Math teaching first step in China’s soft power
Half of British primary schools will adopt the Chinese method of math teaching, according to reports. Textbooks, advice and training opportunities are offered to teachers to facilitate the introduction of Chinese practice. The British drive is a big step and has drawn wide media coverage and discussion. If we may stay away from the story itself for a while and mull it from the Chinese perspective, it’s significant too, as it’s the latest case of what’s called the increase of China’s soft power.
The Chinese math teaching method, better known in Britain as the Shanghai “mastery” approach, came into view to British educators about three years ago when Shanghai first participated in the PISA ( the Program for International Students Assessment) tests for 15- yearolds in 2013 and came top in math. Since then, 30 Shanghai math teachers have been going to the UK each year to share their secrets with their British colleagues. So far, 140 primary school teachers from England have been trained in the approach.
Considering that China has been struggling to reform its education system to reduce students’ homework and improve their welfare, the news that Britain is so determined to learn from Chinese math teaching came as more or less a surprise. The British decision allows us to take some comfort in the reality that we actually hold the key to success.
That’s very close to the definition of soft power, the power to have people like you, trust you, respect you and learn from you.
China’s soft power goes beyond math learning. Speaking of African students coming to China to study, Kenneth King, professor at the University of Edinburgh and author of China’s Aid and Soft Power in Africa, noted “African students are very positive about their exposure to China and the Chinese culture of learning and hard work.” He told the media that these students’ China experience changed the way they think about work.
When China proposed to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank a couple of years ago, it was warmly welcomed. Countries including US allies like Britain, Germany, France and Australia, went ahead to join the new financial institute despite Washington’s strong objection. That’s a typical moment of a new type of power.
The rapid growth of the Chinese economy in the past decades is in itself a miracle. As the world’s second- largest economy, China provides rich experiences for other developing countries when they design their own national development. For example, Ethiopia has achieved strong growth over the past years by looking at the Chinese path.
Ahmed Shide, Ethiopian state minister of finance and economic cooperation, admitted in an interview that his country is following a road similar to that of China. “It is
not about copying absolutely the Chinese model, but the history of how they managed their development process has been influential, particularly in targeting economic sectors and unleashing the forces of the market in terms of attracting foreign direct investment.”
Ethiopia has also set up special economic zones and adopted five- year plans for economic development, moves identical to Chinese practice.
But officially China has never acknowledged the existence of a China Model, not to mention the promotion of such an idea. In the 1980s when Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China’s reform and opening- up, met African leaders, he shared with them some Chinese approaches, but advised them not to copy the Chinese model. China understands that every country’s national conditions are unique and each should explore and forge its own ways of development.
The modest way China handles the China Model stands as a sharp contrast to lecturing Africans about what they should do. The feedback is naturally positive.
It takes time for a nation to gain farreaching soft power, because soft power comes when you’re doing well, such as good governance, a well- run society, sensible education system, strong market, being innovative with leading science and technologies, and so on.
As China continues to make headway in multiple fields, its cultural impact is expected to ultimately match the huge size of its economy.