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VET colleges in China are positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy, absorbing the 'left-over' students with 'less desirable' academic records. VET students are stereotyped as 'stupid and lazy' youths suffering considerable prejudice in Chinese society. Drawing on Bourdieu's theoretical insights, this paper investigates the experiences of students in VET colleges and their teachers' perspectives on them. I explore how teachers' stereotyping habitus is practised in VET colleges and how it affects their students' learning experiences. The findings demonstrate that the teachers' pedagogic practices in class impose a designated cultural arbitrary via a hidden curriculum. The students adopted 'passing time' attitudes in class as a response to their teachers' 'misrecognition'. The paper examines how a system of unequal power relations in Chinese VET college is maintained and legitimised, which contributes to the 'transmission' and reproduction of the very culture that has shaped the standing of VET in Chinese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the basic knowledge of integral factors of first-order ordinary differential equations and Lie symmetry analysis. It then discusses the principle of constructing an integral factor of the first-order ordinary differential equation by the Lie symmetric method. Finally, it presents some examples to show the process of constructing the integral factor of the first-order ordinary differential equation and finding the general solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper regards the mechanical curriculum teaching as a design problem and uses environment-based design (EBD) method to solve it. First, environment components and their relations of the mechanical curriculum are found out by recursive object model (ROM). Then, conflicts in the teaching process are identified by analysing the above relations. Finally, solutions for solving these conflicts are generated. The proposed method is applied to mechanical manufacturing technology foundation (MMTF) curriculum with 217 students in grade 2016 in China. The solutions used in MMTF include decreasing the mental stress of students, developing more experimental projects, applying real cases and projects, adopting variety of assessments and so on. Compared with the performance of students in grade 2015, the average attendance rate and final scores are both increased, and three of the four achievement values of graduation attributes are risen. The practical example illustrates the EBD method is effective in improving curriculum teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although assessment and improvement of student performance is the focus of much research around the world, investigation of this topic is rare in Chinese higher education. The present study is the first to explore the relationship between classroom assessment and student learning in Chinese higher education institutions based on the data from Chinese College Student Survey (CCSS) 2011. First, the study describes how undergraduates experience and evaluate assessment carried out at the curriculum level. Second, the study investigates whether a structural model of classroom assessment on student learning represents the national data of CCSS. Third, the study explores the relationship between classroom assessment and undergraduates' learning process and outcome. The results suggest that the assessment characterized by communication and conversation between academic staff/faculty and students has larger effect on student learning than the assessment without communication and conversation. The major messages for Chinese higher education are the importance of making examinations part of rather than the end of learning, the importance of integrating paper/report writing into learning, and the importance of providing meaningful and timely feedback to students about their assessment tasks. Perhaps most importantly overall is the need for better communication between faculty and students. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on task interaction, task success and word learning among second language (L2) learners of different levels of word recognition from speech (WRS) proficiency who used a CALL application previously shown to be effective in the development of L2 WRS. Participants (N= 65) were categorised into three levels of L2 WRS proficiency according to their baseline ability to accurately recognise the phonological form of words in connected speech. All participants undertook the same web-based intervention task which involved reconstructing spoken text into the written form in a number of stages. In terms of task interaction, lower WRS proficiency participants chose to listen to stimulus material more often and changed their efforts at reconstruction significantly more frequently than participants of higher WRS proficiency levels. In relation to task success, lower WRS proficiency learners were significantly less accurate overall and less immediate in their arrival at peak reconstruction accuracy than higher WRS proficiency participants. A comparison of gain scores also showed that participants of different L2 WRS proficiency experienced significantly different word learning outcomes after using the application, with moderate WRS proficiency participants significantly outperforming lower WRS proficiency level learners in relation to academic word learning. A synthesis of the results is used to recommend design features of CALL for WRS development which will more adequately cater to learners of different L2 WRS proficiency levels. The paper concludes with some avenues for future research and some implications for the integration of computer-mediated L2 WRS development as a component of L2 listening instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research studies agree on the role formal education can play in facilitating students building a sense of life purpose. This paper examined the influence of Chinese college students’ perceived competence of their teachers for supporting purpose on these same college students’ purpose status. Portions of the Revised Youth Purpose Survey were adapted for Chinese college student and teacher populations, and then administered to 52 teachers and 213 students from a mid-size teacher training university in north-east China. There was inconsistency between teachers’ self-evaluations and students’ evaluations, with teachers rating themselves as more supportive of purpose than they were rated by their students. Upperclassmen reported higher levels of teacher competence for supporting purpose than lowerclassmen, and arts teachers were rated as more supportive of purpose than teachers of other subjects . Students who ranked obviously other-oriented goals as their most important purposes also rated their teachers as more competent in purpose support than students who endorsed other types of goals. Significant positive associations were found among students’ ratings of teachers for purpose support and reports of purpose from students, including associations with students’ purpose search and purpose identification; however, no relationship was found between students’ purpose engagement and perceptions of teachers’ purpose support. