Video: PISA Top Performer, Shanghai, China

This is a video hosted by Pearson Foundation that showcases the work being done in Shanghai, China.

This remarkable performance gives the lie to prejudices about Asian education systems supposedly based on rote learning and leaving little initiative for students to think on their own. Shanghai’s breathtaking economic expansion requires a constant flow of new talent, and the city’s school leadership is committed to educating its youth to think creatively and apply knowledge to solve new problems.
Typically in a Shanghai classroom, students are fully occupied and fully engaged. Non-attentive students are not tolerated. Homework is an essential part of students’ learning activities. Parents expect students to do homework every evening and are prepared to devote their family lives to their children’s studies. Students are also obliged to take part in all kinds of other activities, including at least one hour per day of physical education.