Xiehe Education | Dr. Adam Neufield, SUIS Qingpu: A “West Meets East” Life

Now in his ninth year with Xiehe Education, Dr. Adam Neufield is currently a Co-Principal at the SUIS Qingpu, his fourth year at the school.

He is a Canadian from Toronto and is married with two children: his wife, Christine, is from Shandong, China; his son, Logan, is in his second year at UBC in Canada studying mechanical engineering; his daughter, Breanna, is in Grade 11 at the SUIS Gubei and hopes to pursue a biological science or biochemistry programme at a Canadian university.

Approaching the Chinese ‘Year of the Dragon’, we were honoured to invite Principal Adam to share his life and career experience, and also his insights in education.

Dr. Adam Neufield

Co-Principal of SUIS Qingpu

We first asked Adam to share about what led him to his career in education, his arrival in China and then to his role at SUIS Qingpu.

Adam graduated from the University of Toronto with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry, graduating on the Dean’s Honour Roll. Following that, he earned a Bachelor of Education degree from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, which was a part of the University of Toronto at the time.Adam then worked as a teacher in the York Region District School Board in Ontario for five years teaching high school chemistry and physics as well as middle school general science. In his fifth year of teaching, he developed an urge to enroll in Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) evening classes – the classes were taught by a teacher who used the ‘bopomofo’ system. Learning Chinese would also, he felt, offer a new challenge: “I have always sought challenges throughout my life, and I tend to get a little bored after doing the same thing for four or five years.”In 2000, led by his faith, he attended a job fair held annually at Queen’s University, and accepted an offer from an international school in Greater China, not knowing whether he would end up in Hong Kong SAR or Shanghai. After landing in Hong Kong SAR, he learned that he was heading to Shanghai, the city where he would begin a new chapter of his life.Adam learned very quickly that there were some major differences between his educational experiences in Ontario and those in Shanghai.

There were only a small number of IB schools in Canada at the time he was teaching there, and, as most of the IB schools were private schools affordable to only the wealthier Canadians, most Canadian teachers lived and breathed their province’s domestic curriculum. IGCSE/A Level curricula were just not heard of. So, Adam’s first ‘learning curve’ involved becoming familiar with these international curricula as well as external examinations and all the practices and procedures related to them i.e., working through rather prescriptive syllabi, becoming familiar with marking schemes, preparing mock examination papers. Moreover, while ‘chemistry is chemistry’, Adam had to re-learn and self-learn some chemistry topics in order to teach the A Level syllabus, this despite him having a Specialist in Chemistry degree.

Perspective:

Any teacher arriving at an international school directly from a domestic education context will face a number of learning curves and challenges in addition to acculturating to the new context, on a number of levels. Thus, when recruiting new colleagues, I try to determine if the potential candidate has the character and resilience to succeed in our context. If they can make it through their first year, they’ll be fine.

▲ Principal Adam in Lhasa, Tibet – 2001

Adam had grown up in Toronto, a very multi-cultural city, and Toronto is home to many 3rd or 4th generation Chinese-Canadians. Yet, work environments in Toronto tended to be relatively monocultural. Working with many Chinese colleagues in Shanghai was a new experience for him, and the expatriate colleagues he worked with were still very much connected to their home countries and cultures. The impact of this deeper diversity, mix of cultures, and the regular annual turnover of expatriate colleagues, resulted in an incredibly vibrant working environment. Meetings, discussions, and decision-making processes were now very different from his previous experience in Canada – every new school year was almost like ‘starting from scratch’, given that you had to work hard to bring everyone ‘onto the same page’ again and again.

Perspective:

I absolutely love working in an international school context – I consider diversity as the “spice of life”. If ever I return to Canada, I know it will take me some time to re-adjust to what I would describe as possibly a more “boring” living experience. I also feel that students in international schools in China are truly blessed to be able to learn in such diverse environments. That diversity allows them to experience so many different perspectives, backgrounds, cultures, and accents, and I believe that these experiences prepare them for greater success in the world.

