CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.4 Methodology
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The qualitative research that has been conducted will add to the researcher’s understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of cram school and give an indication of the learning experiences of previous students. Looking at the cram school impacts on students helps discuss the useful and problematic aspects of cram schools in Taiwan.
The research hopes to provide the new cram school attendee’s with a clearer scope of Taiwanese cram schools’ impacts in learning achievements.
1.3 Research Purpose & Questions
The purpose of this research is to investigate the cram school experience from both the teacher’s and students’ perspectives along with the positive and negative impacts of cram schools.
The research questions are as follows:
1. Why has the educational reforms forced students to turn to cram schools?
2. Why is the English language so heavily required by cram schools and the educational reforms?
3. What are the impacts of cram school and its teaching methods on the students’
learning experience?
1.4 Methodology
This section will discuss the methods used to conduct the research data collection, and will use a qualitative approach with up-to-date academic research and literature.
To assess the quality of cram school education, the researcher has used Kim and Bonk’s (2006) study in which they argue that academic achievement; students’
satisfaction in cram school; faculty training and support are all components of quality education of online education. The researcher chose this study on online education because online tutoring is the result of both the cram school phenomenon combined with the English language appeal in Taiwan. They are so closely linked that they are
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part of one same element. They show great similarities and allow this study to use such arguments as a base.
Firstly, the study has pictured and described the cram school phenomenon and its nature. Then looked at the English learning in cram school, the environment of study, including the teaching methods used. Finally, what kind of impact cram school have on students’ achievements and their learning experience. To enforce this research the study has focused on previous studies’ samples, which addressed the potential function of cram schools and their academic impacts for adolescents in Taiwan (Chang & Yin, 2004).
Additionally, the study conducted in-depth interviews to have more genuine opinions on teacher’s and students’ cram school experience. For that purpose, eight in-depth interviews were conducted on former cram school attendees; the respondents were approached through personal and online contacts. In order to give a deeper understanding of the former attendee’s experience, the researcher wanted to target the following elements: the level of satisfaction the students’ achieved through their schooling, they felt they received, and their opinion on the cram school teaching method as a whole.
Due to the number of English cram schools, teachers and students involved in English teaching/learning, this study has focused on the English language appeal in Taiwan.
The study hopes to allow a deeper analysis of the users’ understanding of their cram school activity in the perspective of drawing out the positive and negative outcomes of that experience. Finally, it will grant an opportunity to explain the potential and limits of cram schools in the Taiwanese society.
Stephen Krashen (2003) argues on the stereotypes people have on language learning.
His argument will help the study to better understand English learning in cram school.
According to Krashen, the need of outdoor experience to learn a language is necessary because language classes can only help students reach the intermediate stage, but they can continue improving on their own.
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Professor Chou and Yuan (2011) have presented two categories of cram schools in Taiwan that will help support this study through its explanation of the cram school phenomenon; the academic cram schools and those offering non-academic subjects.
As explained by both authors, “The academic ones include those who only focus on the core school subjects Chinese, English, Math and Sciences. Most academic cram schools require that teachers hold at least a bachelor degree even though they hold higher academic degrees” (Chou and Yuan, 2011). Bigger size cram schools might hold over 100 students. The teachers usually lecture these classes.
It exists another sort of supplementary education institutions known as, “an-chinban, employs teachers or supervisors whose main duty is to look after a group of children (usually primary school level) to help them with homework and assignments” (Chou and Yuan, 2011). Finally, non-academic cram schools teaching program is not linked to the regular school curriculum and provides talent and skill classes in specific subjects or courses (foreign language, music, art, dance, sports and other talent-oriented activities).
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1.6 Term Definition
This section will provide the definition of terms that will be relevant to this study.
Firstly, it is important to define exactly what a cram school is and in what ways the term will be used in this paper.
Student learning and the term “learning” is used in this study as being different from memorization, then, as a more meaningful process (Entwistle & Ramsden, 2015).
Student learning is growth in subject-matter knowledge, understandings, and skill over time (National Board for Professionals and Teaching Standards).
