5. School Selection
5.2 Bring Children to China
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5.2 Bring Children to China
From the cases we have collected, Taiwanese parents’ arrangement for their children’s study is deliberately considered and compared. Most Taiwanese parents once decide up to bring kids to China, they analyze which schools suits their kids cautiously.
Take the great quantity page view website, taimaclub.com, for example, the Shanghai attending school discussion bulletin could send some messages to us to understand that every Taima anxiously wants to know how to pick up school. From the data conducted from the fieldwork, these interviewees’ children are sent to four categories of schools---Taiwan Businessmen’s schools, private school, international and key schools.
The following content is to separate the four kinds of schools to investigate the behind factors of the parents’ choices.
Firstly, the Taiwan Businessmen’s School is the first choice. Take Taiwan Businessmen’s Donguan School for instance, it first opened its doors in 2000 to provide quality kindergarten, primary and secondary education to children of Taiwan businessmen’s families in Dongguan, Guangzhou. It is determined to put an end to the problem of schooling of the children of Taiwan businessmen, and in turns promotes familial union and harmony so that Taiwan businessmen can focus on their businesses at hand without looking back. Since the Taiwan businessmen’s school provides courses similar to Taiwan’s and the peer group is Taiwan businessmen’s children that make them have good adaptation.32 The dedicated teaching staff nurtures student growth by establishing high and achievable goals in a caring learning environment. Mrs. Kao affirms Taiwan businessmen’s school well：
My kids can contact with Taiwanese students in Taiwan businessmen’s school. It is good that the peer group and my kids have fairly quality. I am sure my kids can be nurtured well. (interview2010012801)
32 Taiwan Businessmen’s Dongguan School Website, available at:
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When Mrs. Kao whose kids studies in Taiwan businessmen’s school was asked her reflections of this decision, she replied：
I feel that to let my kids study in Taiwan Businessmen’s school is a right decision. Since there is much interaction of teachers and parents, the school cares about enrichment, life and character education. Moreover, parents of their classmates are easy-going, with the same level.
(interview2010012801)
In Taiwan, a great number of disciples in the metropolitan areas, they go forward to cram schools and buy dinner by themselves after school. When these kids leave school and gather around, it is unclear to know what friends they could meet and the popularity of mobile phones and Internet perplex the kids’ social intercourse circle. Under such circumstances, parents have to accompany with and understand attentively. However the borders of Taiwan Businessmen’s Donguan School, they live with regular work and rest schedule and have simple networks. From the perspectives, these conditions are niches from educators’ and parents point of view：
Except for establishing caring learning environment, the accommodation life provides students to participate in a team that brings them together and produce a revolutionary feeling. Besides, the school culture helps molding children’s regular work and rest time. For example, they have classes till 5 p.m., after class the students gather together to play the basketball, rather surfing on the Internet. The school invests in providing rewarding extracurricular activities. Like my daughter has learnt to play the piano for 8 years. It seems impossible in Taiwan since only picking up demands much attention. (interview2010012801))
Taiwan Businessmen’s School is a quite good learning environment. The high quality campus and beautiful surroundings is a place to nurture children to grow up blissfully. The students have strong bonds with each
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other. They participate in a team and they can be brought more closely together. In education, students are to receive character and life education given the proper guidance and support. (interview2009080302)
Though Taiwan Businessmen’s School receives highly recommends by educators and some parents, there is also opposite voice. Chairman Wang expresses his opinion toward to the unsatisfying evaluation of Taiwan Businessmen’s School：
The condition is that the determination of this school is good but because all students are Taiwan businessmen’s kids who are spoilt by parents. So that it seems as a group of young masters gather together that no teacher can discipline or blame them. (interview2009072702)
The parents move back their steps because of the negative comments of Taiwan Businessmen’s School. They are afraid if the “young master” atmosphere might have negative effect on their kids’ character cultivation. Some parents also wish to stay their children with them, not to accommodate in school. Mixed the complicated reasons of questioning and distance, there extends another education arrangement, that is private school. The reason why Taiwanese parents choose private school is the concern of adaptation. They worry if their kids receive different treatment in local schools. Though the fee of private school is higher than local school, it is still affordable than Taiwan Businessmen’s school.
