Fachartikel
China consulting: services, talent and skilled staff
Consulting for companies with business in China: cross-cultural collaboration, an office in Shanghai, and recruiting and developing talent locally.
Read moreEducational institutions and education authorities
Teacher development and change in education systems: experience from our collaboration with ECNU in Shanghai.
Questions to start with
How does an education reform actually reach the classroom?
What role do teachers take on when they guide learning rather than just pass on knowledge?
How can teachers practise skills in real classroom situations?
An education reform only reaches the classroom when teachers’ role and attitude, collaboration among staff and the decision paths of schools and authorities change too. transformis worked on these questions in China over several years: in a research partnership with East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai, in pilot projects for teacher training, and in a reform programme of the Chinese Ministry of Education.
- Research partnership with ECNU since 2013
In July 2013, East China Normal University and transformis founded a joint research centre in Shanghai for systemic change and innovation using information and communication technologies. It studies how digital tools can effectively support change in schools. transformis had been a partner of ECNU’s Distance Education Research Center since late 2012.
- Visiting professorship and teaching in Shanghai
On 5 July 2013, Robert A. Sedlák was appointed visiting professor at ECNU, initially for five years. From December 2013, his lectures introduced students, including doctoral candidates, to modern systems theory: organisations as social systems, decisions as their central events, relevant environments and foresighted self-renewal.
- Teachers as learning coaches
The first joint research project, in 2013, focused on coaching as a competence cluster. The aim was for teachers to support pupils as learning coaches and to professionalise peer coaching among staff. The project also looked at how this role has to be shaped under China’s cultural and socio-economic conditions.
- Performance Simulator in teacher education
For the Chinese Ministry of Education’s reform programme “Technology Changes Teaching”, launched in 2014, transformis and education experts from ECNU developed a Performance Simulator. Its 14 video-based simulations show critical situations in using digital media in the classroom. The simulator was handed over for nationwide roll-out via learning management systems.
Pilot projects in teacher training
From April 2012, transformis cooperated with the Shanghai Pudong Institute of Education Development (PIED), the first regional research and training institute for educators in China. The aim was a platform for international exchange in the education sector. At the outset, more than 70 per cent of the institute’s 250 teachers and managers took part in an online survey; 80 of them agreed to interviews and workshops. The survey was intended to clarify the needs for competence training; in 2014 the simulations were used in pilot projects at PIED.
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A second pilot project began in October 2013 at Songjiang Teachers Training College, which trains 8,000 teachers in Songjiang District. transformis developed a Chinese-language learning platform for it, along with the Chinese version of the Performance Simulator “Leading in the classroom” (Führen im Unterricht). 40 young teachers from kindergartens, primary, middle and high schools took part in the launch on 15 January 2014; the role plays sparked intense discussion about pupil-centred teaching and curriculum requirements.
In April 2015, transformis accompanied PIED specialists to Germany. In Hamburg on 21 April, they discussed with the Leadership Foundation for Professional Education and Global Learning how change can be initiated in schools. On 23 April, seven delegates learned about teacher education in Germany and the German School Award (Deutscher Schulpreis) at the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Berlin.
What companies expect from graduates: the study with ECNU
In the research centre’s second project, the “Smart Education China” initiative, transformis and ECNU examined the professional qualifications of Chinese school and university graduates. In autumn 2015, 218 data sets from German companies in China were included in the evaluation. The largest gaps between importance and fulfilment appeared not in specialist knowledge but in social, personal and methodological competencies, such as a sense of responsibility and problem-solving competence.
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The results were presented at the Sino HR Conference in 2016 and developed into a study report in 2017. A summary appeared in the German Chamber Ticker in 2018, and in 2019 ECNU presented the study to the Chinese Ministry of Education as a basis for research. A follow-up study with interviews of young Chinese professionals added the graduates’ perspective; both studies were published in ECNU’s academic journal in November 2021.
