BEIJING, Nov. 22 -- Parents in Shanghai are more concerned about
their children's moral education than what type of grades they earn at school, a
survey published yesterday by the Shanghai Women's Federation indicates.
The federation and the Shanghai
Academy of Social Sciences spent a year conducting the survey. They interviewed
parents and children from 986 families.
The survey indicates local parents are attaching more
importance to moral education and the cultivation of good habits than study
scores as 52.8 percent of the questioned parents said the development of proper
virtues was very important to them. Just over 18 percent said cultivating good
habits was the most important, while 15.1 percent said they care most about the
grades their kids earn at school.
In the past, Chinese parents tended to judge their
children by how well they did at school.
Now, many parents care more about their children's
mental and physical health, the survey suggests.
Nearly half of the parents questioned said they felt
other parents pay more attention to their children's grades than they do, but
they paid more attention to their kid's values than other parents.
"This indicates under China's exam-oriented education
system, parents and children are bearing high pressure. We should continue to
promote comprehensive education," said Yang Xiong, a sociologist who specializes
in children's problems.
Parents do still expect their children to go to
university and get a good education. Almost 42 percent of those surveyed said
they expect their child to get a bachelor's degree, while another 23.6 percent
said they expect their son or daughter to earn a master's degree. Just over 16
percent expect their child to one day earn a doctorate.
Parents also said they want their children to learn
about topics not traditionally taught in schools, such as budgeting, how to use
the Internet, and sex education.
About 41 percent of the questioned parents said they
often teach their kids about money, 30 percent educate their children about
drugs, and 17.8 percent talk to their kids about sex and AIDS.
