The Mainland Chinese first came to the UK as students and scholars with the open-door policy of late 1970s. From the late 1980s, children and spouses began arriving as dependents. Many of those who came as students in the 1980s find themselves as parents in the 1990s. Although the Mainland Chinese community is still very small in number compared with the Hong Kong Chinese community in Britain, their numbers have increased significantly. Most Mainland Chinese have received a higher education, especially the men, many of whom have completed doctoral studies. In this respect they are not at all typical of the population as a whole. None the less, as has been argued at various points throughout this thesis, they share many aspects of behaviour, expectations, perceptions and needs not only with other Mainland Chinese but also with members of what are sometimes called Confucian Heritage Cultures(Ho, 1991)from many other eastern countries. 

This thesis explores the educational experiences of Mainland Chinese children in three quite different settings: in the home, in community classes and in mainstream British schools. It is based on data collected from a number of sources: interviews with 17 families which made up the Mainland Chinese community in Reading between 1996 and 1998, with community school teachers and with British teachers; tape and video-recordings of the families in their homes, community classes, seminars for teachers of Putonghua and parent-teacher meetings national, and questionnaire data supplied by head teachers of Putonghua schools across the UK. 

A number of themes emerged during the analysis of this data which will be discussed below under the headings of support at home, support in the community, and the interface with British education. Later the implications of the differences which emerge will be considered from the perspective of both teachers and of the Chinese community; and possible directions for future research will be considered. 

Support at home

A picture of the children's experiences at home was built up partly through participant observation in my role as a member of the community under study; partly on interviews with children and parents; and partly on video-recordings of mothers reading with their children. 

Parents were very conscious that their children's competence in Chinese would play a vital role in their reintegration into the Chinese school system on their return. They expressed concern about their children's ability to express themselves in Chinese and their frequent code-switching between English and Chinese. They often referred to the difficulties which children experienced with aspects of grammar such as measure words, and homophones. Some parents were deliberately trying to maintain a Chinese-only policy in the home in an attempt to ensure that their children's competence in Chinese was not negatively affected by their exposure to English in school, on television and in the wider society. In this respect, the experience of Chinese families is likely to have much in common with that of other temporary migrants (Yamamoto & Richards, 1998; Khan, 1997).

Other pressing worries concerned children's level of literacy in Chinese and their performance in Maths, two areas which had far-reaching implications for their educational future when they returned to China. The Chinese parents in this study had very high expectations of their children but they also provided a great deal of support. Most helped their children with Maths and Chinese on a daily basis after school and also at weekends. 

The video-recordings of the mothers reading with their children were particularly illuminating. The mothers interpreted the request to read with their children by taking standard textbooks from China rather than story books. Their interactions with their children were direct and instructional: children remained on task answering questions which often placed more emphasis on elements of the text than on overall understanding or feelings about what had been read. Much importance was attached to review and practice and children's rate of progress through the book. In this respect, the Chinese mothers' approach is very different from that of many mainstream teachers who attach considerable importance to promoting the idea that reading should be fun. From a British perspective, children can be motivated to make progress by being encouraged to feel that reading is an useful and enjoyable activity. From a Chinese perspective, while there is also a shared understanding of the usefulness of reading, greater emphasis is placed on children's achievement as they progress both through the book and from one book to the next. 

The children themselves expressed a degree of ambivalence towards the support offered by their parents in the home. They reported a preference for using pinyin for reading rather than characters and a dislike of reciting texts and dictation, classic ways of testing learning in China which seldom form a part of mainstream British schooling today. Some also expressed a dislike for Chinese handwriting practice which they felt was much more difficult than English. However, they enjoyed the fact that-in almost all cases, they were among the best in math in their class and accepted that any pressure put on them by their parents was for their own good. All the children seemed to share their parents' high aspirations for them, several expressing the wish not only to go on to university but to study for a higher degree. 

