A questionnaire, modeled after the "Japan Education and Longitudinal Study" (JELS), was conducted in Shanghai at the end of 2011 targeting primary and secondary school students and their parents.

In this seminar, Prof. Zhang Xiaopeng (Fudan University), one of collaborators in the Shanghai survey, described the educational climate around Shanghai, the survey response rate, then offered a detailed overview of education outside the regular schools (tutors, cram schools, enrichment classes, etc.) in Shanghai: how many students are involved, how much time is involved, at what cost, and the relationship between this extracurricular work and academic performance.

In the second half of his talk, Prof. Zhang took questions from the audience. Animated discussion revealed differences between Japan and Shanghai in attitudes toward extra-school education, but also a shared commitment to education on the part of Asian parents.