Educational Differences between China and the USA

Educational Differences between China and USA Education is one of the pillars of life, and a core contributing factor towards the development and progression of one’s life. However, it is important to note that education in itself is significantly influenced by the culture and society in which it is practiced (Johnstone, 2018). This does not mean that education varies in terms of facts from one culture to another. Instead, it simply means that educational priorities and approaches are often influenced by cultural values, norms, and preferences in the society (Ma, 2014). Because of this, the cultural values of the society will influence how students learn as well as what they are keen on learning when at school. In this regard, it is important to note that the USA and China embody different cultural values which are further reflected in the manner in which education proceeds in high school and also in college. One of the most striking issues that one encounters as a difference between the American and Chinese education is the use of online platforms in guiding the learning process (Ma, 2014). Upon first joining KU, one had to adapt to following up on their assignments online seeing as the professors did not make it a point to remind students about their assignments as was the case in China. In the USA, it is often emphasized that one should follow up on their assignments and even submit them online through platforms such as Blackboard. For many foreign students, this was a challenging issue to adjust to, particularly because in high school in China the teachers had taken the initiative of reminding students about assignments and when they were due. Because of this, the first class in KU where all assignments were online was extremely difficult to cope with. One not only had to personally follow up on assignments, but also had to ensure that they fully completed and submitted the work using online assistance material and the online student platform. This demanded a huge adjustment and admittedly during that class, the struggles with meeting deadlines and following up on assignments were significant. This is mainly because one is still unaccustomed to using online services to complete assignments (Wang, 2014). Because of this, many mistakes were made during the process, but this also ensured that one continually learned from their mistakes and quickly adapted to the new system. Upon closer reflection of my experiences and mistakes, one quickly learned that their struggles were mainly attributed to two cor...