A Databased Study Of The Development Of Chinese Language Schools In The Philippines

Chinese language education is better developed in the Philippines than in other ASEAN countries.As its miniature in the country,Chinese language schools serve as a major window for the international spread of the Chinese language and a major part of its Chinese language education,as well as an important way for Chinese Filipinas to learn the Chinese language and culture.Literature review shows a feature of "four many and four few" in the studies of Chinese education in the Philippines.At the same time,no database-based study covering all Chinese schools in the country has yet been found.Taking 138 Chinese schools in the Philippines as the research object,this thesis is to make a quantitative analysis method,resorting to the self-constructed database of these schools.Synchronic and qualitative analysis is made for the data collected to investigate the development status of Chinese schools in the country and their characteristics.Diachronic analysis is made to explore the factors that influence the development of Chinese schools and then corresponding suggestions are given for their further improvement.Common characteristics of Chinese schools in the Philippines are found as follows:they were all set up in historical transition periods,the school types and operation patterns lack variety,the education levels are relatively fixed,and teachers often come from limited sources.On the other hand,the schools differ from each other in terms of their founders and funders,Chinese-language textbooks,curricula and class arrangements.The macro-factors influencing its development include the policy of Chinese education in the country,the relationship between China and the Philippines and the support of the Chinese community,while the micro-factors include teaching materials,teachers and curriculum design.Based on these characteristics and factors,this thesis gives the following suggestions for further development of Chinese schools in the Philippines: enriching the curriculum,optimizing the class hours,improving selection of teaching materials and bettering the teachers.It is hoped that these suggestions will help promote the development of Chinese language schools and,more generally,Chinese language education in the Philippines,and enrich the research of Chinese language schools in Southeast Asia.