Adam remembers in his first year in Shanghai being amazed by the wonderful options students had for tertiary education – truly, he said, the world is “at their doorstep”.

Perspective:

The vast majority of Canadian families would never consider or be in a position to consider sending their child(ren) to a university outside Canada. Not only could most Canadian families not afford to do so, but Canadians in general are more than satisfied with the quality and diversity of colleges and universities in Canada. So, it is very interesting to witness year after year our graduates heading to universities all over the world.

Adam will always be thankful to a Chinese colleague who created a Chinese name for him, “刘寅枫”: “刘” (liu) because it approximates the pronunciation of “Neu” in Adam’s family name; “寅” (yin) means ‘tiger’ – Adam’s Chinese zodiac (birth) animal; and “枫” (feng) means ‘leaf’ – the Maple Leaf is a well-known symbol of Canada.Over the first decade in that international school in Shanghai, Adam held a variety of positions, including IGCSE/A Level Chemistry and general science teacher, Director of Admissions and Marketing, and Career and University Guidance Counsellor.

Perspective:

As a result of my initial stint at teaching (domestically and then internationally) and then by taking on a number of different roles, I believe that I became a “jack of all trades” in education and a “master of none”. I believe that those experiences helped to establish a good foundation for a leadership role.

After working for that international school in Shanghai for many years, Adam developed a growing sense that he was working ‘in a bubble’. Aside from the very dynamic nature of the school environment (compared to working in a school back in Canada), there was very little interaction between Chinese and expatriate colleagues. While co-teaching did occur in the school’s primary school division, Chinese colleagues were primarily allocated to teaching Chinese language and culture lessons with expatriate colleagues teaching all other subjects.

Desiring a working environment where there was more ‘east’ interacting with ‘west’, and eager for a new challenge, Adam and his wife began one day in 2011 to discuss and pray about moving to a new context. Interestingly, the very next week, Adam received unsolicited emails from two schools asking him to consider taking on a leadership position – one school was in China (Shandong Province) and the other in Jakarta, Indonesia. After more discussions and more prayers, they decided to head to Indonesia. So, Adam left Shanghai that year to take on a Head of School position with Springfield School in Jakarta.

▲ Learning how to walk on fire – 2012

The transition from Shanghai to Springfield School was most certainly an adventure for his family. Indonesia and Jakarta offered them many new experiences: new geography (e.g., jungles, mountains, volcanoes), new weather (27°C to 32°C all year round, being near the equator), a new language (Bahasa Indonesia), and new culture (the largest Muslim country in the world, but also a country with many Chinese). The annual floods in Jakarta made for some challenging times, the traffic was often horrible, and every single morning at 4:15am they were awoken by the local prayers being sung over loudspeakers. He also remembers having to very quickly get used to driving a standard transmission van on the opposite side of the road, with the steering wheel, pedals and stick shift all on the opposite side of the vehicle.

▲ Dealing with floods at work and at home was an annual ordeal in Jakarta – 2011

Like the international school in Shanghai, Springfield School offered an international curriculum along with Chinese language and culture lessons. Unlike the school in Shanghai, though, Springfield served local families (indigenous Indonesian and ethnically-Chinese Indonesian) – there was no diversity in the student population, and its private school license meant that it still had to abide by some of the country’s Ministry of Education requirements. So, this was Adam’s first taste of working in an overseas school more closely linked to a country’s domestic education system. Flag-raising ceremonies, local (Bahasa) language lessons, regulations regarding national student IDs, etc. were now part of his administrative experiences. At Springfield, there was again diversity in the teaching group, but now, there was close and frequent collaboration between the local staff (teachers and admin) and expatriate staff.

Perspective:

It was at Springfield that I learned a lot about myself. Leadership was not easy, and I came to realize that I had many areas that I needed to improve upon. Springfield is also where I developed a deep appreciation and passion for working in schools that aim to provide an international education to local families and working closely with colleagues from the local culture. Moreover, while living in Jakarta presented our family with a variety of challenges, I believe it was very good for my wife and children to have experienced living in a different country, experiencing a different culture, and experiencing a different way of life.

