DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 372 582 EC 303 215

AUTHOR Stevenson, Harold W.; And Others TITLE Education of Gifted and Talented Students in China, Taiwan, and Japan. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE Jun 94 NOTE 38p.; In: Ross, Patricia 0' Connell, Ed. National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent. An Anthology of Readings; see EC 303 213. PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Reports Research/Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Academic Achievement; Acceleration (Education); Cognitive Ability; *Comparative Education; *Cultural Influences; Educational Philosophy; *Educational Policy; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; *Gifted; High Achievement; Higher Education; Mathematical Aptitude; Student Characteristics; Student Development; *Talent IDENTIFIERS *Asia (East); China; Japan; Taiwan

ABSTRACT This paper, commissioned for the development of the national report, "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent," analyz2s the policies and practices for educating high-ability students in Japan, Taiwan, and China. It reports on studies over the past 11 years of East Asian children's academic achievement. In the first section, the report looks at governmental policies and practices concerning the education of three types of students:(1) those.who display high levels of intelligence, (2) those who are talented in the arts, and (3) those who are high academic achievers. Special programs both in and out of school are described. In the second part, the report describes the characteristics of students who have participated in the authors' studies and compares their performance and personal characteristics with those of American peers. Discussion focuses on students who demonstrate high levels of cognitive ability and on students who display exceptional ability in mathematics. The paper notes that programs for gifted and talented children in East Asia are new; the majority, especially in China and Taiwan, established only during the last decade. Japan supports no programs specifically for gifted students prior to the high school level. There is a greater emphasis of East Asian cultures on effort, rather than ability. (Contains 16 rcferences.) (DB)

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. *********************************************************************** Education of Gifted and Talented Students in China, Taiwan, co LO and Japan CNI

Harold W. Stevenson, Shinying Lee, Chuansheng Chen, Kazuo Kato, and William Londo 11J The University of Michigan

Introduction tion of teachers are unlikely to give us a great deal of insight into the high levels of performance of The stunning success of East Asian students in gifted and talented students. Such variables have many forms of academic achievement has aroused failed to clarify cross-national differences in aca- a great deal of international interest. What are the demic achievement between students in East Asia educational and child-rearing practices that might and in the West, and are unlikely to help us help to explain why East Asian students, from understand why certain students in these cultures kindergarten through high school, have been perform at such remarkably high levels. among the top performers in international studies of academic achievement and in international aca- Background of the Report demic competitions? If the general level of aca- demic achievement is so high, what are the stu- In the first section of this report we discuss dents like who are at the top of their classes in East governmental policies and practices concerning Asia? How do these students differ in ways other the education of three types of students: those who than academic achievement from average-per- display high levels of intelligence, who are tal- forming peers in their own countries and from ented in the arts, and who are high achievers in high achieving students in the West? The purpose their academic work. Information for this part of of this paper is to explore these questions in two the report was obtained from interviews with lead- ways. First, we describe educational practices, ing educators, edrcational officials, and psycholo- especially those for gifted and talented students, gists in each country. In the second part, we de- in three locations in East Asia: China, Taiwan, and scribe the characteristics of students who have Japan. Second, we review data from a series of participated in a series of studies we have conducted studies in which we have compared students in in Japan, Taiwan, and mainland China, and com- these three locations with students in the United pare their performance and personal characteristics States in terms of such characteristics as intern- with those of their American peers. The discussion , gence, beliefs, attitudes, and self-evaluations. of thef- students focuses on students who demon- We know from the beginning that the outcome strate high levels of cognitive ability and on stu- of our explorations will not be simple. Attitudes dents who display exceptional ability in mathe- and beliefs about giftedness differ greatly among matics. cultures. The degree to which different educa- Interviews tional systems attempt to accommodate gifted and talented students also varies widely. We know, During the summer of 1991, we interviewed too, that variables such as economic investment in Asian participants in a workshop on Asian Per- *N. education, size of classes, and academic prepara- spectives on Human Development that was held in

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Othre of Educafionat Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION r-) CENTER (ERIC, 1'1(.5document has been reproduced as rece.ved Rom the OrSoo or oroanizat.on Orvnattog .1 27 &Amor changes have been made to Jrnprove reprOduCtrOo quahly 2

Points of or pompons staled to thisctOCu moot do not neceSSanly represent official OE RI positton or pohcy BEST COPY AVAILABIS Ann Arbor, Michigan. These participants in- education, three years of junior high school (lower cluded leading experts in psychology and education middle school), and three years of high school from China, Taiwan, and Japan. In addition, education (upper middle school). The Chinese gov- during the fall of 1991, Shinying Lee visited Tai- ernment has set the goal of achieving nine years wan; Kazuo Kato visited Japan; and Harold Ste- of universal education by the end of the century, venson visited Japan and China. During these visits but it seems unlikely that this goal can be achieved. we were able to conduct interviews with individu- In 1990, 97.9 percent of school-aged children als highly placed in educational and scientific cir- were enrolled in elementary schools (Mate Statisti- cles in Taipei (Taiwan), Tokyo and Sendai (Ja- cal Bureau, 1991). Nearly all of these children pan), and Beijing (China). In addition to the complete the six years of elementary school, but interviews, we collected writien materials related only two-thirds go on to lower middle school. to the education of gifted children in each country. Admission to lower middle school, and to all Thus, our descriptions of the programs in each subsequent levels of education, depends upon the country are current and based on authoritative student's score on entrance examinations. Of information. those who finish lower middle school, fewer than Research Results 40 percent are able to continue their education in high school. Admission to universities is possibie During the past eleven year.: our research group for only a very small fraction of high school at the University of Michigan, in collaboration graduates. Among every 100,000 citizens, there with colleagues in China, Taiwan, and Japan, has are only 177 college students (State Statistical conducted a comprehensive series of studies in Bureau, 1989)a striking contrast with Japan, East Asia, involving large samples of students and where the comparable number of college students their parents. Our primary interest has been the is 2,006. study of mathematics achievement among elemen- The limited opportunities for advanced educa- tary school students. We have concentrated our tion produces intense competition among Chinese attention on first-and fifth-graders; however, in students, and current government policy is likely 1990 we extended the age range to include elev- to increase this competitiveness. The policy is not enth graders. We have tested and interviewed chil- to expand higher education, but to extend the dren and youth, interviewed their mothers, given reforms of primary and secondary education, im- questionnaires to their fathers, observed in their prove the quality of education and the condition of classrooms, and interviewed their teachers. In schools at these levels, and raise efficiency. The each study, we have included comparison groups goal for higher education in the future is to produce of American children obtained in the same fashion 25,000 masters degrees and 2,500 doctoral de- as the children in East Asia. Our discussion relies grees annually from all fields. In view of the fact primarily on the results we obtained from the tests that approximately 620,000 students enter Chi- and the interviews. nese universities each year, this degree of restric- Policies and Practices for tion in higher education will further exacerbate the competitiveness that already exists among Chi- Gifted Children in China, nese secondary and college students. Taiwan, and Japan Middle school students follow either an aca- China demic or vocational track depending upon their abilities and aptitudes. The government has re- Schools in China, like schools throughout East cently been working to increase enrollment in Asia, follow a system of six years of elementary vocational schools to 50 percent of all upper middle

28 schools throughout the country, and is striving to less, numerous programs have been organized improve the number and quality of vocational both in and out of school by various cities and teachers. At present, only 45.7 percent of the provinces in China. In-school programs take place upper middle school students eirolled in voca- alongside the regular curriculum. Out-of-school tional schools (State Statistical Bureau, 1991). programs occur either in special schools or during Rural children have less opportunity to receive evenings and weekends at the children's regular education beyond lower middle school than do schools. urban children. This is evident in the percentages of rural and urban youth who graduate from Out-of-School Education various levels of schooling: 22 percent versus 48 The three major purposes of programs for gifted percent, respectively, in lower middle school; 4 students are summarized in the Chinese appeal: percent versus 16 percent in upper middle school, "Zaochu rencai; kuaichu rencai; chu hao rencr!" and .06 percent versus 3.8 percent in college (Produce talent early, fast, and of high quality). (State Statistical Bureau, 1989). As a result, almost Students are admitted to out-of-school programs in all gifted and talented education programs occur several ways: upon 'recommendation by their local in urban areas. schools, through outstanding performance in na- Education of the Gifted and Talented tional competitions, or by passing a battery of in China entrance tests given by the school to which they seek admission. There is frequent assessment of a Special schools focusing on training in dance, student's progress and the possibility of reassign- music, fine arts, foreign languages, and athletics ment exists, depending upon a student's perform- have existed intermittently in China since the ance. Admission to these programs is highly com- 1950s. Generally, however, little attention was petitive, and students usually must pay tuition. paid to the education of gifted and talented students There are no after-school schools such as the until the late 1970s. Before then, as part of socialist caiyiban or bushiban (cram schools) that flourish philosophy, individual differences in intellectual in Taiwan. Some parents may employ a tutor to abilities were de-emphasized by educators and assist a child who is having difficulties in school government officials. Furthermore, the disorder or to provide extra lessons for a child who they caused by the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s think has special talents or abilities. But this occurs and 1970s seriously disrupted educational efforts very rarely. of all kinds. Efforts to educate children outside of school Education of gifted and talented students in hours are predominantly of four major types: China began to take a more discernible form in Olympic Schools that concentrate on mathematics, 1978 with the creation in Hefei of the first so-called special schools for students talented in athletics "Youth Class" at the University of Science and and the arts, Children's Palaces that offer a wide Technology of China. By 1985, Youth Classes had k 'ray of courses, and summer and winter camps been established at twelve other Chinese universi- that typically concentrate on topics such as science, ties. The availability of classes at all levels for foreign languages, and computers. gifted students began to grow from that time on, and in 1988 the first national conference on gifted Olympic Schools. The first "Olympic School" education was held in Hefei. opened in 1982. Today there are 18 Olympic As of now, the national government has no Schools serving third- through eleventh-graders policies or institutions that are concerned with the throughout China. The largest is in Beijing with education of gifted and talented students. Neverthe- 2000 students. The initial inspiration for Olympic

