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Psychology Teacher in Shanghai

Discussion in 'Teaching abroad' started by 101kaevija, Nov 26, 2018.

  1. 101kaevija

    101kaevija New commenter

    Hi everyone!

    I'm new here and I will be moving to Shanghai, Pudong in February to teach Psycholgy to middle school children. I'm very nervous because my teaching experience is primarily based on primary school children. I'd greatly appreciate if anyone could share their experience of teaching Psychology in China :) I've read a few tips on how to survive China! Will be downloading ExpressVPN on all my devices - but feel free to post reminders!
    Last edited: Nov 26, 2018
  2. february31st

    february31st Established commenter

    I have never heard of psychology been taught in the middle school here in Shanghai. If this is one of the new bilingual schools with Chinese students you could be the school counselor.

    All Chinese schools now require by law a school counselor to safeguard the mental health of students.
    101kaevija likes this.
  3. Mickyd197se

    Mickyd197se Occasional commenter

    I've also never heard of psychology being taught to middle school kids.

    Is this some kind of wellness position?
  4. 101kaevija

    101kaevija New commenter

    Yes it will be in middle school. (It's attached to a university - but I will be with the international division.

    I don't think it's a wellness position/school counsellor as was told that I will be following the school syllabus. My interview included a 15 minute lesson on a topic choice of the school which was on abnormal psychology, more specifically on personality disorder.

    Must be fairly new to teach psychology in middle schools?
  5. Ms_Love_

    Ms_Love_ Occasional commenter

    It is definitely becoming more popular in China. I teach Social Sciences to high school students here in GZ and there seems to be a high demand for Psychology in particular so I can see why they introduced it lower down. I would avoid any sort of counselor role if I were you as you'll often be dealing with an overload of child protection stuff which probably wasn't in the job description!
    101kaevija likes this.
  6. gulfgolf

    gulfgolf Established commenter

    Interesting scenario. Psychology as a subject, or more like PSPE? Either one could allow you to "follow the school syllabus".
  7. 101kaevija

    101kaevija New commenter

    Thank you for the advise. I don’t think I’d be confident with a counsellor role if the school mentions about it unless shared with a mentor or someone with experience in dealing with child protection and safeguarding in a different country. If I may ask, how is your experience of working with high school students in China different from your home country?
  8. Ms_Love_

    Ms_Love_ Occasional commenter

    I'm from the UK so I find teaching in China much more enjoyable given the current climate back home. They are highly interested in their learning and very independent. They are very curious about Social Sciences as it isn't really part of the traditional Chinese curriculum. I'd imagine that in Shanghai you would have a greater mix of students there, some being from ex-pat families. The only slight barrier I have here is the linguistic one as 100% of my students are local, so a lot of scaffolding has to be in place for them to construct a decent essay. But having said that, there is no battle every week over homework and no lesson time wasted on constant behaviour management.

    They really are a joy to teach !
    101kaevija likes this.

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