The cram school learning experience is defined by Elrich (2003) as the actual living through an event, the real life by contrast to the ideal or imaginary, in this case
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in cram school. We usually speak one’s person “experience” in terms of what actually happened to the person (Elrich, pp. 1126). A cram school is by definition “a private institution that uses an accelerated curriculum to prepare students mainly for school or university entrance examinations” (Oxford dictionary). Dewey (1938) defined Learning experiences as “often created through interaction. Therefore it is essential to regard schooling experiences as an interactive process referring to the ability of each individual to communicate and express oneself outside.”
The English learning fever is a term that has been used few authors, and Stephen Krashen (2003) discussed about English as the world’s second language and defined the English learning fever as “The overwhelming desire to acquire English, ensure that one’s children acquire English as a second or fogreign language”.
Academic achievement represents performance outcomes of a person that has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of a specific activity. In this study, we will consider academic achievement as a learning performance on an educational achievement focusing on tests and grades, hence examining what the student actually learned (Oxford Bibliographies, 2015).
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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
In Taiwan, educational reforms have opened the Taiwanese education system in order to develop new perceptions of education and to improve the quality of teaching along with creating an environment fit for study. This chapter will elaborate on the nature of the cram school phenomenon in Taiwan, explaining the impact of educational reforms on these institutions and the emerging trends.
2.1 Cram schools: A cultural phenomenon
When discussing a phenomenon such as cram schools, it is a priority to look at the nature of the latter. Cultural factors have often been associated with education and have influenced many aspects of education. Researchers have largely discussed the nature of the cram school phenomenon in Taiwan as a cultural phenomenon (Courtenay, 2013); (Chou, 2011) (Liu, 2011) where the term “culture” expresses the values of the people. Mark Mason quoted Williams who used an anthropological definition to define Culture as a concept of shared values and meanings, which are common to all individuals of the same group (Mason, 2007). According to the definition of culture, the previous statement can be further examined by the manner this institution expanded not only “in” but also “out” of the country. In fact, a part of Taiwan, Courtenay (2013) found that a high presence of buxiban exist in the United States, where a large community of Taiwanese immigrants have re-created the buxiban phenomenon in a foreign setting. As mentioned by the author, this suggests that “culture” is a strong element and that the cram school phenomenon is arguably a cultural phenomenon reflecting a culture in both education and parenting.
Additionally, Chinese cultures see education as having a high value which should be pursued, Liu (2011) expands on this idea with a Chinese “saying”, « all pursuits except studying are of little value.» To avoid the pitfalls of stereotypes and treating cultures as monolithic we should, however, avoid the risks associated with over-generalization, Mark Mason argued, “Whenever values are discussed collectively, they have to be examined in the context of individual choices of values” (Mason, 2007). Since Confucian times, one’s educational background is seen as the most important standard in evaluating a person's’ social level, while occupation and income
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are argued to be less important. The pursuit of educational studies is impregnated in the culture and has become a traditional value in Taiwanese society. The “accepted”
presence of cram schools can then be easily explained by the role and value that education takes in one’s culture. As Yi and Wu (2004) argued “as long as families are strong supporters for the good college diploma value, cram schools will continue to enjoy its irreplaceable market (Yi and Wu, 2004, p.10-3); (Liu, 2011).
These private institutions have expanded tremendously mostly because of observed cultural patterns. In more recent years, parents have shown putting greater expectations on children’s intellectual growth and capacity building, for that purpose, cram schools have initiated new accelerated courses in various subject areas to specifically meet public demands for academic achievement (Chou, 2011). As previously argued, cram schools’ evolution could have been influenced by cultural values and social patterns that Taiwanese society embraces. Interestingly, the educational reforms took another important role in cram school expansion in Taiwan and will be discussed in the next section.
Scholars have used the broad cultural factor to explain why private tutoring has been stronger in some countries than others and the influence of Confucianism and the forces of globalization have both shaped private tutoring in Taiwan and other Southeast Asian countries (Bray & Lykins, 2012, p. 24). There is a typical vision and belief that Asian students have to study for long hours at school. This vision is part of the Asian educational philosophy and the influence of Confucianism where education, social structure, and human networking constitute meaningful values for its society (Chou, 2014). Taiwan’s society is still ruled by a strong examination system which enhances drills and practices that reward hard work and effort. As a consequence, Taiwanese schools have followed these patterns regarding valuing efforts, persistence, and rigidity (Chou, 2014).
