Recently, the 2023 Pearson Edexcel China Partner School Annual Conference was successfully held in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. More than 400 principals, center directors and subject teachers from nearly 200 international schools across the country, as well as experts in the field of education industry, conducted in-depth discussions on the current trends and challenges of international education and how to help students successfully plan their international education routes, and put forward a series of forward-looking views and suggestions.
Chinese Students: Broadening their learning abilities to exploring their interests
It is understood that 2023 is the year when Pearson Edexcel will fully resume offline examinations, and Mr. Gao Jianjun, Director of Pearson International Tests and Assessment China, introduced the situation of candidates in China. "In 2023, Pearson Edexcel saw a significant increase in the number of newly registered students and the number of exams registered for various qualifications. In terms of results, the number of students who achieved A* and A in the 2023 June exam season was nearly 60% of the total number of candidates, a 4% increase from 2019. Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, and English are the most considered subjects at the International GCSE in terms of subject selection. Mathematics (including advanced mathematics), physics, statistics, and economics are the most considered subjects in IAL, and more and more schools are paying attention to the cultivation of students' comprehensive ability and life ability. Gao Jianjun said: "From these data, we not only see the strong learning ability of Chinese students, but also see that the interests of Chinese students are gradually broadening, and they are increasingly eager to explore the subjects they are interested in." At the same time, Gao Jianjun also emphasized: "Ensuring the security of the exam has always been the top priority of our work. Pearson Edexcel has taken a number of measures to ensure maximum fairness and security, including the use of strict confidentiality to send and receive some test papers, and the fact that the examination team conducts exam regulations and safety briefings for all partner schools before each exam season.
China is the UK's largest international market for undergraduate studies
Becka Horsley and Halema Masud from UCAS shared the latest report on Chinese students studying in the UK jointly released by UCAS and Pearson. The report shows that a quarter of international students applying to study abroad through UCAS are from China, which has become the largest source of international students for undergraduate education in the UK. This is despite the fact that the number of applicants for undergraduate students in China in 2023 fell for the first time since 2014, while the number of admissions fell by 6% for the first time since 2015. However, UCAS believes that by 2030, the number of Chinese applicants for the UK could exceed 50,000, even more than the number of applicants from Scotland, the UK itself. The most popular majors for Chinese students in the UK have also changed, with students choosing business to account for 26% of admissions in 2023, down from 2013. At the same time, interest in creative arts and design from Chinese students has doubled, from 4% in 2013 to 11% this year, making it the fourth most popular major. This is yet another testament to the increasingly diversified and personalized learning choices of Chinese students in the learning process.
Ms. Zhang Ren, Head of International High School of Depu Chinese School Chongqing, Mr. John Wright, Deputy Head of Potential Development of Wycombe Abbey School Nanjing, and Ms. Huang Jingyao, Examiner of Nanjing Yuhuatai Middle School, shared with the guests the school's practical experience in management and operation, teacher development, improving students' comprehensive ability, paying attention to students' physical and mental health, and ensuring the safety of examinations from the aspects of teacher training and capacity improvement, whole-person education and the importance and implementation of examination safety. Mr. Wang Xuejun, an expert of the "Safe Study Abroad" pre-departure training program of the Ministry of Education, explained to the guests various potential safety hazards and coping methods in the process of studying abroad in a way that combines theory with practice. Mr. Hu Xiaoyun from the Mars Hive Laboratory and Mr. Shao Meng from Dean Francis Publishing Group conducted a rich case study on the discovery and training of future engineers in the era of artificial intelligence and academic **, respectively, and elaborated on the importance of soft skills in further education.
Focus on the future and comprehensively enhance students' soft power
In recent years, Pearson Edexcel has continued to adapt and upgrade its products and services. In the curriculum and daily teaching, it helps students to improve their logical thinking ability, innovation ability, teamwork ability and communication ability while mastering knowledge, so as to prepare for the future.
In terms of services, from 2022 to 2003, Pearson Edexcel successively launched services such as on-screen assessment (computer-based tests) and international GCSE modular exams, and upgraded the November exam season of International GCSE during the epidemic to a regular exam season.
Commenting on the reasons for these changes, Emma Whale, Vice President, Global Marketing for Pearson International Tests & Assessments, said: "We are always thinking about what the future might look like and how we can make the results of assessments more realistic and aligned with how students learn and live outside of school. ”
Mr. Chen Zhiwen, a member of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Society for Education Development Strategy, pointed out when talking about the challenges and responsibilities of education internationalization: "We must adhere to the strategy of strengthening the country through education, science and technology and talents, improve the strategy of opening up education to the outside world, make overall plans for the two major articles of 'bringing in' and 'going out', and make effective use of world-class educational resources and innovative elements, so as to make China an important education center in the world with strong influence." ”
Challenges and opportunities coexist
Pearson Edexcel's mission is to energize lifelong learning, and they believe that every learning is an opportunity for self-improvement.
In the period of great change, challenges and opportunities coexist in the development of education, and the entire industry is moving forward together to explore and explore development. The Pearson Edexcel Annual Meeting held a variety of in-depth discussions on the current hot topics, providing further ideas and broadening ideas for the future development of the industry.