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines how the design and implementation of a core teacher education course develops pre-service teachers’ information communication technology (ICT) in education competencies in a mainland Chinese university. This course adopted a four-component instructional design system to develop its curriculum, incorporated an inquiry-based learning approach to develop pre-service teachers’ pedagogical competencies, and used an online learning platform to facilitate the sharing of experiences of using ICT for teaching and learning. This case study demonstrates that innovative pedagogies together with more relevant course content supported by an online learning platform may enhance the effectiveness of a core ICT in education course. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explains the application of concept mapping to help foster a learning-centred approach. It investigates how concept maps are used to measure the change in learning following a two-week intensive undergraduate Marketing Principles course delivered to 162 Chinese students undertaking a Bachelor of Business Administration programme in China. Using four scoring procedures (breadth of knowledge, relational quality, structural quality and holistic quality), student learning is assessed in terms of prior and new knowledge, as well as improvement in knowledge structure. Concept map scores are correlated with conventional measures of overall student performance. The results provide strong evidence for improvement in students’ ability to externalise new learned concepts resulting from intensive instruction. Incorporating concept maps as a contemporary method of learning in the curriculum potentially enriches student learning, provides a measure of the impact of teaching on students’ learning and adds value to students’ higher education experience. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a multiple (n = 23), longitudinal case study of the construction of personal employability by Chinese students at a UK university. It draws on the work of Brown and Hesketh to frame notions of employability in order to understand how these students engage with the international and Chinese labour markets from their own perspectives. The findings suggest that although overseas education is still seen by these students as contributing to their employability in general, there is a decline in the labour market value of the ‘hard currencies’ that overseas qualification carries whilst the ‘soft currencies’ gained from the overseas experiences are of more significant merit. The study also reveals that some concepts developed by Brown and Hesketh, such as ‘purists’ vs. ‘players’ and ‘personal capital’, need to be interpreted and contextualised differently when applied in an international context and outlines how this might be achieved in relation to Chinese students by introducing a Chinese concept – ‘SuZhi’(素质). It is found that the discourse of ‘SuZhi’ has stronger explanatory power for the phenomenon being studied given its broader social applicability rather than being as directly and narrowly instrumental to employability as is the notion of personal capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's impressive growth over the last three decades warrants the need to re-evaluate the position and positioning of English in the country's educational system. For long, English has been taught and learned compulsorily alongside Chinese and maths in primary and secondary schools in the mainland of China. It was not until recent years that the legitimacy of English as a core subject started to be questioned, and calls for alternative solutions began to emerge. For a better understanding of the changing role of English in China's compulsory education and its influence on stakeholders and policymakers, this article investigates the public reaction to a recent controversial proposal to remove English as a core subject from the national curriculum. Drawing from social media comments, autoethnographic reflections, and existing research, the study presents major opinions and attitudes that feature complex sentiments and ambivalences intersected by concerns about equity and balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development goals set by the United Nations require all learners to have the knowledge necessary to promote sustainable development. Sustainable development education is a deliberate education intervention that addresses issues of global justice and sustainability. This article attempts to discuss the changes of external environment that influence field education development of medical social work in China from the perspective of sustainable development. We apply the perspective of future research to guide our work. We employ exploratory qualitative research to analyze the narration of field education experience of social work students in the medical environment. We discuss the impact on field education, which is caused by expected changes; our research results show that critical reflection is very important in field education. In order to better develop medical social work field education, students' sustainable development conceptualization and sustainable development ability must be cultivated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a sociocultural perspective, this vignette-based study explored Chinese master's students' emotions and emotion-regulation strategies in supervisor writing feedback situations. An instrument contained 17 vignettes was developed, validated and