29 4 schools came from the International Mathematics mined by assessment of the student's physical Olympiad, where Chinese students have often been status and abilities and by tests of academic achieve- first- and second-place winners. There is a com- ment. The success of these schools is evident in mon belief in China that mathematics is an area in the past several Asian Games, where more than 80 which Chinese students can become preeminent percent of the Chinese medalists were graduates in the world. For example, of the six Chinese of the two types of athletics programs. participants in the 1990 Mathematics Olympiad, After-school schools for students talented in the five won a gold medal and one a silver medal. arts follow a pattern similar to that of the athletics Nearly all Olympic SchoolS focus on mathematics, schools. Different types of schools for the arts and students are expected to become adept in both exist, including those that train students in paint- mathematical theory and problem-solving. In ad- ing, sculpture, calligraphy, music, and theater. dition to mathematics, some Olympic Schools em- phasize computer science. Children's Palaces. Other programs that take place Experienced elementary and secondary school outside the regular school curriculum are held in teachers, as well as college professors, serve as China's Youth Palaces. These schools were begun instructors in Olympic Schools. Teachers in Olym- in 1949 with the aim of cultivating student interest pic Schools and national mathematics organiza- in science and art, often in the former residences tions create the teaching materials. of affluent families or in other buildings taken over by the government. More than one thousand Special schools. In contrast to mathematics, athlet- are now in existence. In 1988, they were placed ics has been consistently emphasized in modern under the auspices of a newly formed government China. "Afm-school athletics schools" (yeyu tiyu agency called the "National Association of Youth xuexiao) have been in existence since the 1950s. Palaces." Youth Palaces offer long-term, short- Students admitted to these schools attend after their term, night, weekend, and holiday programs in a regular school day for approximately six hours wide variety of subjects including music, dance, each week. The schools emphasize basic physical theater, calligraphy, photography, writing, com- skills and athletic techniques, and children are puters, foreign languages, and model building. screened once a year to evaluate their progress. In Each class lasts from six months to a year. Any 1956 there were 77 of these schools; by 1990 the student can apply for admission to one of the number had grown to 3,685. programs, but decisions about admission are based In addition to after-school athletics schools,spe- on the results of tests designed to select those cial public "athletics elementary and middle students who have acquired the foundation that schools" have been set up by the government to will allow them to benefit from the training that is cultivate promising athletes. These schools offer offered. a regular academic curriculum for six hours a day but also provide training in athletic techniques and Camps. Programs in summer and wintercamps are theory for three hours a day. Generally speaking, similar to those offered in the Children's Palaces. parents prefer these schools to the after-school Children are selected on the basis of tests and athletics schools, regarding them as superior in interviews and may attend camp for several weeks faculty, facilities, and quality of students. The during the summer vacation or for oneor two curricula of these schools have been devised by weeks during the wimer vacation. leading experts and scholars with the goal of creatfig athletes who are competitive internation- Publications. Newspapers and magazines pub- ally and who are well-developed intellectually and lished especially for students help to stimulate morally, as well as physically. Admission is deter- interest in math and science. These publications

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30 contain interesting problems and supplementary Once in the four-year program, students follow information for students interested in mathematics, a curriculum constructed especially for them. A physics, or chemistry. Weekly newspapers such good deal of effort has been spent in preparing as Zhongxuesheng Bao for middle-school students these curricula to assure that high school and not only publish new material, but also feature college materials are properly integrated. For the innovative or novel solutions submitted by students first three years, these young students enroll in for earlier problems. Similar publications also classes that are separate from other university exist in Taiwan and Japan. classes. All introductory course work is covered, including the basic courses in the student's major. In-School Education In their fourth year at the university, Youth Class The purpose of in-school gifted programs, like students are allowed to enter regular courses in the those of out-of-school programs, is to produce department of their major. As a result of the talent "early, fast, and of high quality." To meet students' high levels of ability and the care given thesc purposes, students are admitted to various to their education, their academic achievement programs at an early age. For example, children tends to be consistently higher than that of their as young as three can be admitted to elementary university counterparts. For example, 72 percent schools, eight-year-olds can enter middle school, of Youth Class students have gone on to graduate and ten-year-olds are able to enroll in colleges and school either in China cr overseas, compared with universities. To enable students to complete their 5 percent of all university students. education more rapidly, the normal twelve years Staff members at the Special Department for the of primary and secondary education can be short- Gifted Young at Hefei have studied the psycholog- emd to as little as eight years. The State Education ical characteristics of students in the Youth Classes Commission sponsors a separate type of program (Zhu, 1991). These students had higher than aver- for children who are gifted in mathematics and age scores on measures of perseverance and inde- science. pendence, and possessed "normal physical devel- Youth Classes at Universities. Admission to Youth opment and strong physiques." They had high Classes is the most difficult among all of the scores on tests of intelligence (an average score programs open to gifteri students. The rigorous of 124 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale) criteria for selection include high recommenda- and of creative thinking, high motivation for tions by their school or outstanding performance achievement, and low levels of test anxietychar- in a nationwith academic competition, high scores acteristics that have been found in many other on a battery of standardized tests, and special studies to accompany high academic achievement. written and oral examinations. Students must Despite the students' high scores on measures of show extraordinary academic promise to be se- intelligence, they concluded: lected for Youth Classes. Reflecting the high criteria for selection, only "The early entrants are talented by learning, 516 students participated in the program at the but not born 'gifted children.' The reason University of Science and Technology of China why they are different from other juveniles between 1978 and 1990. The average age of and enter college earlier at very young ages students entering this program was 14.7 years; the is that they begin to study on their own dili- youngest students were 11, and the oldest, 15. gently when their age mates are unaware of Among these students, 85 percent were boys, and the importance of and not good at studying the parents of approximately 80 percent of the independently. Therefore, an important as- students were classified as intellectuals. pect of developing the intelligence of the early

316 entrants after primary or secondary schools examinations and who meet whatever other criteria is to foster, train, and improve their abilities that are necessary for acceptance. Some especially of studying on their own (Zhu,1991, 17- influential parents have been known to override the 18)." system and gain entrance for their children, but thi- is believed to occur very rarely. Gifted Programs in the Public Schools. The first experimental class for gifted elementary school Programs for the Gifted in Math and Science. students was organized in1984. Only five- and six- Classes in mathematics, physics, and chemistry year-olds were generally selected for these were established in1988for gifted students at classes, and the standard six-year curriculumwas several high schools affiliated with universities. taught in four years. In1985, this experiment was Actual classroom instruction was carried out by extended to middle schools. A four-year program university professors, while high school teachers which recruited gifted elementary students was were involved primarily in looking after adminis- implemented in lower middle schools. Students trative and disciplinary details. entering these classes were on the average under These special classes have been conducted dif- 10 years of age. At the same time, a two-year ferently, depending upon the subject being taught. program was organized in upper middle schools The mathematics class has been a one and one-half for gifted lower-middle-school students. Students year program that students enter after they have entering this program averaged about 12years of been in upper middle school for one year. Physics age. It was possible through enrolment in these and chemistry programs have been available dur- gifted programs to reduce the length of the normal ing the last two years of upper middle school. In twelve-year curriculum by two to four years. The each case, the students have continued with the curriculum in these programs seeks to becompre- hensive and to develop well-rounded individuals regular high school curriculum in addition to doing 10 hours a week of additional work associated who are capable of individual creativity and of with the special course. teaching themselves. In order to be considered for a gifted and talented Problems and Perspectives program, a student is either recommended by his or her own school, or is brought to the attention of Educators and govermnent officials in China the school's authorities by demonstrating excel- point out many obstacles and difficulties that exist lence in some regional or national competition, in the education of gifted and talented students. such as a math contest or a science fair. Once Psychological and educational measurementwas nominated, the student then must excel on a battery unpopular for several decades in China. Asa result, of standardized tests covering both aptitude and there are few systematic, standardizedways of achievement, and pass a physical exam. After identifying and developing appropriate curricula passing this initial stage, the student must undergo for gifted students. A lack of budgetarysupport further testing by the school with the giftedpro- and administrative co-operation among different gram. This set of examsix hich includes both schools has medit that there is little continuity written work and interviewsis unique to each between gifted p:ograms in different parts of the school because each school develops itsown pro- country or even among different schools in the gram for gifted students. same region. Little has been done nationally even There is little parents can do to help their child to identify goals for the education of gifted and gain admission to this or any of the other special talented students. programs for gifted and talented students. Admis- The programs that do exist have been predomi- sion is limited to students who pass the entrance nantly at the secondary school level, rather than

7 32 representing a thoroughgoing effort to implement versity of Science and Technology of China, had gifted programs at all levels of education. Some been forced to eliminate the program for financial critics have argued that the programs for gifted reasons. Schools do not have the funds available to students have often been misused, becoming noth- develop the curricula and facilities needed for ing more than programs to help students prepare gifted programs. Compounding these difficulties is for college entrance exams. Others have pointed the fact that China faces a shortage of qualified out that, despite efforts to the contrary, programs teachers for all its schools and lacks the facilities for gifted students often inundate students with to train additional teachers in significant numbers. large amounts of information, but fail to teach them It seems unlikely, therefore, that there will be a how to reason or to think creatively. Current significant increase in the near future in the num- curricula are also criticized as lacking the depth ber of teachers qualified to teach gifted students or and breadth of coverage that would be of benefit in the number of classes for gifted students. to gifted sttidents. As the economy of China improves and funds The concern is often expressed in China, and in for education increase, opportunities for gifted and other countries as well, that programs for gifted talented students are likely to grow. Whether or students impede the development of the whole not there is an expansion of special programs, individual. Mathematics and science are usually gifted students will benefit from future improve- heavily emphasized and little attention is paid to ments in Chinese schools. The general quality of the humanities. Chinese critics suggest that educa- education in large metropolitan areas already is tion for all students, including gifted students, high and teachers employ pedagogical techniques needs to be more attentive to moral education, the that appear to be very effective. In our research fine arts, and physical education. It has been noted, with urban children in China, Taiwan, Japan, and for example, that a high percentage of gifted the United States, for example, Chinese children's students are nearsighted, apparently suggesting too scores on a battery of mathematics tests were as much reading and too little physical activity. high or higher than those of children in the other In addition, there is a concern that the unusual locations (Stevenson, Lee, Chen, Lummis, situation of being selected and labeled as a gifted Stigler, Liu, & Fang, 1990; Stigler, Lee, & Steven- student may result in uneven personality develop- son, 1990). Further improvements in educational ment, manifesting itself in such things as lack of facilities and in the quality of instruction should responsibility, lack of respect for teachers, and result in further advances in the remarkable per- lack of self-control. Parents are seen to share part formance of Chinese students. of the blame for this. Some educators believe that parents often push their children too hard and Taiwan place too much emphasis on success in academics The history of education in Taiwan is closely at the cost of giving too little attention to other linked with that of China and Japan. Taiwan was facets of their child's development. At the same a Japanese colony for 50 years earlier in this time, it is acknowledged that until the purposes of century, during which time its educational system gifted education are more clearly defined for par- was very similar to that found in Japan. Following ents, it may be difficult for them to be involved in the defeat of the Kuomintang government in 1949, constructive ways. Taiwan became the new home for over 1,500,000 Budgetary constraints have continually ham- mainland Chinese who brought with them the pered efforts at education for the gifted in China. Chinese conception of an educational system and By the end of 1990, every college that had been specific guidelines for its operation. Because edu- running a Youth Class program, except the Uni- cators were among this group of immigrants, Tai-

