Giving Compass' Take:

• A Chicago teacher travels to China every year to consult with edtech companies in Asia. He describes the significant differences and common threads in edtech between Asia and the U.S. 

• What can the U.S. learn from China regarding edtech advancements? 

• Read the details on the global investments in edtech in the past year. 

Last summer, when I was working for ThinkCERCA, which helps students develop critical thinking skills through reading and writing, the edtech startup was facing a big decision: should it try and break into the lucrative Chinese market?

On the one hand, China’s private education market is projected to grow 9 percent per year until 2020, reaching a value of $330 billion—an enticing market for many American entrepreneurs. On the other, the uncertainty of the market, and the fact that it looks very different from the U.S. education space, can pose serious challenges to any organization.

After a summer of market research and competitor analysis, the company eventually signed off on a collaboration with a Chinese partner, TAL Education. A year later, this project has grown steadily with over 300 Chinese students enrolled in the joint program. ThinkCERCA is definitely not the first U.S. company that has eyed Asia as the next big market. But their story is not a blueprint that will make sense for every company.

I realized many companies still don’t understand the realities of the Asian market. Between the drastic variations in business culture, social norms and day-to-day education affairs, there are a lot of differences companies should know about (along with a few similarities). Here’s a handy guide for anyone in edtech looking to cross the Pacific.

Teacher friends in China tell me it’s now common practice for teachers to connect with parents through group chats on WeChat (a ubiquitous messaging app), so they can keep up with what their kids are learning at school and help supervise at home.

Parents in China are deeply involved in their children’s learning and development. As a result, a bigger part of the accountability for a child’s academic performance is shifted to the family, which makes them more committed to providing supervision and resources.

Read the full article about Asia's edtech market by Bing Wang at EdSurge