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Fastest Growing US Export To China: Education 147

hackingbear writes "While we are importing billions of 'cheap' products labeled 'Made in China,' the fastest growing export from U.S. to China does not even need a label. Chinese parents are acutely aware that the Chinese educational system focuses too much on rote memorization, so Chinese students have flocked to overseas universities and now even secondary schools, despite the high cost of attending programs in America. Chinese enrollment in U.S. universities rose 23% to 157,558 students during the 2010-2011 academic year, making China by far the biggest foreign presence. Even the daughter of Xi Jinping, the presumed next president of China, studies as an undergraduate at Harvard. This creates opportunities for universities to bring American education directly to China. Both Duke and New York University are building campuses in the Shanghai area to offer full-time programs to students there."
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Fastest Growing US Export To China: Education

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  • Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by khasim ( 1285 ) <brandioch.conner@gmail.com> on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:16PM (#40403977)

    From TFA:

    As I argue in my recently released book, The End of Cheap China, Chinese parents are acutely aware that the Chinese educational system focuses too much on rote memorization and doesnâ(TM)t give students enough training in morality and extracurricular activity.

    So those parents send their kids to US schools to learn "morality"?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Better question: So those parents send their kids to US schools to avoid a curriculum focused too much on rote memorization?

      • by IorDMUX ( 870522 )

        So those parents send their kids to US schools to avoid a curriculum focused too much on rote memorization?

        How many Chinese nationals do you know? Having gone to a university with a large contingent of non-U.S.-citizens, I can tell you that these American schools really are valued for their ability to educate beyond memorization tasks. I have heard many such stories from those who have come here to study.

        And it extends into the high school realm, as well. The city where I grew up was quite popular for immigrants due to the low cost of living coupled with good jobs in the medical and engineering fields. As

    • Re:Huh? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by siddesu ( 698447 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:44PM (#40404339)

      No, not really, it is more of a status mark than anything else. High-ranking Chinese Communist party members (because most of the kids who end up in the US universities will be from rich families, and in China the rich families are connected to a certain political party) have, as all Communist Party leaders everywhere, a penchant for all things Western, especially American.

      If you make a list of all the kids of ex-communist leaders from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (especially the parts of Eastern Europe where the influence of the Communist parties is still strong, whatever their current name is), and you'll see it is a definite trend.

      It isn't about education, it is about image.

    • by poity ( 465672 )

      Probably meant not just morality itself, but personal character that encompasses a strong sense of morality. I know many Chinese parents who've immigrated to the US with their children lament the deterioration of individual character back home, and the negative influence of modern Chinese society -- too much materialism, too little compassion, too much deference to groups, too little room for thinking on one's own -- and the rigid framework of exams that strangles the education experience. I know most peopl

      • but as much it occurs in the US, for them the distinction is still clear

        Just the opposite. Seeing how damaging it in US, they want none of it at home.

        • by poity ( 465672 )

          I haven't encountered any of such sentiment in my conversations with fellow Chinese immigrants. This is in an American college town btw, with highly educated parents. Even two years ago when I was back in China, the sentiment was that education abroad was much more holistic and comprehensive, focusing on knowledge rather than climbing up the exam placement roll sheets.

          • education abroad was much more holistic and comprehensive, focusing on knowledge rather than climbing up the exam placement roll sheets.

            "Abroad" or "in US"?

            • by poity ( 465672 )

              Abroad, including the US. The US and Canada being the primary destinations, with Europe trailing.

              • I see. In Russia it's the opposite, US-style education (memorization in elementary to high school, disjoint mini-courses and schmoozing in universities) is seen as bane and cancer.

    • Sure. Have you any idea of what Chinese ethics consist of? Typically, it's "I got mine, screw you" and "how can I work this situation to my personal advantage?" I'm not saying all Chinese are like this, but it seems pretty common to me in their culture.

      To many of the older Chinese, some of whom actually bought into the premise of communism, this is anathema -- and the youth culture in China is not the place to learn values that conflict with pure greed.

      Just my thoughts on working with and being friends
      • Re:Huh? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by ATMAvatar ( 648864 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @08:43PM (#40406195) Journal

        Sure. Have you any idea of what Chinese ethics consist of? Typically, it's "I got mine, screw you" and "how can I work this situation to my personal advantage?" I'm not saying all Chinese are like this, but it seems pretty common to me in their culture.

        So I see we have already successfully exported US ethics.

    • According to Marriam Webster online morality has several definitions, one of which is "conformity to ideals of right human conduct" which might eventually have some bearing on human rights. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morality [merriam-webster.com]

      Relatively speaking, the US grants better human rights than China does so yes, this does actually make sense though it might not be exactly what the parents intend.

    • No, they come here to learn how to be the exploiters. Ferengi I mean american economics.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    This has been going on for some time, for a number of reasons, not least the profit motive. Several English schools and American universities expanded into Asia (especially China) during the boom years. There are also several universities with presence in the Middle East. It's harder than it looks, when you try to meld two educational schools of thought, and recruiting staff for work abroad is harder than many schools think. There have been several high profile flame-outs.

