Paper Topic:

Benefits of Chinese and Canadian Education and Exchanges for Chinese Students

BENEFITS OF CANADIAN EDUCATION

FOR CHINESE STUDENTS

2004

INTRODUCTION

Internationalization of education is arguably the most characteristic feature of the modern epoch . Due to educational exchange programs hundreds thousand students from all countries across the globe have already obtained or will soon obtain a chance to take advantage of a perfect opportunity to improve and diversify their knowledge base increase their cultural sensitiveness , and improve skills in working with people from different educational , religious , and ethical backgrounds , which is so important in the globalized world we live in

these days (Calleja , 2000 Carnevale , 1999 . Chinese students are also making use of these unique educational opportunities - to a great extent the result of active cooperation between Canadian and Chinese educators which started only several decades ago but has already brought significant benefits to students of both countries

Since the early 1970s , China and Canada have been making observable progress in cooperation in the realm of education , namely educational exchange . Various forms of cooperation have been established between Canadian and Chinese schools and especially colleges and universities The two countries exchange academic delegations , scholars , students educational achievements and materials , conducted joint researches trained personnel cooperatively and together sponsored teaching seminars and training courses . As a result of these long-term efforts , the understanding between Canadian and Chinese educational departments has deepened and improved with both sides benefiting from the improvement although educational systems of the two countries are entirely different

MAIN DISCUSSION

1 . Canadian And Chinese Education Systems Compared

The education systems of Canada and China are far from being similar Various historic and political legacy of the countries can be accounted for much of the dissimilarities . Canada is a federal country , and the education system there is decentralized : the central government plays a minimal role in determining curriculum , methods of teaching , etc Canadian provinces have almost full autonomy in choosing education policies : each province has several regional school boards responsible for this issue (Campbell , 2003

Since the very beginning of Canada as a state , freedom of religious education has been a major part of the overall educational doctrine of the country . The Canadian constitution (Section 93 of the British North America Act of 1867 ) stipulates that any province joining Canada must preserve the religious character of its schools , as they existed at the time of union . As Callan (2000 , a renowned Canadian scholar explains In nineteenth-century Ontario and Quebec religious differences marked deep political fissures , and a common education that prescinded from religious conviction was acceptable to scarcely anyone . Common schools in both provinces would cater to the creed of the majority . But since the religious majority in each was the minority in the other , almost everyone had reason to support a modus vivendi that would cater to minority demands in both provinces . Agreement on school rights for the Protestant minority in Quebec and the Catholic minority in Ontario was critical to the very creation of the Canadian state (p .47

By contrast , in post-1949 China , the central government (the Communist Party...

10 pages

46.5 KB

Free sing-up