Diligence Makes People Smart: Chinese Perspectives of Intelligence

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511616648.012

11 - Diligence Makes People Smart: Chinese Perspectives of Intelligence

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012

Jiannong Shi

Edited by

Robert J. Sternberg

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Jiannong Shi: Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Robert J. Sternberg: Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

In an impressive comparative study on mathematics achievements of primary school students between the United States and China, Professor Harold Stevenson of the University of Michigan and his colleagues from the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, obtained some interesting findings (Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). One of them is that the mathematics test scores of Chinese students were much higher than the scores of American students, however, the mean level of satisfaction of Chinese parents was much lower than that of American parents. In this case, are American parents overly optimistic? Or are Chinese parents too insatiate? Is this because of the differences of cultures or because of the differences of education systems? We all know that the education system in China is quite different from the education system in the United States or in other Western countries. But when we consider the following example, the educational system seems not to be the reason, at least not the main reason.

I visited a mathematically talented class when I was at the University of Michigan in 2001. There were about 20 students in this special class. But 17 of them were Chinese (from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China). In this case, all the students are in the same classroom with the same teacher, and, of course, with the same educational system. But what does it mean that the most mathematically talented students are Chinese? Does it mean that Chinese students are naturally good at mathematics?

Type: Chapter
Information: International Handbook of Intelligence , pp. 325 - 343

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511616648.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2004

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