Developing Effective Teacher-Student Relationships in International Schools in China

Introduction

The demand for an international education for children in China is increasing rapidly (Gaskell, 2019). While historically, international schools were designed to serve a primarily expatriate population, increasing numbers of middle-class Chinese families now have access to and are choosing an international, English-medium education for their children (Gaskell, 2019). Many Chinese parents seek a Western educational approach as an alternative to the rigid structure of the national curriculum or because they plan to send their children abroad to attend a foreign university after graduation. They hope that educating their children in English language, Western-oriented schools will result in scores on language and other standardized exams sufficient to achieve admission to competitive top-ranked Western universities.

International schools that offer a foreign, Western oriented curricular program typically employ teachers from Western, primarily English-speaking countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia to provide core academic instruction to students (Gaskell, 2019). Because of the typically disparate backgrounds between teachers and host country students, the ethnic and cultural differences between international teachers and local students create the potential for a cultural disconnect that can interfere with and negatively impact the quality of student learning (Bailey, 2015). To mitigate this potential conflict, international schoolteachers need cultural understanding, sensitivity, and a specialized skillset to meet the needs of students learning from a foreign instructional model culture while living and interacting under the daily influence of their home culture (den Brok et al., 2010). Effective teachers in the international setting have the knowledge and skills necessary to bridge this cultural gap and facilitate learning while ensuring that students are challenged and their culture and heritage are preserved and embraced (Ladson-Billings, 1995b).

In addition to the demands of adapting to a cultural setting that differs from that at home, middle level students in particular experience a significant developmental transition during their early adolescence as they experience rapid physical, intellectual, and social-emotional changes (Caskey & Anfara, 2014). In the West, this period is marked commonly by a greater focus on peers and reduced reliance on parents, increasing the significance of their relationships with their teachers (Allen et al., 2013; Engels et al., 2016; Hamre et al., 2013; Setoh et al., 2015). While a cultural emphasis on filial devotion may downplay the magnitude of peer engagement in Chinese students, the cognitive growth and other biological changes that occur at this age still influence their ability to focus and learn in the classroom setting (Setoh et al., 2015). Because of this developmental shift, supportive, age-appropriate student-teacher relationships are critical for success in school (Allen et al., 2013; Eisenbach & Greathouse, 2020).

This chapter identifies and discusses many of the ways that effective Western teachers support the learning and engagement of their Chinese and Confusion Heritage Culture (CHC) students. Using a qualitative, case study design, the researcher collected and analyzed data from foreign teachers in an international school in mainland China and identified several of the culturally and developmentally sensitive perceptions, understandings, and instructional strategies employed by those teachers with their Chinese and CHC students. This chapter discusses those qualities and characteristics and their impact on pedagogical practice in the international school setting.