Mission and Goals Statement

Founded in 1986, the China Teaching Program at Western Washington University was originally created to send professionals from the United States to work in an advisory capacity with their colleagues in the People’s Republic of China. The program’s emphasis gradually shifted to meet China’s needs for qualified, native-speaking English teachers. The shift in focus also drew upon Western’s strengths in teacher training and related areas of education. To date, the program has sent 364 teachers and experts to China. About twenty per cent of the participants hold bachelor's or master's degrees from Western Washington University and about half have been Washington State Residents.

The mission of the China Teaching Program is to strengthen ties between the U.S. and the P.R.C. by preparing teachers of English, including professionals from various fields, for overseas teaching and placing them at educational institutions throughout China. We believe that educational exchange plays a vital role in the sphere of international relations. Our mission is to promote such exchange and to share the benefits derived from it. The responsibilities of the China Teaching Program are to provide well-qualified instructors to schools in China and to work with other China-related agencies in the United States to further cooperation and understanding between the U.S. and the P.R.C.

China is currently changing in many dramatic ways—politically, economically, and socially. Yet China's cultural heritage continues to play a vital role in contemporary Chinese life.  It is the goal of the China Teaching Program to prepare our teachers for both the new and the old in China, and to facilitate the ongoing exchange of people and ideas across cultures.