Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2019-03-01 Cross-Culture Research: Comparison between Chinese and American Art Education Ye Liang Brigham Young University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.edu/etd BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Liang, Ye, "Cross-Culture Research: Comparison between Chinese and American Art Education" (2019). Theses and Dissertations.edu/etd/8126 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact scholarsarchive@byu.edu, ellen_amatangelo@byu.
Cross-Culture Research: Comparison Between Chinese and American Art Education Ye Liang A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Mark Graham, Chair Daniel Barney Mike Richardson Department of Art Brigham Young University Copyright © 2019 Ye Liang All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Cross-Culture Research: Comparison Between Chinese and American Art Education Ye Liang Department of Art, BYU Master of Arts Education systems in China and the United States are very different. Chinese educator Hong Wang compared the two education systems and came to a conclusion: Chinese education wins in the starting point, while American education wins in the end point (Cheng, 2014). Chinese students learn more things, take challenging courses, and do well in academic accomplishment. However, examination-oriented methods in the Chinese education system may kill students’ interest in learning.
Even though Chinese students learned fast in the starting points, they failed in the terminal points as they lost their interest in learning (Chen, 2014). Many educators and scholars think of Chinese education as important for developing a foundation of skills and American education is viewed as more helpful in cultivating students’ creativity (Liu, 2014). This study will explore some of the differences between Chinese and American art education. The methodology for this study is qualitative case study research using data collected from both American and Chinese publications, from national and governmental organizations, and information gathered from surveys and interviews of Chinese art educators who have both education experiences in the United States and China.
This research includes comparison and evaluation of the differences between curriculum, assessment, and class management in both Chinese and American art education systems. The result will contribute to providing valuable reference data for both Chinese and American art education systems, for art students and art educators. Keywords: cross-culture, comparison, Chinese, American, art education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am so grateful to all of my friends, cohort classmates, caring mentors, and family members who supported me during this thesis. Without their help and encouragement, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome my own weakness and have the confidence to finish this thesis project.
I am so grateful that I could be accepted as a part of art education program at BYU. Graham for the help in this research project. I would also like to thank Dr. Barney for his kindness and support.
I also thank Tara Carpenter and Chris Lynn who taught me so much in developing art teaching skills and art theory knowledge. Thanks to my cohort classmates. I appreciated the time we spent together in this program. We laughed together and cried together.
We are like a family. I learned from each of them. I especially want to thank my friend Sally who constantly gave me support, encouragement, and advice. Without her help, I would not be able to walk this far.
I would like to thank my professors Robert Barrett and Mike Richardson. Both of them have given me great help and encouragement when I felt frustration and struggled during my research and thesis writing process. Brother Richardson told me that the secret of finishing a thesis is working a little bit every day. Lastly, I want to thank my family members, especially my husband who has been very understanding and supportive all the time during this program.
He did his best to help me so that I can finish my thesis and achieve my master degree. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv Chapter 1: Introduction.
1 Studying Art at BYU-Hawaii. 3 Chinese Art Teachers in the United States. 4 Why This Research is Important. 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review.
7 Culture and Cultural Backgrounds. 7 Chinese Art Curriculum. 9 College Entrance Examination. 10 Student and Teacher Relationships.
15 Qualitative Research Methodologies. 15 Case Study Methodology. 16 Pilot Study and Survey Methods. 17 Pilot Study Interview.
21 Interview and Adjustment. 22 Chapter 4: Thesis Data and Analysis. 23 Part I: Collated Responses to Questions. 24 Part II: Themes.
27 Heterogeneous vs Homogeneous Class Demographics. 27 Student-Centered vs Teacher-Centered Teaching. 28 Flexible Curriculum vs Standardized Curriculum. 29 Demonstration vs No Demonstration.
30 Developing Creativity vs Skills. 31 Expression/Investigation/Research Process vs Product/Result Accuracy. 35 Chinese Art Education Does Not Change. 35 Elements that Affect Chinese Students’ Creativity.
36 Personal Is a Very Important Word in the United States. 38 Challenges and Overcoming the Challenges. 38 Culture Shapes and Reshapes. 41 Chinese Art Teachers Are Disconnected from Each Other.