What educational organisations can take from this
The projects in China show a connection that is not tied to one country: changes in teaching require a changed self-understanding of the school and a changed self-image of teachers. New technology or new requirements alone are not enough. In 2013, Robert A. Sedlák described how change processes, particularly in the education sector, repeatedly meet with organisationally conditioned resistance.
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The work with ECNU and the training institutes has produced questions that an educational institution or administration can clarify before a change: which situations in everyday school life determine whether a reform works? Which competencies do teachers need for this, and how can they be practised and reflected on in real situations? How does peer collaboration become part of the organisation? The projects described reflect their status at the time they were carried out. Whether and in what form collaboration makes sense today is something we clarify in a conversation about the specific task.
Aus unserem Archiv: Bildungsprojekte in China
- Appointed visiting professor at ECNU (2013)
- Coaching skills for Chinese teachers (2013)
- Pilotprojekt am Songjiang Teachers Training College (2014)
- Performance Simulator for the Ministry of Education’s reform programme (2015)
- Forschungsbeitrag im ECNU-Journal (2021)
- Whitepaper: Arbeitskompetenz chinesischer Absolventen
- Guest Prof. Robert A. Sedlák im Profil
- transformis in Shanghai
Insights for your questions
Fachartikel
Study: employability of Chinese university graduates
A study by transformis and ECNU: what German companies in China expected from graduates in 2015, and which skills were missing in everyday work.
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Fundamentals
Systemic organisational consulting: what it means
Systemic organisational consulting treats companies as social systems and looks at strategy, communication and decision-making together, not in isolation.
Read more
Other organisations we work for
- Family businesses and business families
- Mid-sized companies (Mittelstand) and Hidden Champions
- Industrial and technology companies
- IT service providers and software companies
- Audit and tax advisory firms
- Engineering and development service providers
- Technical B2B distribution and wholesale (PVH)
- Municipal utilities and infrastructure companies
- Public sector organisations
Frequently asked questions
How long has transformis worked with ECNU?
Since 2013, when East China Normal University and transformis set up a joint research centre in Shanghai. The cooperation agreement was signed on 5 July 2013, and Robert A. Sedlák was appointed visiting professor at ECNU. transformis had already partnered with the university’s Distance Education Research Center from late 2012, with the aim of developing a Performance Simulator for teacher training.
What is the Performance Simulator in teacher education?
A computer- and media-based training tool: teachers watch critical classroom situations as video scenes, weigh up alternative responses and reflect on their decisions. For the Chinese Ministry of Education’s reform programme “Technology Changes Teaching”, education experts from several universities, led by Prof. Dr. Zhiting Zhu and Robert A. Sedlák, developed 14 simulations on using digital media in teaching.
What did the study of Chinese graduates find?
A survey of German companies in China in autumn 2015, with 218 data sets, found the largest gaps in social and personal skills. 92 per cent rated a sense of responsibility as important, while 58 per cent saw it met; for problem-solving, the figures were 91 and 53 per cent. ECNU presented the study to the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2019.
How did the exchange between German and Chinese education experts begin?
It grew out of our cooperation with the Shanghai Pudong Institute of Education Development, which began in April 2012. In April 2015, transformis brought specialists from the institute to Germany: to a workshop with the Leadership Foundation for Professional Education and Global Learning in Hamburg, and to the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Berlin, where the focus was teacher education and the German School Award (Deutscher Schulpreis).
Are the China projects still running?
The projects described reflect their status when they ran, between 2012 and 2021. Whether working with an educational institution or authority makes sense today, and in what form, is something we discuss in relation to the specific task. We also use the Performance Simulator in companies; the tool, usage rights and technical set-up are reviewed for each brief.
Prefer to talk directly?
In an initial conversation, we clarify which decisions are coming up and which perspectives the next stage of work needs.
Your initial call
Let’s talk about your situation and what you want to develop in your organisation.
- Your situation
- What brings you to us
- Possible next steps