33 wan's educational system was strongly influenced education is highly competitive and is primarily by the early philosophy and practices that guided determined, as it is throughout East Asia, by a the development of public education in China. student's scores on entrance examinations. When Although the forms of government differ greatly students fail to pass the entrance examination or between Taiwan and China, the two educational do not get accepted in the university they would systems possess many similarities. like to attend, most try to take the examination For the past several decades, Taiwan has been again the following year. Students are allowed to undergoing a transition from an agricultural to an take the examination as many times as they wish. industrial economy, and has given high priority to Generally, students must achieve high scores in the development and expansion of its educational all areas, including mathematics, the Chinese lan- system. As occurs in other East Asian societies, guage, science, social studies, and English, in economic success in Taiwan is closely tied to the order to gain admission to a university. As a acquisition of proper educational credentials. Be- result, a significant portion of students at the junior cause of this, getting a good education is consid- and senior high levels attend private "cram" ered to be the primary goal for all citizens during schools called bushiban, as well as their regular childhood and early adolescence. schools. Bushiban have the single goal of improv- Education is free and compulsory for all children ing student scores on the entrance examinations by during the first nine years of the twelve-year supplementing knowledge and enhancing skills in program of primary and secondary education. At taking tests. the end of the nine years, students have several Changes are beinz considered in the procedure alternatives. Most enter high school; others enroll for admission to high school. It is expected that in in vocational or technical schools; some go to 1992, junior high school graduates in Taipei will work. Currently, 99.9 percent of the children in enter the senior high school through a new type Taiwan attend elementary school; 99.8 percent of of application procedure that is being developed, these children attend junior high school; and 84.7 rather than through entrance examinations. The percent of the graduates of junior high schools goal of the government is to abandon the entrance attend senior high schools or vocational high examinations for senior high school by 1995. schools; and 48.7 percent of t'le senior high and 12.9 percent of the vocational high school gradu- Gifted and Talented Education in ates continue further to colleges or universities Taiwan (Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Education of Active interest in providing special opportunities Taiwan, 1991). In 1990, 576,623 students were for gifted and talented students occurred relatively studying in universities, colleges, and junior col- recently in Taiwan. Government arid educational leges, including nearly 18,000 masters degree officials first became interested in the education students and nearly 4,500 doctoral students. In of academically gifted students and of students view of the size of the population of Taiwan talented in fine arts, drama, and music in the early (around 21 million), these are impressively large 1960s. Shortly afterward, following the 1962 meet- numbers. ing of the Fourth National Educational Confer- Junior high school students have the opportunity ence, steps were taken to institute the first programs to compete by examination for entrance into vari- for gifted children. During the following year, the ous senior high schools. Each school is rrnked "Experimental Education for Gifted Children" according to its academic reputation, which is program was begun in fourth-grade classrooms of based on its success in placing students in top two elementary schools in Taipei. The intention in universities. Admission to institutions of higher establishing this program was to begin theprocess

9 34 of developing supplementary learning materials for and proceed directly to college. If they are unusu- academically gifted students. ally talented, they are allowed to enter college The government's interest in education for gifted without taking the entrance examinations. A new and talented students grew out of recognition of science high school is being established and will the fact that a province with few natural resources accept students with st:-:ior performance in must develop its human resources. Steps have mathematics and science, beginning in the fall of been taken during the past several decades not only 1992. to improve education generally, but also to give greater attention to the education of all individuals Students talented in music and the arts. Special with special needs (Wu, 1988, 1989). In 1968, efforts to teach musically gifted students began in compulsory education was extended from six to the early 1960s in a private elementary school in nine years, and accompanying legislation speci- Taipei. It was not until ten years later that the first fied that special education was to be provided for public elementary school in Taipei created a similar gifted children. In 1971, an experimental curricu- class. A recent survey revealed that music pro- lum for gifted children was created in one elemen- grams for talented students have been established tary school at the fifth-grade level, with special in 28 schools which enroll over 3,300 students; enhanced curricula in mathematics, natural sci- 29 schools have fine arts programs involving nearly ence, and the Chinese language. The project lasted 2,500 students; and 18 schools have dance pro- for three years. Shortly afterward, the Ministry of grams involving over 1,400 students. Education began a six-year program throughout Provisions have also been made for talented Taiwan for gifted elementary school students. The students to bypass high school and college en- program was extended to the junior high level in trance examinations and enroll directly in college 1979 and to the senior high level in 1982 (Special departments of music and fine arts. In the fine arts Education Association of the Republic of China, they are able to study many different subjects, 1988). All of these programs are operated through including sketching, watercolor painting, graphic the public school system; the government plays arts, carving, and sculpture. All areas of music can an almost exclusive role in setting up and funding be studied, including choral and solo vocal music special education programs. and solo and ensemble instrumental as well as Programs for gifted and talented students are of music; and folk, ballet, and classical Chinese three types: general programs such as those just dance. described, programs in mathematics and science, and programs for students talented in the arts, Identifying the Gifted and Talented music, and dance. Clearly defined criteria must be met before Students gifted in mathematics and science. As has students can be enrolled in gifted and talented typically been the case throughout the world, programs. As might be expected, most students are special attention was given first to highschool stu- first identified and recommended by their teach- dents who showed special promise in mathematics ers. Next, according to national education law, and science. Special programs for these students students must (a) receive a score higher than two were begun in 1983, in response to the growing standard deviations above the mean on the IQ test concern by the government with developing scien- given at the beginning of every school year, and tific and technological skills in the populace. Stu- (b) have a grade point average that is in the top 2% dents gifted in these fields have the opportunity to of their class or receive a score higher than one be tutored by college professors and in some cases standard deviation above the mean on an achieve- are allowed to skip their final year of high school ment test covering all subjects in the curriculum.

35 1 0 In order to be considered gifted in the specific dents participated in these programsa four-fold areas of mathematics or science, students must expansion since 1982, when only 5,800 students receive a score higher than one standard deviation were enrolled. above the mean on an achievement test in mathe- For all programs, students must remain in the matics and science or on a test of intelligenceor grade level appropriate for their age. According creativity. In addition, they must have a grade to the National Education Law, students who are point average in the top 1% of their class in mathe- deemed to be generally gifted and distinguish matics and science or have performed well ina themselves in all areas of study are allowed to skip national or international competition. only one year in elementary school, junior or The criteria are equally stringent for students senior high school. talented in other areas. They must receivean Students who are identified as gifted in either above-average score on an IQ test and ascore at mathematics and science, but not necessarily in least two standard deviations above themean on other areas, have the opportunity to take part in an aptitude test measuring their special talent. They special weekend programs and summercamps also must have distinguished themselves insome conducted by university professors. They alsoare national or international contest. - allcAred to take the entrance examination for the Once students have tentatively been identified next level of schooling at the end of their second as gifted or talented, a committee made up of year of junior or senior high school. Alternatively, teachers and administrators from the students' they may qualify to bypass university entrance schools submits a report to the education depart- exams altogether and move directly into science ment of the local city government. After further or mathematics departments in universities. En- screening by the department, qualified students trance is restricted, however, to pure science are placed in appropriate special programs or departments, such as chemistry or physics, and schools. mathematics; gifted students are not given privi- leged entrance into applied programs suchas engi- Current Approaches neering. Currently, there are two main approaches to the Training Teachers education of gifted and talented students in Tai- wan. In the "self-contained" approach, gifted and As the concern with special education hasgrown talented students are grouped together inone class in Taiwan, colleges and univer sities have devel- and the standardized national curriculum is broad- oped special training programs for teachers. ened in ways that will meet the needs of these Twenty hours of course work in gifted education students. The other approach is to keep students in are required in order to become a qualified teacher regular classes but give them access to a special of gifted and talented students. Alternatively, "resource classroom." Students in these class- teachers already in the work forcecan take short- rooms receive tutoring to supplement the standard term training programs designed to prepare them curriculum and have access to special materials for teaching these students. (Lee, 1987). The government has expanded the number of Problems and Perspectives programs for gifted students greatly during the As Taiwan has continued to develop economi- past decade. In 1991, 126 elementary schools, 102 cally, the government has placed more andmore junior high schools, and 35 senior high schools emphasis on improving the quality of education were conducting programs for gifted students (Bu- offered to its citizens. In fact, improvement of reau of Statistics, 1991). More than 23,000 stu- education is part of a new six-year national develop-

36 1 1 ment project that is currently being launched. place in the self-contained classes, where social Education for the gifted is likely to benefit greatly interactions are restricted to those involving other from this project, for the government considers gifted students. There are also those who have the performance of gifted students to be an impor- complained that the curriculum from the resource tant indicator of the general quality of education classroom and the regular classroom are not ade- being provided throughout the province. More- quately integrated, and that trying to keep up with over, education authorities also hope to use teach- both overburdens students. ing methods developed for the gifted with ordinary Other continuing challenges facing gifted and students, especially methods for promoting prob- talented education programs in Taiwan include a lem-solving and creative thinking. lack of qualified teachers, the need for better selec- The current system of education for the gifted tion devices, the paucity of competitions and and talented is not without its critics. Some object scholarships for gifted and talented students, and to what they consider io be a continuing over- the need to develop library and museum resources emphasis on the very rigid examination system, and other extracurricular activities to supplement which they believe undermines gifted and talented classroom instruction. education. Talented students, for example, are Efforts are being made to expand special educa- often torn between developing their special talent tion training programs for teachers, including and preparing for the entrance examinations that those who teach in kindergartens and in elementary are so important for their future success. Conse- schools, and to increase teacher access to confer- quently, many parents and educators have become ences and workshops on gifted and talented educa- advocates for comprehensive programs of gifted tion. Education departments of colleges are being education that continue from kindergarten through encouraged to develop full-fledged graduate pro- college. grams to which practicing teachers can return for Other critics believe the programs for gifted additional training, and explorations are being students place too much emphasis on preparing made for increasing the opportunities for teachers students for the college entrance examinations, to go abroad to study practices in other countries rather than on attempting to broaden their knowl- that have developed programs for gifted and tal- edge and abilities. Another objection is that stu- ented students. In order to attract more teachers to dents gifted in mathematics and science should the field, officials are considering supplementing not be restricted to careers that emphasize only the salaries of teachers of gifted and talented stu- pure science. Some parents have actually kept dents. their children out of such gifted programs so that they would have the option later of pursuing Japan careers in other fields, such as engineering. There are concerns, too, about the manner in Unlike China and Taiwan, Japan has no formal which education for gifted students is organized. government programs aimed at cultivating the Debate continues about the relative merits of the abilities of gifted and talented children. To under- "self-contained" and "resource classroom" ap- stand why this is the case, it is necessary to proaches. Students in self-contained classrooms consider certain aspects of Japanese culture and performed better on tests of academic achievement how these have influenced the development of the and creativity than their counterparts assigned to Japanese educational system. We begin with a resource classrooms. However, some critics have discussion of changes that have occurred in Japa- expressed concern about whether appropriate so- nese educational philosophy since the opening of cial and emotional development of students takes Japan to the West in the middle of the last century.

