Characteristics and causes of China's mathematics teaching paradigm

The question of whether China's constructivist education reforms are working has sparked global debate. This study attempts to explain China's educational paradigm and its causes through observation and interviews with 16 primary school mathematics teachers across 16 districts of Shanghai. The results show that the mathematics teaching paradigm in Shanghai does not constitute constructivism based on ‘minimum guidance’ but discovery learning based on teacher guidance. According to the degree of teacher participation, the paradigm can be divided into inspired-discovery learning and hinted-discovery learning. The causes behind this paradigm are also discussed, with recommendations also provided for policymakers over three areas.