Why do students from Confucian countries generally perform better on international tests than their peers from Anglo-Saxon countries? Classroom discipline and student performance across cultures can provide insights into this difference. In a recent analysis of PISA 2015 data, Yu Hu examined how schools in these two cultures differ in two aspects: available resources and the disciplinary climate in the classroom. The results are interesting and provide food for thought, including on classroom management.
But what exactly do we mean by Confucian and Anglo-Saxon schools? The terms refer to broader cultural educational models. Confucian countries—such as China, Japan, Singapore, or South Korea—are strongly influenced by the ideas of Confucius, emphasising respect for authority, group harmony, and dedication to study. Schools in this context often place great importance on order, discipline, and the teacher’s role as a moral compass. In Anglo-Saxon countries like the US, the UK, Canada, or Australia, the emphasis is traditionally more on individual expression, a culture of debate, and personal development. This also translates into the classroom: less hierarchy, more participation, and often a bit more chaos.
Hu uses latent profile analysis. This is a statistical method used to identify hidden subgroups (latent profiles) within a population. With this approach, he distinguishes three types of schools:
- schools with many resources and a strong disciplinary climate,
- schools with few resources but a lot of discipline,
- and schools with average resources and a weaker disciplinary climate.
These three types are present in each of the four countries studied (China, Japan, the UK, and the US), but not in equal proportions. In China and Japan, over 89% of students attend schools with a strong disciplinary climate. In Anglo-Saxon countries, that figure is 78%. In other words, those who attend schools in Confucian countries are almost 12% more likely to be in a quiet classroom. And that difference proves to be significant.
In all the countries studied, students from schools with a strong disciplinary climate perform better in science than their peers in schools with weaker discipline, even if these schools have more resources. In many cases, schools with strict classroom organisation and limited resources proved more effective than schools with moderate discipline and reasonable resources. The students’ socioeconomic background also plays a role: those from wealthier families are more likely to be in the better types of schools. Nevertheless, this research makes it clear that the effect of classroom management should not be overlooked. An orderly classroom appears to be a robust predictor of better performance, regardless of financial or material support.
The study suggests that cultural values play a role. In Confucian countries, order, respect for the teacher, and group harmony are highly valued. This translates into less disruptive behaviour and, consequently, a learning environment where students learn more quickly. However, caution is advised when making causal claims: these are correlations, not experiments. However, this research cannot conclusively answer the question of whether a better disciplinary climate also leads to better student performance. Many other factors may be at play—from pedagogical approaches to selection effects or cultural norms that are also felt outside the school setting.
Nevertheless, the study provides a strong argument for paying more attention to classroom management in school policy and teacher training programs. Not as a rigid enforcement of order, but as a prerequisite for effective instruction. Or, as Hu puts it: “Schools with low discipline and reasonable resources often perform worse than schools with strict classroom management and fewer resources.” An interesting thought for those who think that educational quality—though this, of course, depends on how you define it—is solely about money.
Abstract of the research :
Students in Confucian culture are typically high-achieving on international assessments such as PISA and TIMSS. To explore factors that may explain the high performance of Confucian students, the present study compared the latent subpopulations of school resources and disciplinary climate in two Confucian countries and two Anglo countries. Using Latent Profile Analysis, the results identified the same number of school profiles in the two countries in the two cultures, and these profiles were similar in their levels of disciplinary climate and school resources. The percentage of high-discipline school profiles is about 11.72% higher in Confucian countries than in Anglo countries. In addition, in both cultures, students who attended high-discipline schools were from higher socioeconomic status (SES) families and performed better in science. These results revealed the importance of the disciplinary climate for a school to be effective and provided evidence indicating that Confucian culture has more schools with a positive disciplinary climate.