12 37 Pre- vs. Post-war Education maining expenses are the responsibility of local After the Meiji Restoration in 1868, when Japan school districts. Education officials believe that reopened itself to the rest of the world, thegovern- this has served to create comparable teaching and ment began to revise and modernize its education learning conditions throughout Japan. system. Its model was the elitist European system The administration of education in Japan,as it in which enrolment was restricted to individuals is in China and Taiwan, is highly centralized, and privileged by their economic or social status in the Ministry of Education defines the content of society. By 1919, when Japan was firmly estab- textbooks and curriculum guidelines. The ration- lished as an international power, the government ale for this degree of centralization is that only in realized it was necessary to make educationopen this way will all students be properly equipped to all citizens. The Government Responsibility for with the basic skills necessary for competition in the Basic Support of Compulsory Education Act contemporary society. Although teachers are was pssed, making the national government ac- given wide latitude in teaching the curriculum, countable for the major educational expenses for there is a great deal of uniformity in the subject the six years of elementary school. Only the social matter and skills that are taught throughout the and economic elite were expected topursue educa- nation. As one former education official toldus, tion beyond these six years. Because the so-called "higher school" educa- "...in the second term of the second year tion involved relatively small numbers of students, of primary school, teachers begin to teach curriculum guidelines were few and loose, and multiplication skills everywhere in Japan. teachers had a great deal of freedom tostructure They do it thoroughly. When I was a child, the pace and the content of study. Indeed,one we memorized our multiplication tables from official we spoke to suggested that gifted students 9 x 9 down to 2 x 2. It's impossible fora probably received more attention then than they do student to finish second grade in Japan and now, because teachers were in a position to cater not know the multiplication table." to the interests and abilities of individual students. At the elementary school level, the World War II and its aftermath brought profound concern is not with identifying individual differences and changes in the Japanese education system. With Iiingling out gifted students for special attention, the advent of American influence during theoccu- but with providing all students with certain pation and the adoption of the postwar Constitu- neces- sary skills. The same official told us he was proud tion, the Japanese populace pursued the equality they understood to be a product of democracy and of Japan's "very uniform and rigid primary school system," and went on to say: swept away old types of social privilege. Not surprisingly, education underwent profound "Since a democratic society is a competitive changes. The elitist European system was aban- society, we need to assure that they [the doned in favor of what education leaders refer to students] will have the basic skills they need as a "formal egalitarian" system of education. to compete. As long as they have these basic The guiding principle of today's system is that skills, it is up to them where to goor how students throughout Japan should have equalac- much effort they want to give in order to t:C.-SS to comparable school facilities. To ensure succeed in competition." equal access, the national governmentcovers half the cost of teacher salaries, teaching materials, and Special treatment, such as allowinga student to construction of new buildings, and one-third the skip a gra,.ie, is extremely rare in Japan. Special cost of maintaining existing buildings. There- classes for gifted students do not exist. Such classes

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38 would be regarded by both educators and parents when schools were faced with a large number of as displaying unfair favoritism, thus violating the students with wide variability in ability and prepa- egalitarian philosophy on which the education ration. By the early 1980s, about 40 percent of system is built. Teachers often indicate that they high schools practiced some degree of tracking; do not especially appreciate having gifted children however, it seems never to have gained popular in their classrooms. The children they find more acceptance outside the urban areas of Tokyo and impressive are those who work hard. Besides, Osaka. The major objection was that it appeami to they say, gifted children only have the potential be a return to an elite form of education. (senzai), and should learn the importance of hard work: "If you don't polish the stone it will have After-School Activities no luster." Special opportunities do exist in the public At the high school level, some efforts have been schools for students to enrich their education made to recognize and accommodate divergent through after-school clubs and classes. These extra- student interests and abilities, but these have also curricular activities are open to all students and a met with opposition because they smack of "-lite high percentage choose to participate. During ele- education." We frequently heard comments sug- mentary school, students remain for an hour or gesting that if a certain group of students is treated more after their regular classes have ended; during differently, other groups will complain about not high school they may remain for several hours. having equal opportunity. The range of activities depends upon the size of the In the last two decades, the Ministry of Educa- school, but includes such diverse topics as orches- tion has tried to introduce more flexibility into the tra, calligraphy, computer programming, sports, high school curriculum. The number of required literature, geology, biology, art, chemistry, and courses has been reduced to allow students to journal writing and editing. While these activities pursue their own interests, and teachers have been are not offered especially for gifted and talented granted more flexibility to meet the individual students, they do offer students a much broader educational needs of students. The Ministry of scope of activities than those contained in the Education encouraged teachers to arrange classes regular curriculum. Thus, although the length of according to student achievement so that all stu- the regular school day in Japan is comparable to dents would still be assured of learning the basic that found in the West, these after-school activities skills expected of high sthool students. To accom- keep students at school for much longer periods plish this, local schools were permitted to develop of time. tracking systems, known as seijukudo gakkyu hensei , in which a student would be placed in a Kosei Kyoiku slow, average, or fast class depending upon that Several of the experts and officials we talked to student's previous performance in a subject. The indicated that the educators and the Ministry of system does not require long-term assignment to a Education are still concerned that Japanese high particular track; if a slower student's work im- school curricula are too rigid. Recently, the Minis- proves, he or she moves up to a higher level. The try has proposed what they call kosei kyoiku , which basic content of the curriculum is the same in all may be roughly translated as "individualized edu- tracks; only the speed with which it is taught varies. cation." It is an attempt to encourage high schools To help slower students master the basic skills, to make their curricula more flexible so that the the Ministry of Education proposed that these stu- schools can do a better job of meeting the individual dents should be taught by master teachers. interests, abilities, and needs of the students. This system was fairly widely implemented after What is meant by kosei kyoiku remains vague, the "second baby boom" in the mid-seventies, and educators are not clear about what individual-

31 4 ized instruction would encompass. The term kosei parents and teachers recognize variation in ability in Japanese carries more of a sense of individual among students, they generally believe that any differences in personality, rather than of individual student who works hard has the potential to be a differences in academic ability. Still, kosei kyoiku high achiever. They justify the stratification of is quite different from conventionai programs for high schools and colleges by pointing out that all gifted and talented students that seek out students children were given equal opportunities during with high academic ability. Eisai kyoiku is a direct the first years of schooling. Some iJilldren re- translation of gifted education, but in our discus- sponded appropriately to these opportunities by sions a question was often raised about its goals. studying hard; others did not. It is not unfair, they Would eisai kyoiku be defined by noryoku, a term argue, that those who have already demonstrated describing capability, and usually implying mental their diligence should have greater opportunities to capability? Would it include children character- benefit from higher levels of education than those ized by saino,translated directly as talent? The who failed to show such devotion to their studies. question of whether eisai kyoiku should be directed primarily at promoting individuality, intellectual High School ability, cr talent is not likely to receive a quick Compulsory education in Japan extends through answer. the ninth grade. High school attendance is not mandatory, although over 95 percent of youths of Elite Education vs. Gifted and high school age graduate from high school. In Talented Education stark contrast to the egalitarian system that is In our conversations with Japanese education strictly adhered to in elementary and junior high officials we sometimes found that they substituted schools, a hierarchical order exists among high the term "elite education" in their replies to our schools. High schools, especially in urban areas, are ranked into four levels according to their qual- questions abmt gifted education. Discussion of special programs for gifted children seems to bring ity. The highest ranked schools are ones that have the greatest success in placing students in good up images of the pre-World War II system of universities; the lowest are those whose students education based on the European models and re- specialize in vocational or technical education. stricted to students of socially or economically "Can we say," an educator asked earnestly in privileged families. Schools or programs that are one of our discussions, "that the number one school organized to prepare the next generation of the provides eisai kyoiku?" elite to lead Japan are rejected in the egalitarian Students in Japan are admitted to a high school Japan of today. of a given level on the basis of results of entrance Although entrance into the elite schools was not examinations. Competition for entrance into top based upon ability, Japanese citizens apparently high schools is keen because one's high school assume that the goal of special education of the education has great importance for passing the gifted and talented is the same as that of the old examination to a good university. All students elite system of education: to single out agroup of take the same high school entrance examination students for special privileges later in their lives. and in principle have an equal opportunity to enter The current social atmosphere in Japan is intolerant a top high school. It is primarily through entrance of any attempts that even appear to subvert the examinations, first for high school and later for post-World War II egalitarian system that now university, that individual differences in ability prevails in Japanese public schools. Each child, among students become acknowledged. says the Japanese parent, should be given the same An alternative route to admission does exist in chance to gain high positions in society. Although the case of college entrance. A certain percentage

