Looking at China, you find a number of different companies and schools to serve different needs with private education. Private Schools in China Offering Unique Pathways In addition to typical public school routes, private schools in China offer a variety of international curricula, specialized programs, and more.
Private schools in China
There are two broad types of private schools in China: international schools and private Chinese schools. International schools are those serving primarily expatriate families and there may be an alternate curriculum offered, such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) Curriculum, American Curriculum or British Curriculum, etc. These schools are located in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In contrast, the increasing private Chinese schools provide the Chinese National curriculum with better flexibility than public schools.
Curriculum & Learning Environment
China has arguably some of the strongest international schools that prepare not only their students but the whole community to think critically and with a global lens. They are generally have a low student-to-teacher ratio, which means more one-on-one help. Foreign learners study in the medium of English, which creates a suitable environment for an educational process. While private Chinese schools can teach in Mandarin Chinese and may also emphasize testing more oriented to China, with an international learning approach.
Enrollment and Admission
Due to competition between private schools, some schools require entrance exams or even interviews. In addition to the essay and scoring work, several of the Students for Admission to International School are also requiring student assessments to be conducted or having students provide their previous school records and standardized tests scores. If applicable for private Chinese schools, they may consider your academic performance in standard subjects such as Chinese, mathematics and English.
Cost Considerations
Tuition fees in private schools in China are wide ranging but are quite higher than that of public schools. An international school fee for a year can come around $8000-$30000 or more depending upon the reputation of the school and location, infrastructure facilities. While lower than the fees at many international schools, private Chinese schools still come with a price tag that ranges from $2,000 to $10,000 per year.
Advantages of Private Schools
Private schools provide several strengths including better facilities, nonacademic activities, and a more global exposure. The bulk of these schools also have high-tech university-style campuses with full-blown sports complexes, science and IT labs, and all the art studios. The clubs and extra curricular activities here are vast in number, so you get the opportunity to explore enought of your interests outside the normal curriculum. The international setting also promotes cultural differences and the opportunity to cultivate a global contact base.
Navigating Your Choices
If you choose private education in China, consider how each school‘s philosophy, curriculum and community resonate with your educational objectives/values. Visit the campus, look at touring dates and open house dates or sit down with an admissions counselor to get a more in depth view of what each school has to offer.
This will provide a good perspective as to how different roadmaps through such a live and vibrant educational landscape can still lead to education success, exploring private education as part of the over all China college journey. Whether it be primary and secondary education or preparatory higher education, Chinese private school have everything one could ask for in order to get an individualized educational trip.