Physical education curriculum reform in China : a perspective from physical education teachers
- Authors: Jin, Aijing
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Vol. 18, no. 1 (2013), p. 15-27
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Among the many changes occurring across Chinese society in the early years of the 21st century has been the construction and implementation of a new national curriculum which includes physical education (PE) as one of the main subject areas. Unlike the old PE curriculum with its sports performance-oriented criteria, the new curriculum puts the emphasis upon health and fitness, which is reflected in the change of name from 'physical education' to 'physical education and health' (HPE). The concept of the new HPE curriculum challenges many aspects of traditional PE theory and practices, and requires PE teachers to change their professional perspectives and pedagogic approaches. As a result, the curriculum reform progresses with difficulty.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how PE teachers understand, interpret, perceive and respond to the curriculum reform and to identify some key blockers that might prevent PE teachers from actively implementing the new HPE curriculum.Participants: Eighteen primary and secondary school PE teachers participated in the study. They were all full-time teachers with at least ten years' teaching experience. Participants were chosen with a view to establishing a degree of gender balance and providing a diversity of school contexts spanning the different socio-economic strata that exist across the area of China in which the research was conducted.Research design: The research was conducted using a qualitative, case-study research framework. Eighteen practicing PE teachers in a coastal city in the Northeast of China were interviewed. This is one of the designated experimental zones for Chinese curriculum reform.Data collection: Data collection included analysis of government educational reform policies and other curriculum reform documents, as well as a review of the relevant academic literature. Informal talks were held with PE teachers and a series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. All interviews were audio-taped with the consent of the informants and each interview took approximately 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the interest of the participants and the natural pace with which the interview moved.Data analysis: The key issues and themes were identified from the interview data through a process of coding. The themes emerged from a search for regularities, recurring ideas, experiences and thoughts mentioned and shared by groups of participants.Findings: All eighteen PE teachers expressed their support for the fundamental goal of putting more emphasis upon health promotion in the new HPE curriculum. It is fair to say that the interviewed teachers, viewed as a group, overwhelmingly endorsed the broad direction of the new HPE curriculum. However, the data reveals a number of structural, personal and cultural factors that might prevent PE teachers from actively implementing the new HPE curriculum. © 2013 Copyright Association for Physical Education.
What do Chinese and foreign universities value about their strategic alliances? Exploring a dimension of higher education alliances in a cross cultural context
- Authors: Willis, Mike
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Teaching in International Business Vol. 15, no. 2 (2004), p. 5-26
- Full Text: false
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- Description: There are now over 5,000 alliances between Chinese and foreign universities but there is little research on how managers from the two sides value the various aspects of their educational alliances. This research finds that both sides valued a range of alliance levels, types, activities, sizes and structures but there were significant differences. Chinese respondents tended to prefer larger and higher level alliances which they perceived as being more long term, viable and indicative of foreign commitment. Foreign alliance managers liked to start their alliance associations in China with smaller scale alliance models which could then be expanded into larger and more complex alliances. Chinese alliance managers preferred an alliance model which aimed to establish a benchmark educational standard in China; foreign staff preferred what has been termed pragmatic alliances which were cheaper to organize and manage. Chinese respondents liked alliances which ensured that at least a range of foreign academic and administrative staff were located in China: foreign respondents preferred to fly staff in and out for particular projects and activities. More generally, foreign respondents discussed the value of alliances in business and income generation terms while their Chinese colleagues conceptualized the key value of alliances in terms of their ability to assist China to develop a highly skilled workforce capable of taking its place in an internationalized market economy.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003007137
Discovering EFL learners' perception of prior knowledge and its roles in reading comprehension
- Authors: Lin, Zheng
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Research in Reading Vol. 25, no. 5 (2002), p. 172-190
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper investigates EFL learners' perception of prior knowledge and its roles in reading comprehension. It is based on a survey conducted among 400 EFL students studying at secondary and tertiary levels in China. Through the analysis of the ranked multiple responses to the questions posed in the questionnaire, the paper shows that EFL students in mainland China believe that their command of English vocabulary plays a crucial role in their reading comprehension. However as their linguistic knowledge increases, they tend to attach less importance to their linguistic knowledge, especially the knowledge of English syntax and formal structures. At the same time, conceptual and sociocultural knowledge seems to gain greater importance. Furthermore, the perceived importance of linguistic knowledge seems to start diminishing around the end of secondary education, when EFL students have acquired a vocabulary of about 3000 words and the basic knowledge of English syntax and formal structures. The final replacement of linguistic knowledge by conceptual or sociocultural knowledge as the top factor that affects their reading comprehension seems to take place one year after the beginning of the tertiary EFL course. This may well be considered as an indication of the EFL threshold level for EFL students in China.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000045