What You Don’t Know Will Hurt You: A China/U.S. Perspective

Nini Suet, Founder & CEO, Shang Learning Group (China) Hamilton Gregg, Partner & Senior Admission Advisor, Shang Learning Group (China) Lloyd Paradiso, Senior Admission Advisor Chinese families focus primarily on standardized testing as key to admission, which means that Chinese students are often challenged by a lack of core skills necessary for a successful transition into western education settings. A new call for soft-skills development from Xi Jinping has created a slow yet fundamental shift in public and private Chinese education, evident through the surge of Chinese athletic and art academies and the rapid development of bilingual schools. A growing upper middle class that aspires to and demands only the very best education for their children is fueling further changes. There are also new and evolving government regulation trends and the birth of a new category of Chinese “student” from a blended local and international private education sector. With an intimate knowledge of this market, we present a close insider look into these new trends in China and explore topics related but not limited to: the risks and opportunities when dealing with the Chinese market; the differences between a student from a public school and one from an international as well as bilingual school; the best, most effective ways to recruit and engage target Chinese families for admission and for development; and what to expect in the near future.