United States and China.
This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the various factors that are related to student achievement and performance in mathematics. The factors considered included cultural and societal influences, as well as school and student characteristics. The study focuses on the similarities and differences between American and Chinese teachers in regard to three areas; sense of personal efficiency in teaching math, perception on the capacity to improve the efficiency of instruction, and perception on the relation between student comprehension and lesson preparation and content delivery. The researchers randomly selected 79 4th grade teachers, with 50 being from the US and the remaining from China and involved them in the survey. Findings from the study showed that there are various similarities between U.S and Chinese teachers in regard to perceived effort, competence, and the essence of assessments and study materials for students to success and performance in math.
Interviews
Interviewee 1
Interview time and place: the interview was held at Community City Hall 7 on 21st September, 2020, starting from 9:00am. All COVID-19 safety protocols were observed during the interview.
Interviewee selection: the interviewee was selected because she has been through both Chinese and American math education systems. She is also bilingual and understands and speaks both English and Chinese in fluency. As such, it was easy for her to experience the two systems in the best way possible. She is from Chinese-American family and has experienced both cultures; her mother is Chinese while her father is American. She went to school in China until the 6th grade and completed and joined college in the U.S. She is a mathematics and computer science graduate, and she has stayed in the U.S for the last 10 years.
Interview fin...