administered among 189 participants. Individual interviews with five participants were also conducted, and written materials were collected. The findings revealed that across the 17 hypothetical scenarios, positive emotion was the most reported emotional status, and Chinese master's students would be more likely to feel grateful, hopeful and excited, while contemptuous, bored and angry were the least reported. This study also identified a set of emotion-regulation strategies (i.e. task-related regulation, response regulation, cognitive regulation, attention deployment, co-regulation, and general response) used by students in handling their emotions in supervisory feedback situations. This study provides insights into the emotional dimension of supervisory feedback practices and concludes with pedagogical implications to enhance the wellbeing of postgraduate students in learning academic writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the importance of investigating student feedback literacy has been widely argued in the literature, a measurement instrument is still lacking. In this study, a student feedback literacy scale was developed and validated. The scale consists of six dimensions (eliciting, processing, enacting, appreciation, readiness and commitment). Five hundred and fifty-five university students participated in this validation study. Both within and between-network approaches were used to analyse the validity of the student feedback literacy scale. Both confirmatory factor analysis and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis show that the scale is valid and that its structure is stable across students of different sexes and majors. The between-network analysis generated significant correlations between the six dimensions of student feedback literacy and students' intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivation. The validated student feedback literacy scale can be used in future studies to explore how student feedback literacy develops over time and its relationships with a variety of influencing factors, such as learning motivation, learning environment, interpersonal relationships and instructional features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the peer feedback literature the topic of students' enjoyment is largely unexplored, and attention to the emotional differences between feedback givers and receivers is unbalanced. To address this gap, the present study examined the enjoyment differences of Chinese graduate students (N = 32), performing consecutively the role of feedback givers and of receivers, over eight weeks in their English academic writing class. It found that the students generally preferred the giver role, reporting significantly higher scores in private and peer enjoyment with that role. The thematic analysis of their personal letters accompanying peer feedback revealed that they had heightened their sense of fulfillment and enthusiasm when giving comments. Pedagogical suggestions are given to innovate and improve peer feedback activities in academic writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of implicit professional identity (IPI) and its relationship with explicit professional identity (EPI) and well-being of pre-service teachers. A total of 81 Chinese female pre-service teacher volunteers participated in the study, in which their IPI, EPI, and well-being were measured using the Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT), the professional identification scale for pre-service teachers, and the short depression-happiness scale, respectively. The results indicated that (a) pre-service teachers had positive IPI; (b) the correlation between the measures of pre-service teachers' EPI and IPI was not significant; (c) IPI significantly predicted well-being negatively, while EPI positively predicted well-being; and (d) IPI moderated the relationship between EPI and well-being. In the weak IPI group, EPI did not significantly predict well-being; however, in the strong IPI group, EPI significantly predicted well-being positively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student plagiarism is a growing problem within Australian universities and abroad. Potentially exacerbating this situation, research indicates that students' attitudes toward plagiarism are typically more permissive and lenient than the policies of their tertiary institutions. There has been suggestion that this is especially so in Asian countries relative to Western countries; however, very little research has sought to empirically validate this suggestion. Moreover, existing research in this area has typically compared international and domestic students studying in Western countries. As yet, no studies have directly compared Chinese and Australian university students' attitudes toward plagiarism, as they exist within their native countries. Rasch analysis/differential item functioning were conducted to contrast 131 Australian and 173 Chinese undergraduate university students' attitudes towards plagiarism. Results indicated distinct cross-cultural differences in aspects of students' plagiarism attitudes. Regardless of ethnic background, the results highlight undergraduate students' typical lack of understanding of plagiarism and plagiarist behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigates two research questions: 1) do senior university students change their expectations on teacher feedback in comparison with their junior counterparts? and 2) to what extent can these new expectations be explained by the changing student feedback literacy level? Survey (n = 427) and interview data (n = 11) were collected from English major students from one of the largest universities in East China. Three lessons are learned from this study. First, survey data suggests that there are no statistically significant differences (but there are categorical differences) between senior and junior students, with descriptive statistics suggesting a decrease in satisfaction from senior students on the quantity and quality of feedback practice. Secondly, the comments to open-ended questions suggest that senior students are looking more for a learning-centred and feedback forward practice. For example, they are more willing to take control of the feedback process and they are looking for more self-assessment opportunities. Thirdly, the changes may be explained by students' improved feedback literacy, which