1 5

40 of students, sometimes up to one-fifth, are able to and are not supervised by the Ministry of Educa- bypass the entrance examination system via the tion. suisen (recommendation) system. It has been the In addition to self-improvement jai< that teach practice, primarily in private universities, to make such things as music, calligraphy, abacus, and a small number of places in each of their depart- martial arts, there are two kinds of academic juku. ments open to students from select high schools. Hoshu juku provide remedial instruction for stu- Some universities might require an interview or a dents struggling with their schoolwork. Shingaku test of some type, but generally the students are juku are the ones that specifically aim at preparing allowed to avoid taking the stressful college en- students for entrance examinations. The education trance examinations. officials we talked to generally expressed displea- Public universities have recently adopted and sure with the existence of juku , saying they felt greatly expanded the suisen system. Rather than that they too often emphasized material beyond establishing relationships with specific high what students at a given level should be expected schools as they had in the past, departments in to learn. Further, one person noted that this sort public universities set aside a few places to be filled of juku created problems for egalitarian education: by students with unusual qualifications. These "Juku have begun to play the role of distin- include outstanding academic achievement or some guishing among students by administering other type of exceptional iife experience, such as mock exams, the results of which could be living overseas. The university interviews students compared to a large population of other who have been recommended by their schools and students, thereby giving students an indica- decides which ones to accept. Admission into these tion of their standing relative to others. programs is competitive, but reliance on recom- Therefore, students began to discover diver- mendations rather than scores on a college entrance gences in ability among themselves by at- examination has the potential of significantly mod- tending these juku because the regular schools ying the way in which Japanese students gain refused to make such distinctions. entrance into universities. Mention should also be made of private high The main criticism of juku was from education schools. In addition to public high schools, private officials who stressed that the official curriculum high schools are also popular, especially those that alone did a good job of equipping students with the have good records in placing students in top uni- appropriate skills. These officials expressed dis- versities. Private schools are able to pay greater may that parents and students believed it was neces- attention to individual differences and to develop sary to supplement an educationally sound curric- programs that will promote special talents and ulum with work in juku.Despite this view, skills. Because they are more successful than attendance atjuku is widespread, especially in large public schools in instituting such programs, some metropolitan areas. It is estimated that there are of the educators with whom we talked suggested more than 35,000 juku in Japan, comprising an that private schools really insight be considered to industry involving about six billion dollars a year provide eisai kyoiku. (Adachi, 1988).

Juku or Supplementary Schooling. In order to com- Possible Reforms.In addition to current discussion pete more effectively on high school and college about how high schools might implement more entrance examinations, students turn tojuku (cram individualized education, an interest in introducing schools analogous to Taiwan's bushiban). Juku reforms at the college level has also arisen. The are entirely outside the official education system Central Council for Education, an advisory body

41 1 6 to the Minister of Education, has discussed modifi- enter school, but there is general avoidance of cations of entrance requirements to universities that discussion of innate differences in ability. Even in might foster the development of students with high school, teachers do no:praise especially special talents and interests. sophisticated or straightforward ways of solving Currently, students must make high scores on problems if the solutions are not dependent upon all aspects of the college entrance tests. This what has already been taught. Regardless of system selects students who have talent overall, but whether students have learned advanced mathe- ignores those with special talents. The Council matics on their own or whether they have already may propose that students who are gifted and read the material that is assigned, they are given talented in particular areas be admitted to universi- no opportunity to skip the classes which cover these ties even if they do not have high scores on the topics. The only accommodation occurs in those total entrance examination. A related recommen- high schools where such students are placed in the dation would be to allow highly talented high school fast track. These students complete the regular students to enroll in university courses in mathe- assignments during the first half of the year; the matics, physics, and a limited number of other second half is devoted to study of enrichment fields. A third recommendation being discussed materials. is to lower the age for university entrancebut Some tension exists within Japanese society be- only in the field of mathematicsbelow the cur- tween egalitarian education and eisai kyoiku. One rently legal age of 18. No one has gone so faras to persistent theme is that all children should be given propse comprehensive programs for gifted and equal opportunities for a good education, but there talented students such as those found at the second- is also the counter theme that, like China, Japan ary levels in China and Taiwan, and the idea of should be producing students "earlier, faster, and providing special opportunities to gifted students better." The home-study Kumon lessons and the below the high school level is still considered to Suzuki approach to early musical training have be inappropriate. become very popular as means of enhancing public Problems and Perspectives education for young children. Even the Chairman of the Sony Corporation has entered theargument Predicting whether Japanese officials will ever by suggesting in a widely read book that kindergar- introduce a broad system of special programs for ten is too late for initiating formal education (Ibuka, gifted students is risky, but on the basis of contem- 1977). Whatever form education of the gifted and porary Japanese philosophy and past educational talented may ultimately take in Japan,one thing practices it seems doubtful that this will Occur in appears to be sure: gifted education will not be the near future. Special programs for giftedyoung part of the government-sponsored educationalsys- children are unlikely to flourish in a culture where tem, but will be something that highly motivated elementary school teachers would never tell par- parents will provide for their children through ents directly that their child is gifted or advanced private lessons. over other students and where there is assiduous Japan is a society in which children are exhorted avoidance of direct forms of teaching in nursery to study hard and are told that if they apply schools and kindergarten for fear that it would themselvs they will be able to achieve. The great produce inequities in first grade. Teachers may emphasis on effort and the purposeful de-emphasis provide subtle forms of encouragement to bright of innate abilities has paid off in terms of the students by encouraging them to apply to good high remarkably high average levels of academic schools, and indirect forms of teaching may be achievement and indirectly in the country's vast provided by parents and teachers before children economic success. But the Japaneseare beginning

17

42 to worry about why they are not producing larger In this study we visited 10 schools in Taipei and numbers of basic scientific discoveries and more Sendai and 11 schools in Beijing. From each Nobel prize winners. Educators are especially con- school we selected representative samples of 12 cerned about how they can stimulate greater cre- first graders and 12 fifth-graders. We also in- ativity and better problem solving in their students. cluded 12 first- and 12 fifth-graders from each of Any discussion of education in Japan inevitably 20 schools in the metropolitan area of Chicago. turns to these topics. How these worries and con- The children were given a battery of mathematics cerns may influence educational practices for tests, and they and their teachers and mothers gifted and talented students in Japan will be interest- were interviewed. We replicated this study in ing to observe in the coming decades. Beijing in 1990. 3. In 1986-87, we also conducted a study of Results of Comparative children's adaptation to school in Beijing and in Research Chicago. We gave tests in reading and mathematics achievement to over 2,400 first-, third-, and fifih- We turn next to the research projects we have grade students in Beijing and nearly 3,000 in Chi- conducted with students from China, Taiwan, and cago. Japan and their counterparts in the United States. 4. We replicated part of Study 1 in 1990 with The analyses we report are for two types of highly 240 fifth graders from each of the three cities, able students. We focus our attention in the first Taipei, Sendai, and Minneapolis. We visited the set of analyses on the characteristics of students same schools that we had visited in 1980 and who demonstrated outstanding cognitive ability on tested children with the same tests and interviewed a battery of tests of the types commonly included mothers about the same topics included in the in intelligence tests. In the second set of analyses earlier study. We also interviewed students about we discuss correlates of outstanding achievement in mathematics, a topic about which we have col- many of the topics included in Study 2. 5. A large study of eleventh-graders was con- lected a great deal of information. We use data ducted in Sendai, Taipei, and Minneapolis in 1990 from the following studies: and 1991. One part of the study included represen- 1. Our first study, conducted in 1980, included tative samples of approximately 1,200 Japanese, 960 children, half from Sendai, Japan and half 1,500 Chinese, and 1,000 American students. We from Taipei, Taiwan, selected as representative gave them tests of mathematics and general infor- samples of first-and fifth-graders from those mation, and asked them to answer items in a long cities. We also included 480 children from Minne- questionnaire dealing with their attitudes, beliefs, apolis. The children were interviewed, tested for reading and mathematics achievement, and given and current life situations. In a follow-up study conducted at the same time, we located as many a battery of ten cognitive tasks. The cognitive of the first- gr...ders from our 1980 study (now tasks included tests of coding, spatial relations, eleventh-g,aders) as we could find. We place perceptual speed, auditory memory, memory for greater reliance in this report on the cross-sectional words, memory for numbers, verbal memory, vo- data because not all of the Japanese data from the cabulary, general information, and verbal-spatial representation (Stevenson et al., 1985). Mothers follow-up study have been analyzed. also were interviewed. After completing this study Students of High and Average we conducted a parallel study of kindergarten chil- Cognitive Ability dren of which we make brief mention. 2. In 1986-87, we conducted a much more thor- Giftedness is often defined in terms of intelli- ough exploration of achievement in mathematics. gence. Data from the battery of cognitive tasks

18 43 given at first and fifth grades in Study I make it children's cognitive ability on academic achieve- possible to form groups on the basis of theirscores ment. on tests of cognitive ability. We selected two groups; one we will term "highly able" and the Scores at eleventh grade. We can also determine other, "average." At each grade we selectedap- the predictive value of the early cognitive tasks proximately 24 students whose scoreswere in the by asking whether the scores obtained in first grade top decile of scores on the battery of tasks for a were effective in distinguishing between achieve- "highly able" group and a correspondinggroup ment scores at eleventh grade. Scores were avail- of approximately 24 students whosescores clus- able for mathematics, reading comprehension, tered most closely to the average foran "average" and general information. The latter test tapped group. There was no consistent tendency for boys information that was not necessarily taught in or girls to be more frequently represented among school, such as why blankets keep uswarm and the highly able students. At first grade,a lower why it has been possible to make smallercomput- percentage of boys than of girls received the high ers in recent years. scores in Minneapolis (39 percent) and Taipei (37 Bright first-graders were not only high achievers percent), but slightly more boys than girlswere at first grade, but also ten years later when they in the highly able group in Sendai (56 percent). were in high school (see table 1). They knew more The corresponding percentages at fifth gradewere than the average students about reading and mathe- 67 percent, 46 percent, and 52 percent. matics, and also had a broader fund of general information about the evetyday world. Academic achievement. One of the first questions we asked about the two groups of children is how Mothers' perceptions. Mothers in all three cultures well they were achieving in school. Level of cogni- tended to rate their children as beingaverage or tive ability has frequently been found to be related above in their intelligence and in their achievement to academic achievemcnt. The question here is in mathematics and reading. This is evident in the whether the level of achievement differed between data summarized in figure 3. Theaverage students the highly able and the average students to thesame received ratings that were above averagebut degree in the diverse cultures in whichour re- significantly lower than those obtained by the search was conducted. highly able students. The differences between the Students who received high scores on the cogni- ratings for the highly able and averagegroups were tive tests out-performed the average studentson largest in Minneapolis and the smallest in Sendai. both the mathematics and reading tests. First-grad- Mothers in all three locations gave other indica- ers in the highly able groups could read many tions of their awareness of their children's level more words and phrases and were better able to of cognitive ability. Mothers of highly able students understand what they read than were theaverage consistently gave their children higher ratings than children. The highly able students also surpassed did the mothers of average childrenon intelligence, the average students in their ability to solvecom- memory, ability to learn new things, and at fifth- putation and word problems (see figures 1 and 2). gra4e, to express themselves verbally andpay Differences in scores on the achievement tests be- attention. In addition, mothers of highly able fifth- tween the highly able and average groups of chil- graders believed that their children would complete dren were equivalent among the three cultures. more years of school than did mothers of children However, the differences between the highly able in the average group and that their children had and average groups 'were' less marked at fifth higher potential to do well in school. Ratings made than at first grade, probably reflecting an increas- by mothers of the highly able andaverage students ingly strong influence of variables other than differed from each other to thesame degree in all

19

44 Figure 1. Mean standard (z) scores on reading and mathematics achievement tests of the groups of first-grade students of high and average cognitive ability.