To rush about on business and compare various schools, Taiwanese parents’ final decision locates on private school mainly because of the average of quality. As far as these parents concerned, the students who can be able to enter a private school, their parents are mostly returned overseas Chinese with good quality. The principal and teachers in private school are polite and respect our kids. The Chen’s family moved to Shanghai in 2002 and Mrs. Chen holds a positive attitude toward private prime school：
The elementary school we chose for our son is a private school. He gets
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harmoniously. I have joined in the story telling mothers group at school.
We tell inspirational stories to kids to teach them how to behave well.
Besides I personally have learnt a lot from the experience.
(interview2009072804)
Mrs. Huang, whose husband works in foodstuff industry, has expressed that she is satisfied with the Xiehe private school she chose for her daughters：
My daughter transferred to Shanghai Xiehe preparation class. She is the 9th grade now. This is a private school run by Taiwanese. In my daughter’s class, there are half of her classmates are Taiwanese people so she feels okay about adaptation. Their classmates’ economic conditions are quite good that they are able to enter this school. (interview2009072903)
As the above cases, there is one thing in common, that is their peer group’s economic status is close. From this perspective, economic position relates with habits and culture and also closely linked with Taiwanese parents’ identification of local people’s humanity quality. For most Taiwanese parents, to choose economic and educational level close to theirs do set their mind at ease. Mr. Hsu migrated to Shanghai with the whole family in 2003, his wife picked up a public-owned but operated by private sector school, the reason to choose this one is nothing but close economic and social status：
The school I selected for my kid is an Institute of Education Sciences affiliated elementary school. The classmates’ family financial situations are all good. The labor workers’ children have sifted out from this school.
(interview2009073101)
The choices of Taiwan Businessmen’s School and private schools are based on the concerns of fair quality and friendly adaptation. We can observe from the tendency that these parents are weaving a protection net to filter worrying culture and habits, to isolate the low economic status local people, to avoid unacceptable normal orders. Take Mrs.
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Yang for example, she has run an artist’s studio in Shanghai, when their family migrated to Shanghai, she chose SMIC Private School：
In my daughter’s 7th grade, she transferred to Shanghai. She attended in SMIC Private School, Chinese Track elementary school. Most Taiwanese students attend this SMIC private school in Shanghai. This private school is run by Taiwanese people. It is established for SMIC engineers’ children in Shanghai. (interview2009072901)
SMIC Private School has public praise that it at first was founded for SMIC engineers who came to Shanghai with the consideration of their kids’ education.
Initially the purpose of the school was to provide a quality education for the children of foreign and domestic employees of SMIC, so the registered student body was limited to the children of company employees. In 2004 the school opened its doors to non-SMIC children, making its high-quality educational resources available to the society at large and receiving a warm welcome and positive appraisal from the wider community.33 Taiwanese parents rest their mind at ease to let theirs kids study in the school. Since the background of their kids’ classmates is quite good, some are returned overseas Chinese and the parents find the good quality of them. The selection of private school guarantees a higher, politeness and courtesy of surroundings. It is a way to eliminate negative impression of local people in Taiwanese parents’ mind.
In 1998, Mr. Chou decided to go to China to seek for real estate market. As a result, whole family migrated together to Shanghai. Mr. Chou has one son and three daughters and the father has various study plans for each of them. The senior son has entered Shanghai University of Engineering Science. The senior daughter studies in Shanghai High School International Division and gets application of Penn State University recently.
Another daughter studies in Dalian Maple Leaf Foreign Nationals School. The other daughter studies in Shanghai Pinghe Bilingual School. Mrs. Chou pays a lot attention to select the most appropriate school for each child. Similar to most Taiwanese parents in
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China, Mrs. Chou doesn’t identify local cultural standing and quality of life, therefore, to select private, international or international track schools are necessary. In the children’s extracurricular time, they are easily attracted by things with Taiwan images and the kids are very into Taiwanese stuff.
Some Taiwanese parents choose local schools and pick up key schools particularly.