appears to be a result of three interconnected reasons: reduced response from teacher feedback in senior years, the mismatch between teacher feedback and personal career/learning goals, and the growing popularity of peer feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the design of a course blended through a small private online course in a Chinese university EFL context, with an emphasis on the blended learning environment created thereby and on learners' perceptions of their blended learning. In a survey-based approach, 1603 students' experiences of blended EFL learning in two consecutive terms were examined. The questionnaire survey focused on the participants' perceptions of their engagement with blended learning, their motivation, learning autonomy and overall satisfaction. An analysis of students' responses reveals that the blended design can create an efficient EFL learning environment and gain positive learner perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous studies have addressed turnover issues among social workers in Western countries, this study explores the early professional experiences (during the first 3 working years) and job burnout among BSW graduates in China and identifies factors influencing their decisions to leave social work jobs. Using semistructured interviews with 15 BSW graduates in the Shenzhen metropolitan area, this research identifies the primary reasons new social workers leave the profession. Data analysis revealed three themes: personal struggles, work environment issues and social support factors. This exploratory study highlights the professional experiences and burnout among BSW graduates in China and has implications for social work education and professional practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When China liberalised its economy and opened up to the (Western) world, it actively promoted the English language at schools and universities on a massive scale. This learn-English movement, riding on the back of English as the dominant international language, has powered English into China's education reforms. We outline the movement and discuss the impact of English on the internationalisation of China's elite universities and the college entrance examination (gaokao– 高考) based on, respectively, studies of the global ranking of China's universities and a large-scale online debate over the English language requirement ingaokao. The first study reveals the shadow of English-isation over the internationalisation of Chinese universities in an academic world where publishing and citations are dominated by the use of English. The second study uncovers, consistent with social identity theory, constructions of opposing arguments reflecting the protagonists’ respective identities as pro- and anti-English supporters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Automated writing evaluation (AWE) systems can provide immediate computer-generated quantitative assessments and qualitative diagnostic feedback on an enormous number of submitted essays. However, limited research attention has been paid to locally designed AWE systems used in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom contexts. This study explored the precision of feedback provided by a Chinese AWE programmePigaiand students’ uptake of such feedback. Data comprisingPigaifeedback, students’ revised submissions, incorporatedPigaisuggestions and proportions of ‘good’, ‘neutral’ and ‘bad’ revisions were collected from 210 drafts by 30 undergraduate students in an EFL writing class. Results show that (1) the precision rates of AWE feedback differed across categories of feedback (ie grammar, collocations and mechanics); (2) students were selective in their utilisation of AWE feedback and able to adjust their uptake of AWE suggestions according to the accuracy of the feedback. Survey and interview data demonstrated that the students were cognisant of the strengths and limitations of the AWE system as a source of feedback for improving their writing. These results indicate that AWE feedback can usefully supplement peer and instructor feedback in the EFL writing classroom but cannot replace the latter, given the low precision and accuracy rates of the former in identifying a range of errors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this philosophical essay, I propose a theory of creativity for instrumental music education inspired by Confuciancreatio in situ(‘situational creativity’). Through an analysis of three major texts from classical Confucianism – theAnalects, theZhongyong(‘Doctrine of the Mean’) and theDaxue(‘The Great Learning’) – I posit a theoretical model of creativity for instrumental music education that comprises the following pairs of facets: situation and sincerity, tradition and training and circumscription and collaboration. I then highlight how several ideas in this model bear striking similarities to those of the American pragmatists, in particular, John Dewey, and conclude by sketching a sample application of this theory. This study grounds creativity in performance in bands and orchestras by appeal to a major Asian philosophical tradition, and also serves as an initial step towards a transcultural theory of creativity for music education relevant to the present globalised world. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Against a backdrop of an international trend to shift from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred education, this article explores a Confucian conception of education. Focusing on an ancient Chinese textXueji(Record of Learning), the essay examines its educational ideals and practices based on the principles of ‘choice’, ‘doing’ and ‘power relationship’. It is argued that the educational model in theXuejidoes not fit the description of a learner-centred education as commonly understood in the Western literature. Rather, theXuejiadvocates a ‘teacher-directed and learner-engaged’ approach by giving the teacher control over the curriculum and authority over the learners while encouraging the learners to participate actively in the learning process. In proposing a conception that is not exactly learner-centred, theXuejichallenges the assumption that ‘good’ education must necessarily be learner-centred. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Whereas a great deal of literature based upon the context of Western societies has concluded criminology is an ideal discipline for active learning approach, it remains uncertain if this learning approach is applicable to Chinese learners in the discipline of criminology. This article describes and provides evidence of the benefits of using active learning approach in a criminology class in a publicly funded university in a Chinese city − Hong Kong. Using quantitative and qualitative data collected from four cohorts of students enrolled in the course over four years (2008–2011) through structured questionnaire, focus group meetings and students’ self-reflection, it was evident that active learning could not only enable Chinese learners to achieve the course-intended outcomes but also could advance their attitude, knowledge and skills of learning. The findings were further discussed with respect to the feasibility and constraints of launching active learning for Chinese learners. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We use the method of Dominitz and Manski [1996. Eliciting student expectations of the return to schooling. Journal of Human Resources 31, no. 1: 1–26] to solicit anticipated wage distributions for continuing to a master degree or going to work after completing the bachelor degree. The means of the distributions have an effect on intention to continue as predicted by theory. The dispersions in these individual distributions have no effect on intention to continue, suggesting that anticipated earnings risk does not play a role in the decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I explore the pedagogical value of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s philosophical concepts for helping make an ‘event’ of thought, with a view towards fostering deep learning in Chinese students' learning theory and criticism in a second language. Paying attention to the qualitative role of bodies, humour and creativity alongside an expanded trans-personal concept of ‘educational life forms’ that stretches out to include an affective assemblage of inhuman elements (such as art and technology), I explore how Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophical models provide a ethical alternative to corporate, Confucian and Cartesian models otherwise inhibiting students and teachers in the modern Sino-international university context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

TheCollege English Curriculum Requirements, announced by the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2007, recommended the inclusion of formative assessment into the existing summative assessment framework of College English. This policy had the potential to fundamentally change the nature of assessment and its role in the teaching and learning of English in Chinese universities. In order to document and analyse these changes, case studies involving English language (EL) teachers and learners were undertaken in two Chinese universities: one a Key University in the national capital; the other a non-Key University in a western province. The case study design incorporated classroom observations and interviews with EL teachers and their students. The type and focus of feedback and the engagement of students in assessment were analysed in the two contexts. Fundamental to the analysis was the concept of enactment, with the focus of this study on the ways that policy ideas and principles were enacted in the practices of the Chinese university classroom. Understandings of formative assessment as applied in contexts other than the predominantly western, Anglophone contexts from where many of its principles derive are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigated the impact of social interactions among a class of undergraduate students on their learning engagement in a social networking environment. Thirteen undergraduate students enrolled in a course in a university in Hong Kong used an Elgg-based social networking platform throughout a semester to develop their digital portfolios and interact with each other. Student online activities were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics with social network analysis. The findings suggest that the social interaction afforded by a social networking environment was short-lived, individual-centered and casual. Communication skills and autonomy on the part of students are required to foster communication. The study further revealed that while such social patterns in the social networking environment appeared to enhance social engagement, a high level of cognitive engagement was not demonstrated. Recommendations are made in relation to the effective utilization of a social networking platform to support productive and meaningful learning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Geographic information science (GIS) features a wide range of disciplines and has broad applicability. Challenges associated with rapidly developing GIS technology and the currently limited teaching and practice materials hinder universities from cultivating highly skilled GIS graduates. Based on the idea of “small core, big network,” a comprehensive and interesting approach to GIS teaching practice is introduced in which a variety of key knowledge areas and technologies are effectively incorporated into a single project. A year-long assignment based on this approach was conducted, providing the students with practical training and successfully resulting in a digital three-dimensional representation of the campus. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Films and TV series are widely used to support teaching in English language classrooms. They are seen largely as a source of authentic language, as a way of motivating students or as a means of conveying knowledge about another culture. There is less emphasis on their use as a focus for developing intercultural competence. This is particularly the case in China. This article reports on an empirical project with Chinese college students (CCSs) designed to examine the processes they engage in when viewing films. The analysis of the data shows that this process is not linear but complex and multi-dimensional. The findings suggest that making sense of foreign films and TV series is a highly dynamic process which is culturally specific and often specific to the individual; there are many varied factors which influence their viewing. The results have implications for using films in the language classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]