Abstract
Shanghai parents and children value education in a highly competitive environment and channel most of their energies to achieve educational excellence for the children.
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Notes
- 1.
This is based on the calculation that the average cost for an apartment in the city is 30,000 yuan (about US$4760) per square metre, according to information given to me by Shanghai teachers. This means that an average-sized apartment of 80 m2 will cost US$380,800. This is a conservative calculation. I was told that some condominium units could cost 40,000 yuan (about US$6339) per square metre. Even more prohibitive is the price of luxury properties. A recent report shows that Shanghai ranks 22nd out of 63 cities in prime international residential index average price, at 100,590 yuan (about US$16,045) per square metre (Teo, 2012). This means that a typical luxury apartment is likely to cost more than a million U.S. dollars.
- 2.
The answer to the first question of the junior secondary school admission test is 18 rabbits and 14 chickens.
- 3.
A Google search of ‘Shanghai key-point schools’ or ‘Shanghai school ranking’ in Mandarin will bring one to many websites on the unofficial school ranking. An example is this website that lists the top 52 senior secondary schools in Shanghai: http://bbs.mplife.com/showtopic-1002848.html
- 4.
For further readings on the paradox of the Chinese learner, see Biggs (1996), Biggs and Watkins (1996), Chan and Rao (2009), Huang and Leung (2004), Jin and Cortazzi (2006), Kember (2000), Marton, Wen and Wong (2005) and Morrison (2006). I should clarify that the paradox is not confined to Chinese students from Shanghai or other parts of China, but to Chinese learners in general.
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Tan, C. (2013). Tiger Mothers, Dragon Children. In: Learning from Shanghai. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 21. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4021-87-6_5
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