The strong presence of private tutoring in Taiwan and other Asian countries developed for specific reasons and can be explained through historical economic and social factors. Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, along with the falling birth rate, Taiwan has been exposed to a strong demand for manpower, which made tertiary
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senior high schools and universities (Mok, 2006; Chou & Ching, 2012). Accordingly, to the previous factors, in a society like Taiwan where the socio-economic advancement is rapid, high school students attending cram schools in Taiwan was exposed to a 20 % increase in the late 1970s to 50 % in the late 1990s (Chang, Yi).Indeed, high schools faced a consequent increase of enrolment from 1968, with 152,877 students compared with 403,183 students in 2009 (Chou & Ching, 2012). It was in 2014 the enrolment rate of secondary school students reached the highest point with 95.86 % (MOE, Educational Statistical Indicators, 2015). The number of universities and colleges in Taiwan rose from 105 in 1999 to 162 in 2008 (Bray &
Lykins, 2012, p.24), and because of the high stratification of postsecondary education, the demand for supplementary education has intensified. In areas like Taiwan, Hong Kong and China, where postsecondary education is highly stratified, supplementary tutoring during the secondary years of schooling is likely to remain intense (Bray &
Lykins, 2012, p.24).
According to an online report, a recent trend appeared in the city of Hong Kong where tutors were being promoted in the streets as ‘celebrities’. In a place like Hong Kong where consumer culture is strong, the physical appearance of a tutor seems to matter greatly. Students are now not only demanding their tutors be experienced with high levels of expertise, but also that they are “attractive”, this, goes some way to explain the on-going enthusiasm for celebrity tutors who have both attributes. The BBC interviewed Kelly Mok as she worked in one of Hong Kong’s largest tutorial establishments and they emphasised that a tutor’s physical appearance greatly influences one’s career in a country where tutoring is a daily activity.
In addition, Mark Bray (2012) argued in his interview that tutorial schools use star tutors to attract even more students. In fact, private tutoring establishments have a large advantage in keeping those tutors and promoting them to attract even more students. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mark Bray noted that in societies where success equals getting good results in school, parental anxiety was said to convert into a “steady stream of revenue” for private tutoring establishments
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(BBC news report, 2012). The celebrity tutor phenomenon is a result of the acceptance for out-of-school private supplementary tutoring.
In South Korea, China, Hong Kong, the phenomenon has been clearly identified. In Taiwan, the issue hasn’t been largely spoken in academic findings. However, the study is willing to find some similarities to the one of Hong Kong in conducting its own in-depth interviews. Can the Star tutor phenomenon be applied to the Taiwan cram school phenomenon?
When comparing Hong Kong and Taiwan, we can see that Taiwanese cram schools star tutors are less demonstrative in promoting their teachers/tutors in the street.
However, tutors are effectively promoted on the Internet via special tutoring platforms who suggest a large number of native-speaking English language teachers and tutors in Taiwan such as the websites Myu.com.tw or Tealit.com. The particularity of these platforms is the way it promotes the best tutors according to the participant’s geographical area, to its needs and budget. While observing My.com.tw platform, it is clear that the more experience and positive comments a tutor receives on their “profile page,” the better they will be promoted in the section “Top tutors” of the online platform (Website: my.com.tw).
The “Star tutor” phenomenon is the indirect outcome drawn out of the cram school phenomenon and this study sought to interview six cram school teachers to understand whether they had perceived this “star tutor” phenomenon. In fact, the three foreign English teachers out of six mentioned the importance of the appearance of the teachers when getting hired in a cram school. This feature is particularly common to Hong Kong and Taiwan English cram schools, by which the “profile type” of an English teacher must be Caucasian and the more attractive, the better. One of our teachers, who has been a cram school teacher for thirteen years, noted that the attitude towards the importance of one’s appearance was the same as when he began teaching thirteen years ago. Moreover, schools, parents and children praise the development of other skills such as; learning skills, having good interactions with students, maintaining discipline in class or Chinese ability.
