Impressions of the Third Chinese-European Conference on Curriculum Development of Basic Education in Guilin China, from March 27th – 29th, 2012 in Guilin, China
The conference was attended by more than 400 Chinese participants and twenty participants from Europe, twelve of them CIDREE members. What did the CIDREE participants experience? Here are some statements:
“Presentations had alternated plenary lectures and parallel sessions with some official speeches, but mostly presentations of scientists and innovative practitioners on educational reform. The high quality of the Chinese-English simultaneous translation encouraged the involvement and exchange.”
“This conference taught me a lot, on China and on educational reforms underway. In 2001 China introduced a new curriculum for compulsory education with a view to develop a local curriculum and greater institutional autonomy, and also significant educational recommendations, which are: more student-centred and school-based curriculum development. This new curriculum for compulsory education seems a critical issue for China today. Yangshuo province, of which Guilin is the capital, will be among the last provinces to introduce the new curriculum next year.”
“I also enjoyed the visit of the schools, the High School affiliated to Guangxi Normal University, and Guilin n° 1 High School, and the exchanges with the teachers. I found the relationship of the schools developed with the university, for instance with the Science Education Students of Guangxi Normal University, an important contribution to the teaching of science and technology.”
“Beyond the diverse presentations the conference provided many informal exchanges with Chinese colleagues. We were able to have many informal discussions about actions or projects, also with CIDREE colleagues, which favoured the strengthening the CIDREE-network. A really great experience. New experiences like these make life a bit easier when back to every day reality again. China was an exceptional experience for me. I have learnt a lot, and now I am working on to include my new insights to our own reality.”
“Thank you to Guangxi Normal University for the impeccable organization of such an important event, a special thank you to all the young student volunteers, smiling, caring and open-minded. Thank you to SLO which has offered us the opportunity to attend such an important conference.”
