Exploring the Mysteries of School Success in Shanghai

Abstract

Purpose-The purpose of the paper is to discuss some of the mysteries around the much-touted recent success of school education in China and to explore some of the key conditions that may underpin the success. Design/Approach/Methods-It is a conceptual paper. A wide range of available data and literature has been consulted and analyzed to carefully marshal arguments about how to understand the mysteries and the conditions underpinning the success. Findings-The paper discusses four mysteries around education success in China. It argues for the development of a fuller and more contextualized perspective to view the success. The paper further suggests that neither of the four general conditions for success-values, reform, leadership or teaching approaches-taken alone, can explain pathways to success. Originality/Value-The paper provides an original explanatory description of the mysteries of education success and underlying conditions. This paper helps fill a gap in Western understanding of the "why" and "how" of school success in China.

Exploring the Relationship Between Paternalistic Leadership, Teacher Commitment, and Job Satisfaction in Chinese Schools

“…The principal’s authority is naturally accepted, and teachers are accustomed to showing compliance with their principals. Also, in collectivistic societies, social relationships matter for the operation of leadership practices, as in China ( Walker and Qian, 2018b ). The principals’ care about their teachers’ professional and personal lives is highlighted in school contexts ( Yin and Zheng, 2018 ).…”

“…In addition, Chinese cultures have the traditions of respecting for authority and maintaining harmonious relationship ( Bush and Qiang, 2000 ; Walker and Qian, 2018b ). The tradition of respect for authority widely exists in school contexts ( Bush and Qiang, 2000 ).…”

“…First, Chinese schools are characterized by a “ principal responsibility system ,” in which principals have large power in personnel management, finance management, student enrollment, and decision making ( Zhu et al, 2014 ). As Wong (2003) observed, successful principals appear to be a combination of “manager” and “clan leader.” On the one hand, principals use their power and authority to manage the school smoothly; on the other hand, they act as parents, or family members to buffer distractions from outside to establish a good relationship with teachers ( Yin and Zheng, 2018 ; Walker and Qian, 2018b ).…”

“…The standards indicate that principals nowadays should take more responsibilities and deal with multiple tasks in situations. Principals who have been accustomed to leading based on clear orders assigned from the top now are suggested to pay more attention to teachers’ development and establish good relationships with them ( Walker and Qian, 2018b ; Zheng et al, 2019 ). To be noted, the standards emphasize much on principals’ morality, which means that “a principal should be ethically moral, be impartial and honest, and care for teachers and students” ( Liu, 2015 , p. 9).…”

“…The educational leadership field has been dominated mainly by models such as instructional leadership and transformational leadership, which were developed mainly in Anglo-American contexts ( Day et al, 2011 ; Hallinger, 2011 ). However, since the 2000s, researchers have consistently argued that successful leadership practices can hardly escape from cultural contexts ( Hallinger, 2011 ; Leithwood et al, 2017 ; Walker and Qian, 2018b ). Therefore, emerging studies have focused on different leadership practices across different cultures, to develop a more international, comparative, and contextually bounded scholarship ( Mertkan et al, 2017 ).…”