Reading Vocabulary Computation 2.0 2.0

1.0 1.0

0.0 0.0

-1.0 -1.0 USA Taiwan Japan USA Taiwan Japan

Word Problems 2.0 Comprehension 2.0 11039 0 AvCog

1.0 1.0

0.0 0.0

.1.0 -1.0 USA Taiwan Japan USA Taiwan Japan Grade 1

three locations. Only on two characteristics related did the mothers, ratings of children's curiosity to cognitive ability, creativity and curiosity, did and creativity differ according to cognitive level. the highly able and a verage groups receive similar Significant differences appeared for only two ratings. We have no explanation for this departure characteristics, and then at only fifth grade. Highly from the general pattern other than to suggest that able students in all three cities were rated as being the mothers may not have had clear conceptions more persistent, and in Taipei and Sendai they were of these attributes. given higher ratings for self-confidence. The picture was different for personality and social characteristics. Ratings of the children's Use of out-of-school time. One might expect that level of anxiety, approval-seeking, obedience, rest- highly able and average students would spend lessness, and shyness were generally not related their out-of-school time in different ways. Ac- to their level of cognitive ability. . Nor, surprisingly, cording to their mothers, this was not the case for

20 45 Figure 2.- Mean standard (z) scores on reading and mathematics achievement tests of the groups of fifth-grade students of high and avera.e cognitive ability.

Reading Vocabulary 2.0 2.0

g 1.0 1.0

0.0

-1.0 USA Taiwan Japan USA Taiwan Japan

Comprehension Word Problems 2.0 2.0

1.0 1.0

0.0 0.0

-1.0 1.0 USA Taiwan Japan USA Taiwan Japan Grade 5

Table 1.-Weighted mean z scores of eleventh grade able students spent less time playing than their students who at first grade were in the average and average peers. The highly able students in Minne- highly able groups in terms of cognitive ability. apolis spent 14 hours a week playing; the average students, 21 hours. Even so, the highly able stu- United States Taiwan Japan dents in Minneapolis spent more time playing than Average High Average High Average High did their peers in Sendai and Taipei, whowere Mathematics -.54.55 .341.29 .20.71 estimated to play only 13.0 and 6.3 hours a week, Reading .15.59 .15.70 -.30.72 comprehension respectively. General .11.91 -.01.75 -.10.53 One way in which highly able and average information students differed consistently was in the amount of time they spent each week in reading for pleasure. watching television, doing homework, and at first Highly able students in Minneapolis, Taipei, and grade, playing. At fifth grade, however, highly Sendai spent more time reading for pleasure than

21

46 Figure 3. Mothers' ratings of the intellectual ability and reading and mathematics ability of the groups of students who received high and average scores on the cognitive tasks. Mothers Ratings Midi Above . Avenge e IntoIllsetuel Ability0,-----III- MCN Mop a Reading 1li C 7 7 /mess. s USA Taiwan Japan s USA Grade 1 Taiwan Japan USA Taiwan Japan Muth Above . a Mingo s Reading 2A 7ig 7 `?2 Aver $ USA Taiwan Japan 6 USA Grads 5 Taiwan Japan Taiwan , Japan 23 the average students. At first grade the estimates clustered around the average for the totalgroup in differed, respectively, bya quarter hour, half hour, each city. and over three hours a week. By fifthgrade, the corresponding differenceswere one hour, two and Mathematics Achievement. Scoreson the mathe- a half hours, and nearly three hours. These data matics tests of both the high achieversand the offer interesting support for the viewthat highly average students from Taipei and Sendai exceeded able students are distinguished bytheir ability to those of their Minneapolispeers at all grades after learn a great deal by themselves. kindergarten. The degree of differencebetween the cities was so great that students consideredto be Students with High and Average high achievers in mathematics inMinneapolis were Achievement in Mathematics within the range of average students inTaipei and We turn next to comparisons of Sendai. This is illustrated graphically infigure 4, students who where the data are plotted in displayed high levels of achievementin mathemat- terms of weighted z scores computed at each grade level for all samples. ics with those who performedat an average level. The average scores of the high achieving Performance in mathematicswas selected as a Ameri- second example of giftedness because"of can fifth- and eleventh-graders departed little, ifat the wide- all, from those of the spread interest in the topic and because average Chinese and Japa- we have a nese students. great deal of information about students whodo well in mathematics. The same effect appeared whencomparisons were made between high achievers and We developed our own tests of average mathematics groups in Beijing and Chicago (see figure 5). In achievement in order to besure that the tests were these comparisons, the high achieversin Chicago appropriate for the students in eachculture. The at first, third, and fifth grade received tests were based on our detailed analyses scores at or of the below those of the averagegroups in Beijing. content of the textbooks or workbooks usedin the Clearly, we are not talking about the schools of each city. Information from same degree these analy- of proficiency in mathematics whenwe compare ses made it possible to construct items of the types children in the top decile of mathematicsscores in and levels of difficulty that children encouater China, Taiwan, and Japan with thetop decile of every day at school. As a further checkon the children in the United States. cross-cultural applicability ofour tests and inter- views, we routinely submitted allitems to psychol- Sex Differences. Therewas a predominance of boys ogists and educators in each culturefor review. among the high achievers in mathematics. Inboth Items for the kindergarten test rangedfrom Taipei and Sendai, therewere more boys than girls identifying numerals, counting, andordering, at all grade levels. This was dramaticallyevident through adding and subtracting insimple computa- in Sendai, where nearly all of thehigh achieving tion and word problems. Thetest for elementary students at the eleventh gradewere boys. In Min- school students includedmore difficult computa- neapolis, the groups includedmore girls than boys tion and word problems. Thetest for the eleventh- through fifth grade, but boys outnumberedgirls graders was comprehensive andcontained items at eleventh grade (see figure 6), In Beijing,there ranging from simple inequalitiesto complex ge- was a greater percentage of boys in the high- ometry and algebra. achieving groups at all grades: 64percent (first We formed high-achievinggroups in each city grade), 58 percent (third grade),and 63 percent (fifth grade). by selecting the students whosescores were in the top decile on the mathematics test. We also formed Educational level of parents. Parentsof high- contrast groups of average students whose scores achieving and average studentsdiffered much

48 24 Figure 4. Mean standard (z) scores on the mathematics test of groups of kindergarten, 1st-, 5th-, and 11th-grade students in Taipei, Sendai, and Minneapolis who received high and average scores on the mathematics test. MathematicsAchievement

High Group 2.0 Taiwan Japan

1.0 uSA

JTaapiwaann 0.0 ee es

a USA -1.0 Average Group

-2.0

K 1 5 1 1 Grade more in Taipei and Sendai than in Minneapolis in status of the home as indicated by parents' educa- their educational levels. At the eleventh grade, tion was greator in all cases for the high achievers for example, the difference in years of education than for the average students, it played a poten- for Minneapolis fathers was only half a year, but tially much stronger role in the East Asian families. was 2.3 years in Taipei and 1.3 years in Sendai; for mothers the corresponding differences were Classrooms and schools. If all of the high-scoring 4, 2.5, and .8 years. Thus, while the socioeconomic elementary school students came from only a few

25 49 Figure 5. Mean standard (z) scores on the mathematics test of groups of first-, third-, and fifth-graders in Beijing and Chicago who received high and average scores on the mathematics test.

Mathematics Achievement

70 High China 60 Average China USA 50 USA

10

1 3 5

Grade

of the 20 classrooms at each grade in each location, other characteristics of a few classrooms. our findings might be attributable to the effects of The picture is much different at eleventh grade. a few teachers or to ability grouping. This was not In Japan, 83.1 percent of the students came from the case. High achievers came from 13 or more two of the eight schools involved in the study; in of the 20 first-grade classrooms and from 12 or Taiwan, 82.1 percent of the high achievers came more of the 20 fifth-grade classrooms in each from five of the eighteen schools. Thus, the disper- location. In none of the cities, therefore, was high sion of high achievers among different schools achievement in elementary school attributable to during the elementary school grades was replaced a small number of especially skilled teachers or to by a much higher concentration of high-achieving

"26 eleventh-graders in a small number of high schools. Figure 6.The percentage of boys and girls In As we noted earlier, a hierarchy of high schools kindergarten, 1st-, 5th-, and 11th- grades exists in Taiwan and Japan that is defined by the that receiveci high scores in mathematics in severity of the entrance requirements imposed Minneapolis, Taipei, and Sendai. upon the students. It is not surprising, therefore, that the greatest number of high achievers came 1 CO USA 111 AI* from the most highly rated high schools. GI Retie The concentration of students in a few schools was somewhat less in Minneapolis, where 66 percent of the high achievers in mathematics came from three of the nine schools involved in the study. Although there are differences among Amer- ican high schools in any large city in the quality of instruction and the students' abilities, a clear hierarchy produced by different entrance require- ments does not exist. et cs OhI

Longitudinal Data. Because we followed the first- graders until they were in eleventh grade, we can ask how the high achievers in mathematics at first grade scored when they were in eleventh grade. The eleventh-grade percentile scores in mathemat- ics for the high-achieving Minneapolis first grad- ers was 77.7; for the high achieving Taipei stu- dents, 68.3, and for Sendai students, 86.2. These data indicate that the top-scoring first graders were likely to continue to do well in mathematics throughout their schooling. But was the reverse true? Were the top achievers in mathematics at eleventh grade also high achievers at first grade? To answer this question, we looked back at the first-grade mathematics scores of the students who were in the top ten percent of the students on the eleventh-grade math- ematics test. In all three cities the high achieving eleventh graders were found to be above average at first grade. The mean percentiles of first grade cs 011 mathematics scores for Minneapolis, Taipei, and Sendai students were 79.8, 72.1, and 85.2. In Correlates of High Mathematics general, therefore, the top students in eleventh Achievement grade were much above average according to tests given approximately six months after they entered We looked further at factors that differentiated first grade. high achievers from their average-performing

