Universal Reasons for Low Participation in Chinese and Western Undergraduate Classrooms

Abstract

This study regards low classroom participation as a global issue and investigates the universal reasons for this problem shared by the undergraduate students in China and in the west. Participating in class discussions and asking questions are instrumental for effective learning. This study regards low classroom participation as the phenomenal where students do not ask or answer questions during a lesson. The research was conducted by combining profound experiences and insights developed as an undergraduate student in the University of Waterloo and a teaching assistant in Soochow University with the understanding of both Chinese academic articles and western academic articles about this topic. This study reveals the reason why Chinese and western undergraduate classrooms experience low classroom participation is that their stakeholders focus on the competing goals. This study defines the stakeholders as the instructors, students and the post-secondary institutions.