International & Comparative Education: Education in Majority-English-Speaking Countries Administration

Course communications WeChat group QR code: Teaching materials: https://osf.io/84pbg/ Teacher email: rickyjeffrey@nenu.edu.cn The fastest way to contact me is through WeChat. You can write to me individually or in the WeChat group.

Assessment 65% writing 25% speaking test 10% in-class participation 1,500-2,000 word assignment Topic relating to MESCs’ education, culture, and values 25% speaking test At the end of the course 10% in-class participation Contributing in class Attendance

Outcomes By the end of the course learners should be able to discuss opinions on education, values, and culture in majority English-speaking countries through spoken English present an evidence-based argument on education, values, and culture in English-speaking countries through written English write sentences in an appropriate style write paragraphs in an appropriate structure write different article sections (introduction, method, etc.) in an appropriate structure cite sources appropriately show knowledge of academic theory and findings on education, values, and culture

Syllabus Case: “majority” English-speaking countries Culture and values UK Culture: definition US Values: definition Australia, Canada, Singapore, …. Emancipative values (World Values Survey research) Immigration & multiculturalism Education Populism School assessment School pedagogy Academic communication & research School curriculum documents School textbooks Comparative methodology Policy-making Evidence-based practice Parenting Essay writing Higher education “culture wars” Language (writing & speaking)

Writing assessment 65% of your total grade 1,500-2,000 words, not including references The assignment should follow the normal structure of academic writing, with an Introduction, a main body, a Conclusion, and References. You can use the template I provide (‘APA template for NENU assignment - Essay structure’). This template also reminds you of some important points about assignment writing. The assignment must be evidence-based social research, and so you should cite empirical research, or cite data directly (e.g. exam papers, textbooks). The citations and references should use the style from APA Publication Manual, which is in the Baidu cloud. So references should look like “(Jeffrey, 2015)”, or “Jeffrey (2015)”. You must not copy sentences or long parts of your assignment from other sources. I will use a specialist software to check your writing for copying. If there is copying, you will receive 0% for the assignment, and fail the course. If you are not sure what qualifies as copying, it is your responsibility to ask me.

Speaking assessment Around 11 mins total (similar to IELTS) 25% of your total grade Part 1 (3-4 mins): Follow-up discussion around your assignment topic. Part 2 (3-4 mins): I’ll give you a topic to discuss. You have 1 min to prepare, and then you will speak for 2 mins on the topic. The topic will be from our course, but it will not be your assignment topic. Part 3 (3-4 mins): I’ll ask you questions about our topic.

Speaking assessment Potential speaking questions Comparing English-speaking countries to China, how are assessments different? What might be the causes/effects of this difference? Which system is better? Here is a short sample: