Comparing what teacher candidates know about each other: China and the United States

The purpose of this article is to compare teacher candidates' knowledge and perceptions about China and the United States. Using a survey research design, 91 Chinese teacher candidates and 96 teacher candidates from the United Sates participated. The survey findings indicated that, while both groups of teacher candidates had a basic level of historical and political knowledge about the other country, both teacher candidate groups also had stereotypes of each other's country. In their responses to the comment section and free response questions, however, teacher candidates focused on very different aspects. The Chinese teacher candidates focused more on the United States' political and education system. The United States' teacher candidates focused their responses more on daily life and cultural aspects of China.