A visit to Cardiff from a delegation of Headteachers from China.

On Tuesday 18th of April I joined our partners, colleagues and friends at Cardiff and Vale College (CAVC) at their main building in Dumballs Road, Cardiff for a visit of a group of Headteachers from China. In recent few years the partnership between Dragonfly Training and CAVC has gone from strength to strength as we work together on the British Teaching Diploma (BTD) journey to take it to a global audience.

It reminded me of why I entered the education profession which is full of people who want to make the world a better, more enlightened place for all. Alun Rees (Director of International) and colleagues at CAVC, along with teachers I worked with at schools in Kenya, Bahamas, London and Cardiff are now friends for life. I guess it’s something about shared values, the trust we put in each other, and the pride we experience everyday working with learners and seeing them develop.

Back to our group from China. They came from a range of Schools in cities across China including Beijing, Changsha and Chengdu. They were in Cardiff to find out a little more about our teaching structures and models and of course we were as eager to find out about the Chinese approach to education, and what we could all learn from one another. One thing is for sure, educational aims in the UK and China are the same – to help prepare people to prosper in the future, make a positive contribution to society, and better safeguard our precious planet.

After the usual hand-shakes and introductions, we engaged in a very stimulating discussion about pedagogy and education related themes. Alun made a short presentation on CAVC and I followed up with a BTD focussed pitch. Our visitors asked a series of very pertinent questions about the BTD which we were able to address not least due the excellent translation skills of the CAVC agent supporting the delegation.

They were also very interested in the fact that Wales is a bilingual nation having observed that posters and notices in the classroom were available in both Welsh and English. Despite not being a fluent Welsh speaker myself, I was volunteered to read out a bit of Welsh so they could appreciate the linguistic differences. Presenting to a group largely through an interpreter is something I guess we get used to in the international domain, but nonetheless it always creates a degree of anxiety as you are compelled to modify your natural pace of speaking.  In the end, I decided to do what I know best (which is what I always say to my pupils) and simply speak about the virtues of the BTD from the heart. The delegates understood just fine.

Whilst Dragonfly and CAVC have worked a lot with schools and colleges in China over the years, I myself have not been there. The furthest East my work has taken me is to Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. So, for me, it was a fantastic opportunity to engage with senior educators from a country with an impressive track record of student outcomes and innovation. I came away more convinced than ever that we have much to learn from each other countries’ pedagogic culture and history and that a more globalised system of teacher training and professional development can only be a good thing. I only hope the BTD can make a small contribution to this vision.

It was absolutely fascinating to see photographs of their schools and hear about the strengths of their education systems and what they were seeking to change and improve. Above all what was striking was the absolute the pride they have in their country and the desire they have to challenge many of the stereotypical views that still exist in the west. I found them to be such a warm and dignified group. In short, they were incredibly interesting and interested, and I hope that we will be able to do work with them in the future in a commercial capacity.

Business cards and emails were swapped, discussions about the BTD exhausted, and then onto lunch. This was taken in the CAVC restaurant called the Classroom at the top of the building with wonderful views over the city of Cardiff.  Over lunch I spent some time explaining the history of the British education system and how it evolved to be something of a ‘template’ for other educational systems around the world. There is no doubt that the UK system still retains kudos and global currency but, as in the case with the BTD content, drawing upon best international practices makes it even stronger.

Sadly, the delegates soon had to head off to London to catch a flight home. As we waved goodbye, I reflected on how much I had learnt in such a short space of time. 

Now the hard work continues. We will follow up with these visiting delegates to gather their feedback. Indeed, only 24 hours after the meeting, I received an email from Alun telling me that one delegate from Chengdu was requesting more detail on the BTD and its potential delivery to Chinese teachers. Fingers crossed. As someone far more intelligent than I once said - “the longest journey starts with the first step”.

Xie Xie.

Steve Chapman (Managing Director, Dragonfly Training, Cardiff)