Under the influence of Confucianism, the Chinese society puts more emphasis on effort
than on innate ability to account for academic success or failure. As time for learning is
a strong indicator of effort, it is expected that Chinese students would spend longer
time on learning than their peers in other educational systems. The time use pattern
may be an important way to distinguish the Chinese education from educational
traditions in other cultures. In this study, we analyze the time use patterns of
15-year-old students in 18 high-performing education systems in PISA 2012. The data
show commonalities among four Chinese societies—Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, and
Shanghai—that distinguish them from many OECD countries. Our analysis also reveals
intracultural variation. Students in all four Chinese societies spend long hours on
deliberate learning, with a focus on reading, mathematics, and science. In addition to
learning during regular school hours, students from Shanghai and Taiwan dedicate a
considerable amount of time to out-of-school-time lessons. The relative allocation of
extra learning time varies among Chinese societies. Students in Shanghai spend much
more time on unguided homework. In Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, more
importance is given to guided homework and tutoring. The pattern we have discovered
is echoed in other Asian countries as well. In general, students’ time use patterns differ
between Asian countries and other OECD education systems.