Curriculum links

Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia is one of the cross-curriculum priorities. Use the link to explore some of the following questions.

Some key questions might be:

  • What do my students learn about Chinese history or geography outside of my classroom?
  • What (if any) Chinese texts are used by other teachers in teaching literacy or English? What images do they present of China? Are students getting a wide range of perspectives?
  • What do my students learn of the traditional and contemporary arts of China? Of music, film, visual arts etc?
  • Are there topics or approaches (e.g., to literacy) that could be shared?
  • How are other teachers teaching about Intercultural Understandings?
  • What’s the best way to generate change?

Implementing change

Start small. Teachers are dealing with a lot of change. The introduction of a great new picture story book for primary students, or a film set in China for secondary students might be a good starting point. You could give the history teacher a set of useful resources or provide the art teacher with a great website.

Find out what your colleagues’ interests are. Many teachers have been to China or have a specific cultural interest. At one Australian secondary school, a survey of teachers’ connections with China elicited the following:

  • 12% of teachers had been to mainland China or Hong Kong
  • Individuals had separate interests in Chinese cooking, garden architecture, Chinese film, tai chi and Chinese literature.
  • Two teachers had taken students to China while at a previous school.
  • These teachers became strong supporters of the school’s language program.

Building confidence in teaching about China

Many teachers have had little experience in their own education of learning about China or other countries in Asia. Many lack confidence that they know enough about Chinese society or history and feel they may make mistakes. Sometimes the subject matter feels very foreign or ‘political’. How can you help with this?

  • Ensure that the school has a range of high quality resources about China.
  • Consider developing a sister school partnership so that relationships can build.
  • Nothing beats personal experience. Study tours and/or visits to China have been a real catalyst for changing attitudes and curriculum in many schools. See Getting the most you can from your school’s China trip for some ideas.

Teaching resources

Some regularly updated websites include the Asia Education Foundation: China Resources and Education about Asia. The US-based National Consortium for Teaching about Asia supports primary and secondary teachers in teaching about East Asia.

 

General resources

 

Literacy and English

There are strong connections between the teaching of English and of Chinese language in primary schools, along with the obvious differences. Both areas value critical literacy as a set of skills. Both put increasing emphasis on metalinguistic awareness.

 

History

 

Geography

  • China through mapping Students learn about China's position on the globe and the location of important landmarks within the country.
  • Geography KS3: In My Shoes is a series of engaging child-led short films about the geography and culture of China and Germany as seen through the eyes of local children.
  • Mapping Perceptions In creating their own maps, as well as analysing a historical map of China, students will identify key elements of a map.
 

Civics and Citizenship

 

The Arts

What can I do with this information?

Spread the word. You don’t have to work in isolation and you don’t have to do all the work. Teachers appreciate high-quality resources that are linked to the curriculum. Share these resources with other teachers in your school. Talk to your school librarian. Look at ways to integrate the learning, being mindful that every teacher feels that they have too much to fit into their existing curriculum.