Why do I want to talk about this topic?
ECNUAS is a learner centered educational institution. It has been always learner-centred since its inception and will continue so in the years to come. This philosophy is written in our mission, it is also in our school motto.
Mission of ECNUAS: We take a student-oriented approach to teaching and learning and aim to cultivate world citizens with a global perspective who also embody Chinese traditions.
School Motto: Learn for better, Think for life. 学为日进，人为日省
As educators working in ECNUAS, we strive to develop successful learners with both Chinese and international outlooks. We hope our students learn how to learn and how to think.
Yet, how successful ECNUAS learners should look like specifically? What are the exact quality or attributes should they possess as a result of our education?
I have been talking about the curriculum and our teacher leaders. Today, let’s focus on the learner, which is the first column on the curriculum map that I showed you before.
On the map, I would like to zoom in on the learners. Before I zoom in on the Learners, please allow me quickly review what are improved or in progress. Let’s take this opportunity to celebrate our achievement in terms of curriculum development.
1. We will bring in international curriculum elements to the class of Rose, specifically, IPC and IMYC, alongside GL assessments will be incorporated into Primary and Middle school curriculum.
2. We created a one-month Post-IGCSE, Pre-IBDP transitioning program in the High school.
3. We will offer A-Level for the first time in the high school from September 2020.
4. There is some promising development in the House system, specifically, Houses in the Primary school start running, Assistant Heads of House from Primary, Middle, and High schools start working together, and Dormitory behavior is included in High School house point system.
5. You see a new column in this overview. It is about Hidden Curriculum of the school. I mentioned the 3-dimension curriculum framework before—namely Academic, Pastoral, and Hidden. I think we can start examining the last aspect of the school curriculum.
Let us come back to focus on people factors in the curriculum. There are two people columns in this table. Alongside learners, there are teachers. I believe it is the people and our interactions that makes our school alive and purposeful. I will of course focus on the learner today.
Question: how successful ECNUAS Learners should look like?
The ten attributes of IB Learner Profile seem to offer us an answer, at least at the early stage of the course of building a great school. At the fifth year of our educational journey, I propose it might be a good idea to take a critical look at IB Learner Profile, the 10 attributes in particular, in the context of our school.
IB LP is already part of our school culture or in other words, it is part of our hidden curriculum. We have two IB programmes in house, DP was authorized three years ago, the other PYP received its verification visit recently. Attributes of IB LP displayed in prominent places in the school. Our teachers see it every day, our students see it every day, presumably, some teachers integrated some of these attributes, if not all, in their teaching practice. In this sense, sometimes, these IB LP attributes are made explicit in our formal curriculum.
It looks all good. However, have you ever questioned why IB Learner Profile? Have you ever considered what kind of educational message IB LP delivers to our students? What influence these attributes are placed on them? Are these attributes best fitting our students and best fitting our school curriculum, and best connecting with the societal values that the school is situated? After all, do these attributes offer us a unifying vision or direction as we continue building our curriculum and education?
Let us first take a closer look at the list of attributes outlined by the IB Learner Profile. I read a few examples—Inquirers, Principled, Risk-takers, Balanced.
Inquirers. They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout their lives.
Knowledgeable. They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Thinkers. They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to recognize and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators. They understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communication. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
Principled. They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
Open-minded. They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories, and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring. They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. They have a personal commitment to service, and act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
Risk-takers. They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
Balanced. They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
Reflective. They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal development.
No doubt these are good attributes. If one person has all of these attributes, he or she is a great person. But why these attributes but not others? I believe in your mind you could come up with a few other attributes that you deem more important.
Let us ask where is IB LP from and what is its intention?
It is first officially announced in the year 2006. This is the earliest version of IB learner profile. In this booklet, it states,
“The IB learner profile is the IBO mission statement translated into a set of learning outcomes for the 21st century…it is intended that teachers, students, and parents will be able to draw confidently on a recognizable common educational framework, a consistent structure of aims and values and an overarching concept of how to development international mindedness. The learner profile will be at the heart of this common framework, as a clear and concise statement of the aims and values of the IBO, and an embodiment of what the IBO means by “international-mindedness”.”
This statement reveals the intention of IB LP. I believe the IB consulted many educational experts and presumably practitioners before they came up with this list of attributes. With the formation of so called IB Continuum, including PYP, MYP, and DP in the last a few years of the 20th century, the IB needed a “common educational framework” to unify all IB world schools and IB educators. Providing a set of learning outcomes is a good strategy while the content and processes of learning in these programmes are markedly different. As an international education provider, the IB intended to offer a universal solution to educational values. IB learner profile intends to offer an interpretation of international mindedness.
However, is IB Learner Profile truly international? Do these attributes really represent universal educational values.
Let’s hear what professional George Walker said. George Walker was director general of the International Baccalaureate® (IB) from 1999 to December 2005. IB LP occurred after his tenure. From his writing, I gather he supported the creation of IB LP. However, he also contended about what should also be considered or included in the list of attributes.