46 COMPARISON BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN ART EDUCATION 1 Chapter 1: Introduction As a girl growing up in a mountain village in China, I remember roaming around the golden rice fields, running back and forth with my dog in the green grass valley, and herding goats in the mountain from early morning until the dark of the day. I listened to birds singing and insects crooning. The wild flowers were blooming everywhere. All of my childhood experiences in the mountains helped me develop a love of the beauty of nature.
Like everybody around me, I obeyed my parents and followed the guidance they gave at home. My parents made the decisions and plans for me about what I should study in my future schools and what work I should do in my future career. In school, I respected my teachers and observed to do whatever they taught to their students. The direction and goal of my life was clear because I just needed to follow the steps of the elders, but it was also blurred because I did not really know what I wanted, and I did not have many choices for my education or career.
I believed whatever goals my parents gave to me were the best and were right for me. Of course, all parents love their children, however, do they really know what their children want? Do parents and teachers know what children are really interested in? I have loved drawing since I was in elementary school. At the end of every semester, I saved the extra papers from my math exercise books and used them to draw figures. When I had time on the weekend, I stayed home and copied the posters of the Chinese ancient prints of landscape and beautiful figures.
There was no art class in my elementary school, as most of the teachers were full-time farmers and part-time teachers. None of them had formal training in art. The Chinese education system is exam oriented, so that the percentage of students entering colleges becomes the standard to assess the quality of the teachers and schools. Art was not one of the required subjects that students needed to pass and get good grades for entering COMPARISON BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN ART EDUCATION 2 high school.
For this reason, art classes were considered less important than other tested subjects such as math and language courses. Art was only taught once or twice a semester in the first year of my middle school education. I still remember how excited I was when my classmates and I shared color pencils and drew beautiful butterflies in our art class. However, after the first year, we no longer had the opportunity to take art classes.
Going to good high schools is a closer step to getting into good colleges. Students are restricted to applying to limited university subjects based on their choice of science or liberal arts in high school. According to the thinking of most teachers and parents, if students are not going to major in art, it is not necessary to take art classes in high school. Chemistry, English, or Math replaced all of my high school music, PE, and Art classes since the final goal of my education was to get into college.
I was jealous, looking at the art major students carrying their drawing boards around campus. I never thought that there would be an intersection with art in my life path or that art could be a part of my life. In the Chinese education system, students who do not select a specialization for study at a very young age will find it very difficult to enter many other majors or pass the competency exams required to be accepted by a field of study. Usually, students need to take additional classes outside of the school curriculum or study with tutors to help them develop a professional skill.
Even though my parents saw that I loved drawing, they were not able to pay for it. Like most people, my parents, considered art to be an unstable career. How could their children find a job in art? How many people could become artists in China? Studying art was a luxury only for the rich people. COMPARISON BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN ART EDUCATION 3 Studying Art at BYU-Hawaii My life changed dramatically after I came to United States.
Before I came to the U., I never had an opportunity to study art or get any professional art skills training. I could not imagine that someday I could take art classes and major in art in the United States. Students like me who had no professional art skills training would never be allowed to major in art in Chinese colleges. In China, art skills development is considered the same as gymnastics or dance, which are necessary for children to cultivate when they are young in order for them to go into that profession.
I was not chosen to develop my artistic skills as a child. Chinese students who do not select a specialization at a very young age will fail to pass the competency college entrance exams and will not be accepted in an art major. Also, once they have been accepted, students cannot change their major in college. In America, young students are taught a wide variety of subjects in order to later choose the major that they want to pursue.
It is common that college students change their major in school. I came to Brigham Young University-Hawaii and majored in TESOL - Teaching English as a Second Language. One day, on campus, I saw some students painting outside. I immediately stopped in my steps and was attracted by what I saw.
All of my memories of how much I love drawing flowed back to me, as I always admired people that did art. Thinking that I am in the United States and everything may be possible, I made my own decision. I told myself that if I could take an art class, I would do art for the rest of my life. It was hard in the beginning, as I did not know anything about the basics of art such as design principles and art elements.
I had to work extra hard to catch up to my classmates. But, I really enjoyed the drawing class, as the assignments my professor gave me were full of choices; I chose the subjects I love to draw. At the end of the semester, I got an A. Looking at my grade, I COMPARISON BETWEEN CHINESE AND AMERICAN ART EDUCATION 4 knew all of my effort was worthwhile.
Yes, I loved art and I wanted to become an artist. It was the first time that I found out what I really liked and who I was.