  • by Chibi ( 232518 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:21PM (#40404031) Journal

    I've read that part of the motivation for admitting more international students is purely financial... universities can charge more, so they have an incentive to have more international students. For the foreign students, there's a certain level of prestige associated with attending an American university, especially for Asian countries which place some additional importance on English language skills.

    So... when does higher education bubble burst? Everyone is expecting it to. It makes no sense that while the economy is tanking, colleges can just continue to charge more money at rates considerably higher than cost of living adjustments...

    • by marshac ( 580242 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:38PM (#40404255) Homepage
      The University of Washington was caught giving preference to out-of-state students for this very reason. As a WA resident and tax payer, it's infuriating that our students are denied the chance to remain within their home State- even worse, they are at a disadvantage relative to the out-of-state students simply because they don't even have the option of paying that out-of-state tuition rate just so that they can be on a level financial playing field. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014670294_admissions03m.html [nwsource.com]
      • There's a pretty easy way to stop the university from doing that: in-state tuitions are usually low because the university is supported by state funding. Make it so they get a fixed amount *per* in-state student. So if in-state tuition is $12K and out-of-state is $30k, the state gives $18K per student, and the university has no incentive to recruit out-of-state.

        If, on the other hand, the state is currently giving the university less than that $18k, then the state is using out-of-state students to subsidiz

        • There's a pretty easy way to stop the university from doing that: in-state tuitions are usually low because the university is supported by state funding. Make it so they get a fixed amount *per* in-state student. So if in-state tuition is $12K and out-of-state is $30k, the state gives $18K per student, and the university has no incentive to recruit out-of-state.

          In our current political climate, it is still the smarter business decision to go with the out-of-state students. That $30k is guaranteed for a non-resident, where $18k out of $30k for a resident is submitted to the whims of politicians, and recent history does not give much confidence it will still be $18k in the future.

          If, on the other hand, the state is currently giving the university less than that $18k, then the state is using out-of-state students to subsidize cheap tuition for in-state students, and nobody in-state should be complaining that an out-of-state student is paying for your kid's education.

          If the state is giving the university less than $18k, it is the university's responsibility to charge more than $12k in-state tuition to make up the difference. It is not the state's prob

    • So... when does higher education bubble burst? Everyone is expecting it to. It makes no sense that while the economy is tanking, colleges can just continue to charge more money at rates considerably higher than cost of living adjustments...

      They can for as long as there are 'enough' students, domestic or otherwise, to keep them in business.

      Free education is a benefit to society, but in America there's too much anti-socialism and anti-service sentiment at this point so yes, we're seeing a reversion to the middle ages where only the wealthy could afford education.

  • To their ideals,... of something or other? Poisoning their youth etc etc.
  • SO THEY can take out loans and go home and never pay them off.

    • I would suppose that if this kind of behavior was widespread, the people with money could simply stop give out loans to them? Or require heftier collaterals?
  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:31PM (#40404185)

    Disclaimer: I am from China.

    From where I stand and what I observed from my friends and relatives, one important reason of sending their kids abroad is because they want to evade some of the selection process in the Chinese education system, like the national entrance exam for colleges, which is extremely competitive. Do they really care about the quality of the education? I am not so sure. It is a strategic and trendy thing to do, at least for many families I know.

  • It's so weird that people say the U.S. educational system is so bad, yet things like this happen (people coming from other countries to attend). I mean below college/university level. (Though even community colleges get many people coming from other countries -- even weirder.)

    • For the same reason people keep saying "U.S. internet is slow" but if you look at the actual numbers we are in third place (tied with the European Union)*, behind Japan and Korea, but ahead of China, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Brazil, et cetera. Oftentimes common knowledge like "education sucks" and "internet is slow" and "Betamax failed because it didn't allow porn" is provably wrong when you actually dig into the subject and uncover the real truth.

      *
      *source: speedtest

    • There are two things in the American system that are invaluable for Chinese students: English and textbooks.

      The ruling class in China have for the past 2000 yeas adopted a policy of manipulating the language to make people obedient. This has been going on for so many generations that now even the upper class themselves have to resort to foreign sources for proper education.

      I know this is difficult to believe. Can one of the oldest surviving civilizations be so corrupted? Actually this kind of culture is ve

    • by elflord ( 9269 )
      Grad school programs in the US are pretty good. People come from all over the place. Students from other countries (UK, Europe, Australia) are usually better prepared than their US counterparts. The US education system isn't so much uniformly "bad", it's just quite variable. Some students take first year grad courses in their final year and come out with a very strong background, but others are taking 9th grade math in college. Some students also come over because it's a reasonable path to immigration, so
  • by Daetrin ( 576516 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:42PM (#40404317)
    Don't we keep getting articles posted about how poor the US educational system is?