Learning in the community

The Mainland Chinese community is following the same course as many other language minority communities in the UK (c.f. LMP, 1985; Edwards  & Redfern, 1992). In the early days, the sole responsibility for maintaining the language was taken by parents in the home. However, as the community became better established, families looked outward for help in ensuring that children learned to read and write in the community language, and the first classes were established. The discussion of community language teaching in this thesis is based on in-depth observation of the development of Putonghua classes in the Reading Chinese school; interviews with key figures in the Reading Chinese school; questionnaire data collected from the headteachers of Putonghua teachers nation-wide;  and video-recordings of two national seminars for teachers of Putonghua. 

At the time I began data collection for the present study in 1996, there were only twelve Mandarin Chinese schools in the UK compared with over a hundred Cantonese schools. The number of both students and teachers was very small and the age range within any given class was likely to be large, posing additional challenges for the teachers. 

The experience and training of the teachers for the classes emerged as an important issue. As is the case in many community school settings, most teachers of Putonghua had received no formal teacher training. Not surprisingly, their approach had much in common with that of parents in the home. Teaching was direct and instructional; children were expected to pay careful attention and the aim was to impart a body of knowledge.  Lack of familiarity with the experience of Chinese children in mainstream schools was a problem even for those who had taught in China. Teachers expressed frustration at the children's behaviour in class and needed to consider issues of discipline and control. 

In addition, teachers of Putonghua expressed concern that teaching materials designed for use in China were sometimes inappropriate for children living overseas who were unable to draw on the same cultural experiences and knowledge. The serious shortages of relevant textbooks and teaching materials was a particular problem for a community with limited financial resources though, in the present study, the generosity of the wider Chinese community in allowing space for Putonghua teaching under the aegis of the Reading Chinese school was clearly very helpful.  There was widespread agreement that the provision of Putonghua classes for their children was an important priority; the use of volunteer help also underlines the commitment of the community as a whole towards this end. 

The interface with British education

All the parents in the present study had received their primary, secondary and university education in China. Inevitably their responses to British schooling had been deeply influenced by their own educational experiences. The children, for their part, have to negotiate a path through the expectations of their parents and those of mainstream British education. In the discussion which follows, areas which proved to be contentious include differences in attitudes to learning, the curriculum, competition, homework and textbooks. 

Approaches to learning

The Chinese parents in this study had no difficulty in identifying the main differences between British and Chinese approaches to learning. They commented, for instance, that British teachers emphasize understanding and application while Chinese teachers pay more attention to knowledge and memorization. While appreciating the benefits of the British approach, particularly in relation to creativity, most Chinese parents remained agnostic. They were confident of the value of providing children with a firm knowledge base from which they could later generalize; they also attached importance to the role of memorization in this process. They were dissatisfied with a perceived lack of focus on content in British education and felt dissatisfied that memorization appeared to play no role in British schools. Many parents expressed a preference for a middle way which retained elements of both British and Chinese approaches. 

As was pointed out in chapter three, however, the western understanding of the Chinese approach to learning is, at best, limited. Most western observers are highly critical of memorization or rote learning, implying that this approach does not result in real learning or understanding. However, in wastern philosophy of learning, memorization has never been viewed as an end in itself. Eastern philosophy identifies three approaches to learning: memory, understanding what is in books and incorporation what is in books into your own experience. The parents in this study shared the widespread Chinese belief that memorization and understanding are a unitary entity in which one element complements the other. 

It's also interesting to notice that parents and teachers have different attitudes to praise and blame. The Chinese parents in the present study often complained that mainstream teachers offered too much praise and made excuses for their children's shortcomings. In contrast, Chinese teachers - and parents - criticize children in an effort to pressurize them to improve. Most parents expected teachers to identify their children's weak points so that they could offer help at home. Although parents and teachers shared the same goal - the best possible outcome for the child - the parental approach seems unduly critical to British eyes, and the teacher approach unhelpfully permissive to Chinese eyes. 

