Shanghai to test international high school curriculum

The Shanghai Education Commission says it has chosen 21 local high schools to test an international curriculum. Eleven public and 10 private schools will begin admissions this year, and provide an option of mixed China-foreign education for local students.

The High School Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University is among the ten public schools in Shanghai that will offer the international curriculum to local students. Its International Baccalaureate Diploma Program will include theory of knowledge, extended essays, as well as creativity, action and service. The program also includes six basic courses in math, science and the arts.

Classes will begin this September for the first group of 20 students, who will first need to take the high school entrance exams, and have separate interviews.

"We offer both a local high school diploma approved by the Shanghai Education Commission and an IB diploma," said He Qile at the school. "The number of students applying for the program is far more than we had expected. I think one reason it's been so popular is that the tuition is only 2,000 yuan per semester."

"There are many things more important than academic achievement. Sending them abroad is one choice, but at the same time, we worry about our child's safety and how they will cope on their own," a parent named Zhang Xiao said. "The best part is that the tuition fee is a lot less than schools in foreign countries."

Other public high schools on the list include the No.2 High School of East China Normal Unviersity, High School affiliated to Fudan University, and Shanghai Shixi High School.

Private high schools include Shanghai United International School and Shanghai YK Pao School. Tuition ranges from 1,500 yuan at public schools to more than 55,000 yuan at private ones.

One IB math teacher says limited understanding of the psychological aspects of learning could be an issue for Chinese students, because it may lead to a lack of motivation and creativity. He says the international curriculum focuses on that aspect.

"For example, the math in the IB curriculum includes case studies that don't have a fixed direction. That requires students to search for documents and materials either by using computers or in libraries. We don't expect mature results from students, but it offers a good transition between high school and universities," said Ma Feng at Shanghai High School.

Even before the commission announced its trial program, 33 schools in Shanghai already had their own international curriculums, but they were only open to overseas students.

Shanghai educational authorities say having more local students attending the classes is a way of meeting their different needs.

One local education official says the goal of such cooperation is not to copy overseas educational models, but to develop more creative educational concepts and methods. And the students will still have to take traditional Chinese high school courses.

"We require that the schools must keep the same core curriculum used in local public schools - Chinese language, ideology and politics, history and geography. That's mandatory. We say students should never lose touch with their roots," said Yin Houqing, an inspector from Shanghai Education Committee.

The education commission says officials will scrutinize the integrated curriculum and textbooks before classes begin in the fall.