27 SI peers. Both in-schc,n1 and out-of-school factors information available to students in American were considered, but our major interest was in schools. The relative standing of all students is how high levels of achievement are related to common knowledge among students in the class- cultural values about education, parents' attitudes rooms of East Asia; scores on all important tests and beliefs about children's development, and are reported publicly. This rarely occurs in Ameri- scholastic performance. can schools. Grades are available only to the First and Fifth-Graders individual student, and even then they may be disclosed in such general terms that the students Cognitive ability. Replicating the finding that are not aware of their actual standing in the class. academic achievement differs according to Report cards in American elementary schools students' cognitive ability is not especially useful, typically offer global evaluations, such as "satis- but it is of potential value to know whether the factory," while East Asian schools providenu- patterns of abilities of high achievers were similar merical grades. Because of this, it may bemore among the three cultures. difficult for average students to gain an accurate Scores in all cultures differed on nearly all of estimate of their relative status in American than the tasks between the high and average achievers. in Asian elementary schools. The only exceptions were for the rotememory and perceptual tasks (Uttal, et al., 1988). Not surpris- Attributions. The Confucian emphasis on the malle- ingly, it was the more complex cognitive tasks that ability of human beings and the perfectibility of emerged as the best discriminators of performance human behavior through proper experiencescon- in mathematics. Multiple discriminant function tinues to have a pervasive influence in Chinese analyses of the data for the high achieversat each and Japanese cultures. This was evident in the grade and in each city revealed that tasks suchas discussions we described earlier, and in the results verbal-spatial representation (identifying and of our research. We have found, for example, that drawing spatial patterns on the basis of verbal Chinese and Japanese mothers, teachers, andstu- instructions), verbal memory (recalling the details dents are more likely than their Americancounter- of a short story), vocabulary, and general informa- parts to attribute success in school to hard work tion were the strongest predictors of mathematics (Stevenson, et al., 1990), and less likely to attribute achievement. Although the patterns of these tasks it to innate ability. Would these tendencies be were not identical in each location, we did not exaggerated by high-achieving students? Would find a set of abilities related to high levels of high-achieving Chinese and Japanese students achievement that was unique to any location. give even more emphasis to hard work, and high achieving American students give evenmore em- Self-evaluations. Fifth-grade students in the 1990 phasis to the importance of innate ability? study were asked to make their own evaluations Evidence related to this question was obtained of their levels of academic achievement, intelli- from fifth-graders. We asked the studentsto rate gence, and performance in mathematics. The high their agreement with statements suchas "You can achievers did not rate themselvesas being truly be good at any type of math problem ifyou work outstanding. In Taipei and Sendai they did give on it hard enough," "Natural ability is more impor- themselves ratings that were higher than those of tant than effort for doing well in math, " and the average students, but not in Minneapolis. The "Everybody in your class has about thesame self-ratings of average students wereas high as amount of ability in math." The major finding those made by the high achievers (see figure 7). was that high achievers in Taiwan and Japan were The lack of self-insight of theaverage American more likely than average achievers to attribute fifth-grade students may be a result of the lack of success to the attributes most favored by their

2 8 52 Figure 7.Self-evaluations of their academic achievement, intellectual aMilty, and mathematics ability of fifth-graders in the high- and average-achieving groups. Muth Abate Amy* g Academic Achlevemant 7 Self-evaluationIntellacIual Ability 7 46 4 4 23 23 High ' 23 Much Vida, Average 1 0-- Aversg.i] Figure 8. Self evaluations of their academic achievement, intellectual ability, and mathematics abilityUSA of 11th-graders in the high- and average-achieving groups. Taiwan Japan USA Grad* 5 Taiwan Japan USA Taiwan Japan Medi Above Menge 7 47 Self-evaluationIntellectual Ability Mathematics 4 2 23 0 Average tch itudi IlefowMemo 29 USA Taiwan Japan USA Grad* 11 Taiwan Japan Taiwan Japan 30 culture: they emphasized the importance of hard Other psychological characteristics. Therewere work and de-emphasized the contribution of- innate many other characteristics for which the high and ability. Findings for the American studentswere average achievers gave themselves similar ratings. less consistent. The average students weremore These included physical appearance, ability to get likely than the high achievers to believe that hard along with others, having good family relations, work would lead to success, but they alsogave caring about others, wanting to study rather than stronger emphasis to the importance of innate having fun, not wanting to skip school, and not ability (see table 2). feeling satisfied with just a passing grade. High School Students Attributions. One of the areas of greatest difference Some of the questions asked of high school between the responses of the elementary school students were the same as those asked of the and high school students was in their attributions younger students. The responses to several of these concerning the bases for academic success. questions yielded some interesting new insights Whereas the responses of the high achievers and into the personality and motivation of high average elementary school students differed from achievers in high school. each other, the responses of the high andaverage achievers in high school were small or insignifi- Self-evaluations of Achievement and Intelligence. cant. The average high school students were more Eleventh grade high achievers, like their fifth- likely to believe that anyone could be good at math grade counterparts, were aware of the fact that they if they worked hard enough, but differences be- were doing well in school (see figure 8). American tween ratings made for other statements were not students were the most positive about themselves statistically significant. and Japanese students, the least. However, in contrast to the younger students, where the Minne- Indices of Stress. One domain we were able to apolis high achievers and average students gave explore with high school students thatwe could themselves similar ratings, the Minneapolis high not investigate with young children was their level school students who were average achievers in of stress. Parents and teachers oftenworry that mathematics did give themselves lower ratings than high achievement r, ay come at the cost ofan did the high achievers. increased incidence of psychological disturbance. Table 2.Attributions made by average and high We have not found this to be the case in analyses achievers in fifth grade of eleventh graders in Taipei, Sendai, and Minne- apolis, even though their levels of achievement United States Taiwan Japan differed greatly. Nor did we find it to be true of Average High Average High Average High the high and average achievers in each city. In fact, Everyone has the 3.62.7 4.73.6 4.03.7 same amount of if anything, it was the average achievers, not the ability in math. high achievers, who were likely to describe indica- Anyone can be 6.25.7 5.96.2 5.66.6 tions of tension. good at math if We asked the students to indicate the frequency they work hard enough. with which they experienced a large variety of Natural ability is 4.02.7 2.92.6 3.63.2 disorders, such as feeling tired, having problems more important with sleep, eating, and elimination, and having that effort for doing well in headaches and stomach aches. Theaverage stu- math. dents in all cultures reported significantlymore frequent headaches, stomach aches, and diarrhea Note: I = Strongly disagree; 7 = Strongly agree. than did the high achievers. They also indicated

54 31 that they were more anxious about keeping up with In other words, the motivation of high achievers their schoolwork, and the Sendai and Minneapolis for studying hard lay within themselves, but for average achievers reported feeling more frequent low achievers it was more likely to depend on anxiety while they were taking tests and when external factors. their tests were returned. Average students were Additional evidence of the self-motivation of also more frequently angry at their teacher, and high achievers appeared in the students' ratings in Minneapolis they reported feeling like hitting of the importance of getting good grades. We asked someone or destroying something more often than the students first to rate the importance for their did the high achievers. High achievers in Sendai parents and then for themselves. High achievers reported these aggressive feelings more often, but considered it more important to themselves to get the frequencies for the high and average achievers good grades than they believed it to be to their did not differ in Taipei. parents. The average achievers thought it was There was not a significant difference between equally important to their parents as it was to high achievers and average students in the fre- themselves to get good grades. quency with which they reported feelings of stress, Expectations and Satisfaction. Another ap- but high achievers in Minneapolis did report more proach to exploring students' motivation for frequent feelings of depression. In Sendai and studying hard is to compare how well they expect Taipei, however, high achievers reported feeling to do on an examination with what they would depressed less frequently than did the average consider satisfactory. We told the students: "Let's achievers. say there is a math test in which there are 100 points. The average score in your class is 70. What Reasons for studying hard. Another new area that score do you think you would get? What score we were able to explore with high schools students would you be satisfied with? What score would was the basis of their motivation for studying hard. your parents be satisfied with? The results are High achievers were more likely than average summarized in figure 9. achievers to believe that they studied hard because In all comparisons there were significant differ- they wanted to gain more knowledge, to go to ences between the estimates made by the high and college, and because they set high standards for average achievers. The average students expected themselves. In contrast, the average achievers to get a score around average; the high achievers, were more likely than high achievers to say they especially the Americans, expected to do much studied hard to please their parents and teachers, and because they had no other choice (see table 3). better. Three interesting phenomena appeared in the Table 3.-Importance of various reasons for studying satisfaction scores. First, the scores with which hard for eleventh-grade students students in each culture would be satisfied were United States Taiwan Japan remarkably similar, as were the estimates of the Average High Average High Average High scores with which they believed their parents would Gain more 5.15.7 5.05.5 4.65.2 be satisfied. Second, there was a much greater knowledge discrepancy between what both the high and aver- Go to college 6.26.1 5.56.2 5.45.6 age achievers in Taipei and Sendai expected and I set high standards 5.26.1 4.95.8 4.24.5 for myself what they would be satisfied with than was the case Please my parents 5.14.3 4.94.9 4. 1 3.2 for American students. These results help to ex- Please my teachers 4.23.3 3.33.0 2.92.5 plain why the Chinese and Japanese students per- I have no other 3.22.3 3.22.7 3.63.4 choice form so much more effectively in academic Note: 1 = Not all important; 7 = Very important. achievement than do American students. American