The views of mainstream teachers on perceived differences between Chinese and other children are also illuminating. British teachers try to guide children towards independent thinking and problem solving. Chinese parents and teachers in a community setting, in contrast, emphasize the acquisition of knowledge and attach great importance to accuracy. As part of this approach, there is an expectation that there is a 'correct' way of arriving at a solution. Most of the mainstream teachers consulted as part of this study recognized this difference in emphasis. For instance, Mrs Aird in Newtown Primary School (see chapter four) countered the preoccupation with accuracy by spending a great deal of time in a parent interview explaining that reading was not simply a mechanical process of decoding the written word: it was important that children should understand what they read. She also stressed the importance of children thinking about what might have caused events or what might be going to happen next. 

This approach is clearly very different from what takes place when learning to read in Chinese. As we saw in chapter six, emphasis is placed first on the elements of characters, and then the character as a whole before building up phrases and sentences. Chinese teaching style is very direct, characterized by precise instructions as to what children should and should not do. Teachers also check at frequent intervals to see if children have understood a particular teaching point. They are much less concerned, however, with developing children's independent thinking or  'reading between the lines' than mainstream British teachers. 

Teachers were also very aware of differences between English and Chinese learning styles in the area of math. All three teachers in the case studies reported in chapter four spontaneously drew attention, on the one hand, to Chinese children's high degree of accuracy and speed and, on the other hand, to the difficulties which they experienced in applying mathematical skills to solving problems. The teachers reported that the case study children often became very frustrated when asked to formulate rules for the patterns they observed, and were interested only in being told how to find the correct answer. This, of course, is not surprising. Chinese teachers tend to emphasize the right answer. In contrast, western teachers tend to attach more importance to the process of finding the answer. 

The curriculum

Parents were generally appreciative of the wide curriculum offered in British schools. They often expressed the view that this breadth of experience benefited children's development in every way. They expressed reservations, however, on two issues. First they often complained that, what the children gained in breadth, they lost in depth. This observation applied especially to math teaching, a topic which will be discussed again later in this chapter. They also felt that too much attention was sometimes given to areas of the curriculum such as art and design which they felt were less important. 

All the children interviewed as part of this study said that they liked British education and they experienced none of the ambivalence expressed by their parents. Unlike their parents, they considered mainstream schooling a challenge, although the nature of this challenge was very different from anything which would have confronted them in Chinese schools. They liked the wide curriculum. 

Competition

While there was a high level of agreement among parents that the kind of fierce competition which exists in Chinese schools is not good for children's development, they also expressed the belief that some competition can be good. Some parents expressed regret, for instance, that British schools do not tell children their class positions in tests and exams. 

All parents expected their children to study hard to be the top of their class and go on to a university education. These expectations were particularly evident in the teacher-parent meetings. For instance, in chapter four, Mrs Lu continued to express anxiety about her daughter's competence in English even when the class teacher had offered assurance that her level of achievement in English was above average for children of her age. To some extent parental aspirations were influenced by their own educational history, since at least one parent in each family had received a higher education. There is evidence, however, that high expectation were no means limited to these particular parents. 

Homework

Parents also expressed dissatisfaction that children were given little or no homework, at least in the primary school. This practice stands in marked contrast with what happens in China where homework is set from the first day of primary school. While parents were not in favour of excessive demands, they expressed concern that their children were often expected to complete little or no additional work at home. They also expressed disapproval of tasks such as drawing and design which they considered less important than subjects like English and math. Parents often judged the value of a school by their homework policy, choosing to send their children to a school which has a reputation for setting homework. 

Parents tended to feel that it was their responsibility to provide homework for their children, even if the class teachers failed to do so. As already mentioned, this decision was very much influenced by the fact that most families expected to return to China and children would need to reintegrate into Chinese education. For this reason, most children were expected to do regular amounts of homework in both Chinese and math, using standard textbooks from China. 

