Why are many Chinese-Australian parents taking their children back home?

Concerned about their children’s primary education, some first-generation Chinese migrants are choosing to temporarily move back to China. Will this trend catch on in multicultural Australia?

Many young Australian-born children, just like Ying Lu's son and daughter, have been taken back to China by their parents in search of a 'better primary education'. Credit: 陆莹

Key Points

• Lagging numeracy and Chinese language skills have led many first-generation migrants to take their children back to China.
• Educational experts say Chinese and Australian students have their own academic strengths.
• OECD PISA data from 2018 shows Australian students were three-and-a-half years behind their Chinese peers in maths.

Like many Chinese migrants, Ying Lu came to Australia in 2010 in search of cleaner air, safer food and rewarding work opportunities.

But after becoming a mother, she realised a “good” primary education for her two children far outweighed other reasons to stay on.

Having lived in Glen Waverley in Melbourne’s east for a decade, she took her family back to China in 2020 when her son turned five.

She says that she preferred her children to do their primary schooling in China before returning to Australia for secondary schooling and higher studies.

I wanted my son to develop better study habits in a mainstream Chinese school.

Ying Lu, mother of two Australian-born children

SBS Chinese understands that she is not alone in pursuing this temporary reverse migration. The triggers responsible for this move are said to be the emerging lag in numeracy and Chinese language skills amongst the young members of the community.

Besides, many Chinese parents like Ms Lu think children's soiled clothes while playing outdoors is “indiscipline”.

“Every time we used to pick him up from kindergarten, his pants were covered in dirt from playing in the sandpit,” Ms Lu tells SBS Chinese from Taizhou city in China’s southeastern province of Zhejiang, where she now lives.

Ying Lu's family of four moved back to China in 2020 before her son started primary school in Australia. Credit: Ying Lu

Chinese international students ‘above average in maths’

Ben Liu is a maths and physics teacher in a secondary school in Brisbane.

In his 12 years of teaching in Australia, he remembers meeting many new students from China or Hong Kong, who he says have “generally performed above average in maths”.

The education system in China lays emphasis on arithmetic skills and test-taking techniques, so students perform better in maths.

Ben Liu, a secondary school teacher

According to the latest available data from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, Australian students were three-and-a-half years behind their Chinese peers in maths.

Meanwhile, their performance in reading, maths and science – the three major subjects in Australian secondary schools – was declining.

The report assessed the performance of 600,000 students aged 15 in 79 countries in these subjects.

A spokesperson of the Australian Council for Educational Research told SBS Chinese that the results of the most recent PISA assessment (2022) will be available in December.

A critical thinking test has been added as an “innovation domain”, whose results will be released in 2024.

Chinese students outperformed their Australian peers in three major secondary school subjects according to an OECD report. Credit: Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)

A spokesperson from the federal Department of Education also tells SBS Chinese that the Australian education system is “good” but “it can be a lot better and a lot fairer”.

The Department of Education’s website states that the Australian government is committed to improving young Australians’ science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills to ensure that “they have the skills they need to live and work in a globalised world”.

It also notes that the government is providing “significant” funding for initiatives to improve the teaching and learning of STEM in early education facilities and schools over the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

Mr Liu believes that the academic performance of Australian students is likely to continue to decline due to the “relatively shallow content” being taught in schools.

Ben Liu taught physics at a secondary school in China as well before moving to Australia. Credit: Ben Liu

“The syllabus is relatively simple [compared with China]. My daughter is in Year 6 and she has little understanding of fractions and percentages,” he says.

Mr Liu adds that a survey conducted by his school suggests that most local Australian parents only expect their children to be "happy and safe at school," and care less about academic performance.

"Then the child is not motivated to learn", he says.

Responding to queries from SBS Chinese, Shadow Minister for Education Senator Sarah Henderson says that student standards need "urgent improvement".

She says that the key to improved student outcomes is evidence-based teaching including the adoption of explicit instruction and the teaching of phonics.

Teachers are also being severely hampered by an over-crowded and ideologically-driven curriculum which does not allow them to adequately focus on the foundations of education – reading, writing and arithmetic.

Senator Sarah Henderson, Shadow Minister for Education

The Year 7/8 to 12 full-time apparent retention rate amongst Australian students fell to 80.5% from 83.1% in 2021. Credit: ABS

Australian students 'self-motivated' to study

While there is a gap between the performance of Australian and Chinese students in maths, a primary school teacher in Perth, Ivy Lai, notes that the former are adept at self-directed learning and expressing their opinions.

Last year, Ms Lai started an online English writing tutorial for her class – half of whom are primary school students in China.

She says her local Australian student cohort generally had a clearer learning path and set their own academic goals, whereas her Chinese students needed closer attention and guidance from parents or teachers.

Primary school teacher Ivy Lai says Chinese students need more guidance and attention from teachers and parents. Credit: Ivy Lai

Ms Lai says teaching Chinese students tended to be more labour-intensive because her presence was required.

There were notable writing differences, particularly in argumentative writing, Ms Lai adds.

Chinese students would sit on the fence when we discussed topics like whether wearing a uniform to school should be compulsory or not.

Ivy Lai, a primary school teacher in Perth, Western Australia

Educated in China, Ms Lai says she was taught “to discuss the two sides of a coin and not to be too absolute”.

“But in Australia, we teach children to have strong opinions and persuasion skills,” she tells SBS Chinese.

Regrets of reverse migration?

Ms Lu’s husband, Wei Zhao, admits he initially hesitated about his family’s return to China, aware that "it was likely to negatively impact his children’s happy childhood in Australia".

The topic is hotly discussed among the social media group his wife started in April with 50 other like-minded Chinese parents based in Australia, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.

But three years after this big move, Mr Zhao says he has not looked back.

He believes the children have benefited from having closer ties to the maternal and paternal sides of the family.

Besides academic learning, Mr Zhao's son is also busy with other extracurricular activities like swimming, playing the piano and basketball. Credit: Ying Lu

Calling the Chinese system “spoon-feeding education,” Mr Zhao tells SBS Chinese that his son’s academic performance has improved greatly after studying in China.

“It’s been totally worth it. My son is in Grade 2, but he can do Australian Grade 5 or 6 maths now,” Mr Zhao says proudly.

Meanwhile, sporting activities and instrument-learning are being slotted into his son’s daily schedule to ensure he has something in common with students upon re-entering the Australian school system at the secondary level.

I asked my son earlier if he remembered life in Australia. His eyes lit up as he nodded ’yes‘, so I know he’s keen to get back there.

Wei Zhao

"If I were in his shoes, I think he would prefer to go to school in Australia," the father says.