    I guess our educational system is the same as our democracy, it's the worst kind of that type (education/government,) except for all the others that have been tried?
    • by CubicleZombie ( 2590497 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:58PM (#40404505)
      It's also trendy to bash anything U.S. on Slashdot.
      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by scot4875 ( 542869 )

        It's also trendy to bash anything U.S. on Slashdot.

        Fuck that butthurt noise.

        I'm a US citizen. I can handle seeing statistics that show that my country is lagging others in some ways. To me, that's a call that we should be looking for ways to improve -- not that we should rationalize why the statistics aren't valid.

        As a whole, US citizens seem to be *extremely* sensitive to criticism. We've been told all our lives that we're special, we're #1, we can't be beat. Then when we see data that suggesting, hey, maybe someone else is #1, instead of looking to be

        • You're bashing the U.S. on Slashdot. My point is proven.
          • Nope

            Mr. Jeremy is not bashing the United States of America

            What Mr. Jeremy did was to be honest, that he recognizes that the United States of America isn't perfect, that criticisms of the USA can be used to make America better

            I, a non-American, have a lot of respect for Americans such as Mr. Jeremy

            On the other hand, butthurts like you, only want to hear praises, and you are doing nothing to help your own country

            You have no respect from anyone - for you do not even respect yourself

    • by goodmanj ( 234846 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @06:35PM (#40404975)

      Don't we keep getting articles posted about how poor the US educational system is?

      Key distinction: The US *grade school* educational system is awful. The US college/university system is excellent. It kinda has to be, to repair the intellectual shambles found in the average US high school graduate's head.

      (Full disclosure: I'm a college professor, so I'm kinda biased.)

      • (Correction: I should have said American K-12 is awful, not just grade school.)

        • by Anonymous Coward

          The U.S. Higher Ed. system is just as pathetic--in most cases, more so--than the K-12 system. Your supposed theory that the professors "pick up the slack for the poor results they get during orientation" is asinine because it was those idiots that baked the current batch of teachers teaching K-12!

          Higher Ed. in this country... ...is fluffy. ...is taught by unqualified instructors who can't get their pompous heads out from their puckered holes long enough to admit that sometimes, they might be wrong. ...is ob

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by rgbrenner ( 317308 )

      The grade school system is terrible and needs improvement. Luckily they do not run the university system. The US consistently has more top universities than any other country.

      US News and World Report: http://www.usnews.com/education/worlds-best-universities-rankings/top-400-universities-in-the-world [usnews.com]
      ARWU (compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University): http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2010.jsp [arwu.org]
      QS World Rankings (compiled by a London corp): http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2011 [topuniversities.com]

    • There's a difference between primary education and higher education, both in the material taught, and what you as a student are supposed to learn from it.

      Primary education exists to teach you the basics, to build a foundation, lay the groundwork. Higher education is where you take everything you learned previously to a higher level. You apply it. You improve it. You make it fit you and the way you want your life to be.

      The U.S. is failing miserably at primary education. But it excels at higher education. The

  • by peter303 ( 12292 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @05:47PM (#40404377)
    My graduate department had more research money than students. More Americans were going into the booming job force with lower degrees. We and our employers preferred more Americans because they had better English skills. But we all adapted to changing talent pool. Once we became mostly international students, we stayed that way.
  • by jvillain ( 546827 ) on Thursday June 21, 2012 @06:24PM (#40404849)
    Normal Chinese citizens are not allowed to take money out of China. Many would like to do that just in case things go bust or the political scene changes. There is a loop hole however. Chineese students can take vast sums of money out of China if it is to help them learn abroad. The last previous condo I was renting was worth ~$700,000. The owner a 20 year lady from China studying at UBC. Lots of Chinese parents use their kids to get money out of the country.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 21, 2012 @06:55PM (#40405181)

    I'm a professor. My college's strategy for dealing with the economic crisis basically boils down to "let's get us some wealthy Chinese students up in here." They don't qualify for financial aid or tuition reduction, so it's full-price, cash money on the table. And it's a great cross-cultural thing for both them and our American students.

    Somebody elsewhere said that bringing in Chinese students is wrong, because they are displacing qualified American students. But for many colleges, that's not how it works right now. With the economy down, colleges are having more trouble filling seats with qualified students who can pay. Chinese students aren't kicking out Americans: they're taking empty seats left by Americans who can't afford college because their Dad got laid off. (That shouldn't be allowed to happen. But trust me, it does.)

    One bad effect of the Chinese influx is that it does allow colleges to keep charging high tuitions rather than lowering them as the demand drops. But for a lot of reasons (tenure, pension debt, health insurance costs), tuition prices are not very elastic. For quite a few colleges, the choice is stark: admit more international students, or wither and die.

  • Is a word best whole in china. i like and i impersonated in whole designed is great designed,And America is the good of social skills.
  • by harvey the nerd ( 582806 ) on Friday June 22, 2012 @03:38AM (#40408745)
    On one hand, the Chinese aren't stupid - they want to get something for their Bernake bucks before their dollars turn to second hand toilet paper.

    It will be interesting to see the generational culture clash, when their kids come home from very liberal arts colleges and universities in the US.

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