The secondary-aged children, predictably, had a different attitude towards homework. They were well-placed to make an informed judgment on this issue because they had experience of both approaches. Interestingly, some children challenged their parents' assumption that British teachers did not give enough homework. One student pointed out, for instance, that although a homework topic might not seem very demanding, it often took a great deal of time to do it well. 

Textbooks

The role of textbooks was another contentious issue. Parents often failed to understand that teachers did not use a single, nationally approved textbook for each subject as would have been the case in China. As far as they were concerned, this made it impossible to identify where their children's weaknesses lay and to offer support at home. Requests for children to bring the textbooks home had often fallen on deaf ears. Teachers, in their turn, did not understand the parents' expectations of either homework or the more central role of textbooks in primary education. 

The implications of difference

I have outlined above a number of differences between approaches to education in China and the UK and various issues which are contentious both for British teachers and for the Chinese community. It is clearly important that all parties - parents, children, community school teachers and mainstream school teachers-should be aware of these differences. 

Implications for teachers

It is important to point out at the outset that cultural expectations are a major obstacle to communication between teachers and parents. Chinese parents place great trust in the authority of the teacher and would only expect direct communication when there was a real problem. Even well-educated parents therefore find it extremely difficult to discuss their worries with teachers. The fact that they often lack confidence in their ability to express themselves in English is, of course, a further inhibiting factor. It is clearly important that British teachers recognize these cultural and linguistic constraints and that they actively seek to provide opportunities both for explaining their own approaches to learning and teaching and for listening to the concerns of parents. 

It goes without saying that teachers need as detailed as possible a knowledge of the children they are teaching. In the case of the Mainland Chinese community, this might include the fact that the children come from highly literate and numerate families; that they speak Putonghua, a language which is not only mutually intelligible with the Cantonese spoken by most Chinese children from Hong Kong but which is also written in a different way; that children are likely to stay in the UK for only three to four years and therefore have to expend considerable time and effort in keeping up in math and Chinese so that they will be able to fit into Chinese education system on their return. 

In the present study, the parent-teacher meetings provided a value forum for the exchange of views. It was explained to both teachers and parents beforehand that this was an opportunity for explaining what each felt were the important issues for the child. Many issues remained unresolved, very often because the ways in which both parties framed their concerns. Jiahui's parents, for instance, were very concerned that, because their daughter's teacher was not focusing on her weak points they were unable to identify ways in which they could help her. The teacher, for her part, was locked within the confines of her discourse, emphasizing the child's accomplishments and talking in terms of targets for future development. Teacher and parents appeared to proceed along parallel tracks, not realizing that targets and weak points were one and the same thing. 

However, while recognizing that differences in perspective are not necessarily resolved simply by the act of talking, the meetings had many positive outcomes. Parents and teachers got to know each other better; all parties expressed mutual respect and said that they found the meeting very helpful. It would be wrong to suggest that the parent-teacher meetings which formed the basis for this study are typical of parent-teacher meetings more generally: they took longer and were held in very relaxed surroundings; and both parents and teachers had agreed on very specific goals. None the less, standard parent-teacher meetings have enormous potential for achieving greater understanding, particularly if teachers are already alerted to potential areas of difficulty. By listening carefully to the views of Chinese parents it is possible to develop an alternative interpretation of eastern patterns of behaviour. This does not necessarily mean that any one approach is superior to another, but simply that it is important to evaluate patterns of behaviour within their own cultural framework. 

Implications for the Chinese community

Chinese parents can only interpret what they see in British schools through the matrix of their own educational experiences. It is therefore very important to offer them opportunities to find out more about what is taught, how and why. One possible way forward-the parent-teacher meetings-has already been discussed. There are, however, many other opportunities, including home visits, curriculum evenings and opportunities for parents to help and observe in class. Such attempts to include parents in their children's education are not, of course, limited to the Chinese community. Writers such as Edwards & Redfem (1988), MRC (1995), Bastiani (1997) and Edwards(1998) all outline ways in which it is possible for teachers and parents to co-operate and learn from each others in the best interest of children. 