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55 Figure 9. Mean score on a hypothetical mathematics test by groups of high- and average-achlevers parentsIn mathematics, would find the satisfactory. score theyExpectation would find satisfactory, and the score they Satisfaction Scoop believed their 100 00 Salt Students of Parents Perceptions 70so 111,-- High USA Taiwan Japan 60 0-- AverveUSA Taiwan Japan USA Taiwan Japan 3 34 students set standards for themselves that did not ties or high social status, but because they have depart greatly from their expectations. Chinese and taken advantage of their opportunities and worked Japanese students set standards for themselves that hard in school. Thus, high schools serving only were higher than the ones they expected to attain. highly able students are justified because these Third, the high self-motivation of high-achieving students have already shown that they are more students is evident in the fact that they set higher likely to benefit from a more demanding curriculum standards for themselves than they believed their than their average peers. parents would impose. As far as we can tell from many hours of observations in the schools of China, Taiwan, and Summary and Conclusions Japan, the formal policies are carefully adhered to by educational administrators and teachers. There Programs for gifted and talented children in East Asia are new; the majority were established during is no denial of innate differences in ability, but in both Chinese and Japanese cultures, emphasis is the last decade& The most vigorous efforts are being made in China and Taiwan. China, with its need placed on the importance of effort as the uitimate to modernize, and Taiwan, aware of its delicate factor that differentiates the level of achievement economic position as a result of scarce natural individuals attain. 'The slow bird must start out resources, have promoted education as a means of early," say the Chinese. "Yareba dekiru," say advancing their societies. In this effort, the gov- the Japanese: "If you work at it you can do it." ernments have introduced a wide array of programs These are optimistic beliefs, and underlie the for gifted and talented students during the regular expectation that all normal children are capable of school day and after school. Japan supports no performing effectively in school. The secret of programs specifically for gifted students prior to academic success lies in having devoted teachers the high school years. and supportive parents-but most importantly in Political philosophy is obviously not a critical the hard work of the students themselves. Chinese factor in determining whether programs for gifted and Japanese educators and psychologists tell us students will be established. The socialist govern- they cannot understand why Westerners place such ment of China promotes egalitarianism, but it also importance on innate abilities. They consider this believes that well-trained scientists, mathemati- a self-defeating emphasis, one that potentially lim- cians, and other professionals are important for its the" achievement of average and gifted stu- the advancement of the country. The government dents alike. Average students may begin to doubt assumes that the best way to develop such individ- that they can succeed even if they do work hard, uals is to nurture students who give evidence of and gifted students may come to believe that their outstanding abilities. Japan, on the other hand, high abilities alone are sufficient for ultimate had bitter experience with social elitism before success. World War II, and since then has taken vigorous A common question about effort-oriented phi- steps to avoid the emergence of groups that would losophies is how gifted students continue to be dominate the political and social life of the coun- motivated to study. Gifted students in China and try. As a result, Japan makes strong efforts to Taiwan have many opportunities to work at levels ensure that all children begin school with equal beyond those demanded by the standard curricu- knowledge and receive equal educational opportu- lum. It is a potential problem in Japan, where no nities during their elementary school years. The special academic opportunities other than juku are Japanese explain that some children emerge as typically available to gifted children. more effective students than others, but this occurs Gifted Japanese students remain highly moti- not because of their exceptionally high innate abili- vated in their regular classrooms for several rea-

57 3 5 sons. First, Japanese teachers use an interactive did not do well in high school, or to those who teaching technique, where they attempt to elicit did very well in mathematics in high school but did information from students, rather than providing it not do well in first grade. What might account for themselves through frequent lectures. In seeking the fact that of the very top achievers among the information from the class, teachers allow gifted thousand eleventh-grade Minneapolis students, students to share innovative ideas and explanations one received the top score at first grade, while with their classmates. Further, classes in elemen- another was over a standard deviation below the tary schools are divided into han, small, heteroge- mean of all Minneapolis first graders? neous groups that work together on problems. The The dominance of boys among the high more advanced students in the han assist other achievers in mathematics in Japan, Taiwan, and students who may be having difficulty. By high China is in line with the preferred position of males school, gifted students are separated into different in East Asian society. Similarly, the dominance schools in accordance with their level of academic of boys in American high school mathematics achievement. During the high school years all classes is undoubtedly related to their more fre- Japanese students are intent upon doing well on quent appearance among the high achievers. The college entrance examinations and know that the unusually large proportion of boys among the high best way to do well is to master the high school achievers at eleventh grade in Japan was not ex- curriculum. pected, but may reflect the fact that boys are more The most notable finding in our comparative likely than girls to strive for admission to science research is how similar the bright and high achiev- and engineering departments of the leading uni- ing students are in the different cultures in which versities and may work harder in mathematics. we conducted our research. Only rarely was the As might be expected, the students and their degree of difference between students in the high mothers were generally aware of the relative status scoring groups and those receiving average scores of high-scoring and average students. This was true dependent on a particular culture. There were no in the East Asian societies that attempt to de- especially outstanding characteristics that distin- emphasize individual differences among children guished gifted and talented East Asian students and in the United States, where individual differ- from their American peers, except for their ences are a matter of great interest. One exception marked superiority in mathematics achievement. occurred in Minneapolis. The average American Schools in East Asia are producing some remark- elementary school students and their mothers gen- able students. Although there is no indication that erally considered the students to be more outstand- their general level of intelligence is higher than that ing than was justified by their test scores. It seems of students in the West, their level of sophistication likely that this is due, in part, to the lack of in mathematics is well beyond that found in the comparative information and more global evalua- United States and other Western countries. tions received by American students. We found, not surprisingly, that the bright stu- We found that high achievers in Taiwan and dents in first grade did well in high school. Con- Japan subscribed to the explanations for success versely, students who did well in high school tended favored by East Asian cultures more frequently to be ones who received high scores on cognitive than did the average students, but that the differ- tasks in elementary school. The same type of results ence disappeared at eleventh grade. We know of were found for mathematics achievement. The no other developmental study of attributions made relationship was not perfect in either case, which by high achieving and average students in East leads us to wonder what happened to the children Asia; thus it is difficult to interpret the significance who did very well in mathematics in first grade but of these developmental changes.

36 58 We also found no evidence that high achievers required to remain with their classmates regardless experience greater stress than average achievers. of their level of intelligence or of academic From the self-ratings of nearly 400 high achievers achievement. In contrast, Taiwan and China, seek- in this study, we found infrequent indications of ing to enhance the contribution of gifted and anxiety, tension, psychosomatic disorders, or other talented students to their societies, have developed indications of poor adjustment. In fact, when elaborate programs of special education. The natu- differences between gifted and average students ral experiments that are taking place in these cul- were found in this domain, the average students tures will provide information about gifted and reported the greater stress. talented students that will be of interest thfoughout High achievers appeared, however, to be much the world. more self-motivated than were the average achievers. They were less dependent than average References achievers on outside influences in getting them to study and to get good grades, and they set standards Adachi, J. (1988). The present status of juku. for themselves that were higher than those they Unpublished paper. Saitama University believed would be set by their parents. Although (Japan). the highly able American students suggested the Bureau of Statistics. (1991). Education in the Re- highest scores when asked about the score they public of China. Taipei: Bureau of Statistics, would expect to receive on a hypothetical test, Ministry of Education. high achievers in all three cultures made similar estimates of the score with which they would be Ibuka, M. (1977). Kindergarten is Too Late! New satisfied. These data give us some insight into the York: Simon & Schuster. reasons why East Asian students study harder than their American peers. If standards do not exceed Lee, D. K. (1987). Woguo zhifu youyi jiaoyu the individuals' expected level of achievement, fazhang yu jiaoxue (The development and there is little reason for increasing effoi-t. On the teaching models of gifted education in the Re- other hand, if a satisfying score is above what the public of China). Zhiiou Jiaoyu Jikan. 25, 17- individual expects to achieve, there is reason to 21 persist. This prediction is supported by the stu- dents' reports of how much they study mathematics Special Education Association of the Republic of each week. Whereas the American eleventh-grade China. (1988). Woguo teshu jiaoyu de huigu yu high achievers reported studying mathematics after zhanwang (Retrospects and prospects in special school only a little more than three hours a week, education of the Republic of China.) both Chinese and Japanese high achievers reported Special Education Center, National Taiwan Uni- that they studied mathematics after school more versity (1991). Zhonghua mingguo teshu jiaoyu than six hours a week. fagui huibian (Laws and regulations about spe- From this survey it appears that neither level of cial education and social welfare of R. 0. C.). economic development nor the quality of schools and universities determines whether or not pro- State Statistical Bureau (1989). Fenjin de sishinian grams for the education of gifted and talented (Forty years of rapid development). Beijing: students will be established in any particular coun- China Statistical Press. try. The critical difference is the culture's philoso- phy of education. In an effort to promote egalitari- State Statistical Bureau (1991). People's Daily, anism, all elementary school students in Japan are 1991, February 23, 3.

37 59 Stevenson, H. W., Lee, S. Y., Chen, C., Stigler, National Association for Gifted Children, Or- J. W., Hsu,C. C., & Kitamura, S. (1990). lando. Contexts of Achievement: A Study of American, Chinese, and Japanese Children. Monographs Wu, W. T. (1989). Gifted Education in Taiwan. of the Society for Research in Child Development Educational Perspectives 26,10-14. 221:55, 1-2. Zhu, Y. (1991 April). The Special Department for Stevenson, H. W., Lee, S. Y., Chen, C.,Lummis, the Gifted Young at the University of Science M., Stigler, J., Liu, F., & Fang, G. (1990). and Technology of China. Paper read atmeet- Mathematics Achievement of Children in China ings of the Society for Research in Child Devel- and the United States. Child Development 61, opment, Seattle. 1053-1066.

Stevenson, H. W., Stigler, J. W., Lee, S. Y., Lucker, G. W., Kitamura, S., & Hsu, C. C. Notes (1985). Cognitive Performance and Academic ' The conduct of the studiesreported in this Achievement of Japanese, Chinese, and Ameri- paper was supported by National Institute of Men- can Children. Child Development 56, 718-734. tal Health grant MH33529, National ScienceFoun- dation grants 8409372 and 8751390, anda grant Stigler, J. W., Lee, S. Y., & Stevenson, H.W. from the William T. Grant Foundation. (1990). Mathematical Knowledge: Mathemati- 2 We wish to thank themany individuals who cal Knowledge of Japanese Chinese andAmeri- have contributed information for thisreport: Pro- can elementary School Children. Reston, VA: fessors Hiroshi Azuma, Kinaiyuki Fujino,Keiko National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Kashiwagi, Shigefumi Nagano, Akio Nakajima, and Toshio Yasuma ofJapan; Lon-An Chen,Jian- Uttal, D., Lummis, M., & Stevenson, H. W. zhen Chu, Min-Huang Hwang, Huei-JenKo, (1988). Low and High Mathematics Achieve- Chin-Zi Kuo, and Wu-Tien Wu of Taiwan;Jing ment in Japanese, Chinese, and American Ele- Qicheng and Zhang Houcan of China; andmany mentary-School Children. Developmental Psy- other educational officials and teachers ineach chology 24, 335-342; location. 3 For ease of readingwe will not indicate the Wu, W. T. (1988 November). Current Trends in results of statistical tests in thisreport; however, Gifted and Talented Education in Taiwan, R. all of the differences we describewere statistically 0. C.. Paper presented at the meetings of the significant.

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