His IB position paper, East is east and West is west, George Walker, 2010, provides a cultural analysis of the IB Learner Profile. He concludes at the end of the paper that
“There is little doubt that, with its strong emphasis on individual inquiry, personal responsibility and independent critical thinking, the learner profile is embedded in a Western humanist tradition of learning.” (Walker, 2010)
Walker first dissects the ten attributes into three categories.
Active participation
Inquirer, communicator, risk-taker
Personal responsibilities
Thinker, knowledgeable, balanced, reflective
Moral development
Principled, caring, open-minded.
Informed by thoughts about eastern educational philosophy and traditions, he proposes that the IB Learner Profile needs to be re-examined from the following four angles,
Four contested aspects:
Group or individual
Respect for authority
A more holistic view
Taking or avoiding risks
At the end of his paper, he suggests,
“Perhaps the best way forward lies with a less assertively humanistic learner profile that gives greater emphasis to social cohesion and the “respectful mind”; with a learner profile that is perceived as a stimulus for debate rather than a tablet of stone, and is reviewed regularly by a multicultural team; a learner profile that leaves some space for regional tradition.”
We are a multicultural team. And we now know, following Professor Walker’s teaching, that IB LP is perhaps not so international. Let’s use the IB LP as a stimulus for debate today, let’s try to consider the attributes of learners in ECNUAS in light of our own culture and tradition.
Before we do this task, let me present yet another perspective of studying the ten attributes.
Dr. Kate Bullock conducted an IB LP literature review for the IB in 2011. Her literature review justifies the IB LP, at the same time she provides a psychological perspective of interpretation. Dr. Bullock categorize the ten attributes into four groups, Cognitive, Conative, Affective, and Culture.
Obviously, the first three are psychological terms, the first is about learning and thinking, the second is related to learner’s intrinsic motivation, the last is related to emotion. The last one culture seems to have nothing to do with psychology. Why does Dr. Bullock add this aspect? Let us first take a look at her categorization.
Dr. Bullock provides a psychological perspective. She categorized these learner profile attributes.
Cognitive
Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Reflective
Conative
Inquirers, Principled
Affective
Caring, Risk-taker, Balanced
Culture
Communicator
Open-minded
Interestingly, Dr. Bullock takes culture as an aspect of learning into her analysis of IB Learner Profile as she believes, and also she believes the IB believes, the culture of a school has an significant impact on learners’ “wellbeing and learning”.
In her own words,
“How a group of people interacts with each other, their values, and styles of communication shape their ways of learning. In other words, the cultural expectations of each setting interact with the habits and perspectives of young people.” (Bullock, 2011)
So, the next question I want to ask is what are the “cultural expectations” of our setting. I believe this setting not only includes the setting inside our school but also the community where the school is located. The setting should also be linked to the larger Chinese society which is dramatically changing these years. Also, the culture and traditions where the school is situated. Even more, the school is closely connected to the world as we have many foreigners working here and many families travelling and doing business overseas.
Combing out the “cultural expectations” is an overwhelming task that we won’t be able to finish today. Let us borrow some insights from others. Let us see what experts say about educational culture and traditions in China.
Please allow me to present one Chinese professor’s observation. Professor Nanzhan, Zhou, who was a professor at ECNU, offered his observation on traits of Asian culture. In his paper, titled Interactions of education and culture for economic and human development: an Asian perspective, This paper is part of a report on Education for the 21st Century, commissioned by the UNESCO, titled Learning: the treasure within.
Professor Zhou enlisted twelve traits, six positively impact education whereas the other six negatively impact.
Positive side
Deep rooted appreciation of the value of education
High expectation of the young
Emphasis on group rather than the individual
Stress on the spiritual rather than the material dimension of development
Meritocracy based on performance in examinations
Legitimization of authority
Negative side
Politicalization of education-cultural values
Neglect of individuality
Focus on interpersonal relationships
Over-emphasis on classics-oriented examinations
Disdain for pragmatism, utilitarianism and business
Gender bias
You may or may not agree all the items in the two lists. Asian societies especially Chinese society have undergone dramatic changes over the past 25 years, several characteristics might not fit the current situation any longer. For instance, I doubt if “disdain for pragmatism, utilitarianism, and business” still holds in the present China.
In any event, these two lists of traits of Asian culture can offer some insight when we do the next exercise together.
So now here is my question for you today. What Asian or Chinese values are possibly missing from the IB Learner Profile?
Dr. Walker teaches us to critically examine the ten attributes from a local perspective, Dr. Bullock highlights the importance of culture as to learners, and Dr. Zhou let us know indeed Chinese culture and tradition differs than the western culture and tradition on which the IB LP was built upon.
When you do this exercise, I would like you to use a same framework to improve our discussion. Let’s do a mind exercise together, our school strive to provide a holistic education that prepares well-round persons. Our school requires every student and probably every members to Learn for the Better, Think for life学为日进, 人为日省. Let me try to extend this motto into a tentative framework of well-rounded development for today’s task.
Based on your understanding of Asian or Chinese culture, what could be missing from the list?
Ways of learning 为学
Inquirer, Knowledgeable, Reflective, Thinker
Ways of doing 为事
Risker-taker, Principled, Resilient, Open-minded
Ways of being 为人
Caring, Communicator, Balanced, Respectful
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