Teachers in Chinese community schools also need to understand the very different approach to education which children are experiencing in mainstream schools.  It is very important, for instance, that they should appreciate the emphasis which British teachers place on the enjoyment of books and the importance of a large and varied reading diet; and of the importance which is placed on learning through talk. It is essential that teachers understand these differences in approach. Where the Chinese approach to learning is different, it is helpful to explain to children why this is the case. The demands of a logographic writing system, for instance, are clearly very different from those of alphabetic writing. There are also aesthetic considerations: Chinese calligraphy is an art form whereas writing in English tends to be more functional. Finally, it is important that teachers should accommodate, where appropriate, to the British model, not because this model is necessarily superior but in order to act as a bridge between eastern and western approaches to learning. 

Directions for future study

An important consideration in any discussion of future directions for study is who precisely undertakes the research. Many of the insights gathered as part of this thesis owe a great deal to my 'insider' status as a researcher (c.f. Milroy 1987; Edwards, 1994). As a member of the community which formed the focus for my research, it was easy to predict and understand the issues which were raised by parents and teachers. Parents also felt very free to put forward views to me which they might either have withheld out of politeness or have found difficult to express if they were being interviewed by an outsider. There are very powerful arguments, then, for the active involvement of insider in the design, the collection of data and the analysis of findings in research on language minority communities. However, the desirability of insider involvement does not necessarily mean that outsiders have no role. Insider researchers can be constrained by their own experience; it is often not possible to identify issues clearly without discussion with others who represent a mainstream perspective. A joint approach involving both insiders and outsiders has much to recommend itself. 

A number of issues have been touched upon in the present study which would lend themselves to further in-depth study. This thesis only touches, for instance, on the experience of Chinese children in mainstream schools and there is an urgent need for a much closer examination of the experiences of Chinese children in British classrooms. One possible approach which deserves serious consideration is action research which documents what happens when teachers and parents make active efforts to understand each others perspectives. 

There is equally a need for more research on what happens in a community school setting. An obvious area for further attention would be the learning materials which are currently is use and how these might be improved. As has been highlighted, Chinese schools have very limited reading books and the content of the widely used textbooks is often unsuitable for children living overseas. There is a case for researchers and teachers to work together to develop textbooks which are suitable for Chinese children attending school in the UK. 

Another issue which deserves close attention is the experiences of children who, having spent several years in the UK, then return to China.  What is the effect of time spent in British schools on their learning style, especially in math and reading? Are there any problems in adjusting to Chinese approaches to discipline or attitudes towards competition? How do children respond to Chinese teachers' direct instructional way of teaching and different approaches to praise and blame?

The in-depth analysis of what happens in reading interactions in chapter six provided valuable insights into the differences between Chinese and British approaches to literacy. Many questions, however, remain unanswered: to what extent, for instance, do the very different ways of encoding speech have implications for the ways in which reading and writing are taught? Are the Chinese approaches simply the product of tradition, or are they a response to the particular demands of a logographic writing system. 

In ending a thesis which has spent a great deal of time contemplating differences in Chinese and British approaches to learning, it seems appropriate to use a quotation in the Confucian tradition which ponders on the nature of study:

The superior man, while there is anything he has not studied, or while in what he has studied there is anything he cannot understand, will not intermit his labour. While there is anything he has not inquired about, or anything in what he has inquired about which he does not know, he will not intermit his labour. While there is anything which he has not reflected on, or anything in what he has reflected on which he does not apprehend, he will not intermit his labour. While there is anything which he has not discriminated, or his discrimination is not clear, he will not intermit his labour. If there be anything which he has not practised, or his practice fails in earnestness, he will not intermit his labour. If another man succeed by one effort, he will use a hundred efforts. If another man succeed by ten efforts, he will use a thousand (No.12 of the doctrine of the mean, translated by Legge, 1971)