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2.1.1 Impact of educational reforms on cram schools
Past educational reforms resulted in the expansion of cram schools in Taiwan and to a greater extent on the diversification of the breadth of these institutions. Here, we will discuss the educational reforms’ that occurred in Taiwan and their role in the cram school expansion period.
The 9 Year National Compulsory Education Act 1968 in which the central government had envisioned the foundation of the country’s education development and achievement was implemented using alternative methods (p.356, Chou & Ho, 2007); (Liu, 2011). These methods were used to help with entering senior high schools and universities, which had caused students to attend cram schools earlier in their childhood to gain new skills (Liu, 2011). The new policy caused great disagreements among Taiwanese citizens, as many believed it added extra pressure on children and according to Liu (2001), some people in Taiwan felt displeasure and had anxiety towards cram schools, which hosted elementary and middle school teachers and was thought of as « Evil cramming.» Since then, all levels of education institutions have experienced dramatic growth in student and school numbers including cram schools, in spite of the controversy.
So, how can we explain this shift in perceptions towards cram schooling? Are cram schools offering the extra-learning expected along with, a quality learning environment that results in better academic achievement? Also, how has the government shifted its plans to reduce the attraction of cram schools? Many researchers have argued that the Taiwanese educational reforms are greatly favoured by the cram school expansion.
In the 1990s, a national education plan was described by Chou & Ching (2012, p.72), as the most comprehensive education reform policy that Taiwan had ever encountered and faced numbers of complaints from the society bringing the education reform to re-organize its plans. In 1996, the council, led by Lee Yuan-Tze had the mission to create Taiwan’s future educational master plan to respond accordingly to the demand of the twenty-first century. Twelve mandates were planned and intended to “cultivate Taiwan’s outstanding talents, encourage lifelong learning, and enhance Taiwan
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international competitiveness in an emerging “knowledge-based society” (Chou & Ho, 2007).
In 1999, the so-called “New Thought, New Action and New Vision” was announced during a conference to develop a new perception over education (Chou and Ching, 2012), which was requested for revision. As a new attempt to meet with the society’s ideals, the Minister of Education (MOE) decided to undergo another conference promoting the creation of a happy, learning environment, “to inspire educational innovative motivating power, and nurture dynamic, creative and competitive new citizens of the E-Generation” (Chou & Ching, 2012). In the 1990s, the main goal was to promote “Diversity” and “Excellence” in the next education policy, meaning to offer good quality education and valorising excellent performance which brought the reform of primary and secondary courses, the expansion of high schools and universities to a greater extent.
The core of the early 1990s reform plans included: “deregulating governmental control over education, exempting education from unnecessary constraints, protecting children’s and student’s right to learn, respecting parent’s right to choose the education patterns and paths for their children and finally, guaranteeing teachers’
professional autonomy. Facilitate lifelong learning was expected to have that greatest impact on reducing students’ stress that resulted from exams (Chou & Ching, 2012).
The Educational reforms’ occurred in Taiwan in the 1990s intended to elevate more innovative and creative citizens for their preparation in the twenty-first century but also attempted to decrease cram school demand.
The Taipei government Department of Education (DOE) launched a program to revise senior high school entrance exams (Entrance exam reform stirs controversy, 1992) which intended to terminate the city’s joint exam for senior high entrance and hoped to ease the trend by which local parents are sending their teenagers to cram schools seeking for better opportunities to enter the star schools. Since 1990, the program showed efficacy in its exercise, involving more than 800 Taipei junior high students after two years in action. Nonetheless, researchers have found that during that period a high number of registered wen-li buxiban (literature and science cram schools)
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expanded from 1,844 in 1999 to 9,344 in 2008 in Taiwan (as cited in Bray & Lykins,
expanded from 1,844 in 1999 to 9,344 in 2008 in Taiwan (as cited in Bray & Lykins,