Great majority of parents would like to let their kids enter so called key schools and be able to enter owing to some kind of relationship. Mrs. Chao’s husband is engaged in ceramic tile industry for 12 years and when Mrs. Chao migrated to China with their little son in 2004, the son didn’t perform well in the entrance exam：
Our son could enter this key elementary school due to relationship. My husband acquainted with one junior high school principal and the principal helped us to find this key elementary school. The teachers are dedicated to teaching and caring my kids. (interview2009072902)
The key schools indirectly guarantee dedicated teachers, good quality peer group and supportive school atmosphere. Owing to the trend that elite family trains up elite children in China. Mrs. Yang’s daughter studies in a key senior high school in Shanghai.
When Mrs. Yang recalled her memory of participating in parents’ meeting, she found the high economic level background of each local student：
You can imagine such a key school in Shanghai, every student who can enter is piled with strong economic background. Those students have tutors and are picked by drivers so you can imagine how wealthy they are.
(interview2009072901)
To echo the previous narration, most Taiwan businessmen parents recognize the high economic level local people, to view them with good habits and merits. On the contrary to the common impression of local people’s lower living standard, once the local people have good social and financial level, Taiwanese parents can identify their quality.
Therefore, to select key schools is to check on their children’s moral character as well.
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However, under fierce competition environment in China, some Taiwanese parents find a big drop of values. The definition of success in China is too narrow to lack of soft humanity part. Generally in China, success equals fame and wealth only. But for Taiwanese parents, life education, empathy and tolerance is essential to define success.
The following interviewee observes the fashion of learning is the noblest of human pursuits in China and her peer group needs to care about nothing but studying. Compared with Taiwan education, in Taiwan we care much about life education comprehensively.
The thinking pattern in China is that the only child’s only mission is to study but does nothing else. For example, my classmate never does the housework at home, even to fold his own blanket. One summer vacation, he went to his mother’s store to help but got serious scolds from his mother.
(interview2009072905)
Most Taiwanese parents hold a misgiving attitude to let their kids study in China, especially concerning character education. They try to ease off the negative moral effect by picking up suitable schools. Some parents are so concerned the Chinese education environment that they have to leave their children in Taiwan. Once they do bring their kids with to China, they think over many factors to decide up the school could cultivate their kids with good moral personality. Those schools are as mentioned Taiwan
businessmen’s school, private school, international school and key school. The decision helps them to isolate their kids from low quality local people, to meet close background groups and to check on education environment. It is seamless between school education atmosphere and children’s character cultivation. From the above content, it reveals that character and moral education is not as advantageous as competitiveness in China. Many weaknesses such as living habits, snobbishness, lack of tolerance and empathy will make Taiwanese parents move back to let their kids accept education in China. Or Taiwanese parents in order to safeguard their kids’ moral personality, they will carefully select schools.
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The tendency for Taiwanese businesspeople to let their children to study in China has been one of the most significant issues in journalism in recent years. The main contribution of this study is to explore the two factors---competitiveness and character, affecting perceptions of Taiwanese parents in China over their children’s study plan. We approached actual Taiwanese businesspeople, parents, educators, who provided valuable information about competitiveness and character which influenced their perception and decision.
Firstly, when manpower and capital flows are landed in China. The decision of bringing kids to China is not only the concern of family reunion but also the investment of children’s future. Going to China, the children will face more competitive learning environment and more international surroundings such as mass media, teachers and peer groups. It is speculated that the tendency of letting children study in China has been rising under the aroma of China’s emergence. On nearly all of the indicators that we adopted, parents in China are approved of the competitiveness cultivation for their children. Secondly, from educators’ point of view, more and more educators are aware of the education progress of China. Many principals-to-be go to China as a visiting mission to understand the cross strait education present situation. When they visit some local key schools, they are impressed by the Chinese students’ expression ability and hard studying.
The students who study in key schools have quite strong competitiveness to compare with our students. Thirdly, the Taiwanese businesspeople have found the important niche for children to study in China locally is the networks. When the world fixes its eyes upon China, the interaction with the locals is necessary for people from all walks of life to learn. Only when they know how to get together with, they can be able to have opportunities to run a business or invest locally. Especially China has distinctive national feature, particularly networks. Once you have good networking, things will go your way more smoothly. Last but not the least, according to the fieldwork conducted in Shanghai, many Taiwanese students study locally in China have an imperceptible feeling that they don’t want to be left behind. So these students could pay more attention to study when stand on others’ turf. They unconsciously know they have to work harder to stand firmly