Established over forty years ago to promote cultural exchange the program still accomplishes its mission by bringing together individuals with common interests and work. But also a greater understanding of the people, their problems and concerns. From a school counselor's perspective, Rae Burton found the Chinese education system very different from our own. The Chinese culture emphasizes family structure and Confucianism makes it difficult to accept the concept of counseling and psychology. According to Burton the class sizes are very large and many schools in China are in disrepair.
Education there is based on rote learning with an emphasis on test taking.
Education is compulsory through the ninth grade but keeping track of students and their attendance is a real problem. They estimate that less than 40 percent of Chinese students actually attend school. She found teachers are highly respected yet teaching at the primary level requires only the completion of the ninth grade and attendance at a normal school. To instruct at the high school level, one must be a high school graduate and attend a normal college. She said there is a move toward educational reform prompted by the one child per family rule.