After four years in Jakarta, Adam and his wife felt China calling again, and in 2015 Adam accepted a leadership offer from Xiehe Education. Since that year, Adam has held several roles with Xiehe: member for the preliminary start-up team for a new SUIS campus; Head of High School with SUIS Wanyuan; researcher in the Xiehe Education Center; and finally, his current position with SUIS Qingpu.

Adam will always be thankful for the invitation to join Xiehe. His first role with the organization involved working for almost one year at the Xiehe Education Center, the headquarters of the Group. He has fond memories from those days – the opportunity to work with colleagues at the ‘heart’ of this very large organization. He really enjoyed working with colleagues in a variety of departments (i.e., human resources, marketing, research, strategic development, information technology, administration, public relations, management. “I am very thankful,” he added, “that I was able to experience an incredibly interactive, committed, fun team of colleagues tasked with serving more than 10 campuses and 40 kindergartens, all focused on helping the organization stay focused on its vision and mission. As the headquarters of the school that I worked with before was (and still is) in Hong Kong SAR, I had never had the chance until having this opportunity to be so close to the ‘heart’ of an organization.”

▲ Serving as a host at Xiehe’s annual party – 2016

Adam was then invited to take on a Head of High School position at SUIS Wanyuan. This was somewhat of a learning curve for him, as the high school used America curricula (Common Core, NGSS, Advanced Placement (AP)). Although his role in the school focused on the high school programme, Adam led the whole school (primary, middle and high school) through its five-year re-accreditation process with Cognia (at that time, AdvancED). The entire preparation process took one and a half years. While at SUIS Wanyuan, he helped to develop a School Profile (for use with university applications), a Career and University Guidance Handbook, and re-worked a Staff Appraisal Handbook.

After serving at SUIS Wanyuan for three years, Adam joined the Xiehe Education Center where he worked with colleagues to conduct research. It was around this time that he supported with the content used for SUIS Qingpu’s “Xiehe History Museum” – he is quite proud of the work on that project. In August 2020, Adam took on the role of Co-Principal at SUIS Qingpu, joining the campus in just its 2^nd year. Being a new school, there were still many areas where Adam could contribute his experience to.

▲ Sunny Huang, Co-Principal （Left）& Dr. Adam Neufield, Co-Principal （Right）

During his first few years at SUIS Qingpu, Adam has helped to: create the campus’ first Career and University Guidance Office; develop a Teacher Handbook, Positive Behaviour Policy, expatriate teacher recruitment policies and procedures; implement the Quality Framework for Learning and Teaching (QFLT), and establish a professional development framework (SUIS Qingpu Learning Journey).

Perspective:

It’s a bit of commute for me to travel to and from work at SUIS Qingpu (we live in “Korea Town” (near SUIS Hongqiao), but I absolutely enjoy working at SUIS Qingpu, so the time spent on the road doesn’t bother me. I consider myself blessed to be able to work with an amazing team of leadership and management colleagues as well as a very committed team of teachers and support staff.

What are you thankful for?

I am thankful for my wife and two children. I am thankful to Xiehe for the opportunity to work for the organization and now for SUIS Qingpu. I am thankful for the education our children have received, first in Shanghai, then at Springfield School, and then at SUIS Hongqiao and SUIS Gubei – they work hard at school, and both have contributed well to their school communities. Logan is now in his 2nd year at UBC for engineering (mechanical), and Breanna is in Grade 11 and will likely also head to Canada for university (for biomedical science or something related).

Perspective:

Looking back on my life, I am very thankful for the experiences our children have had. There is no question their lives are ‘richer’ because of the opportunity to both live in Asia and attend international schools. The places they have travelled to, the friends they have made, the experiences and education they have had – only a very small percentage of Canadians would have enjoyed such a life.

We asked Adam to share about any achievements he is proud of.

I wouldn’t say that I am particularly proud of anything I have achieved in my life. I am proud of my wife, and I am proud of our two children, but when describing my own achievements, I would simply say that I am “thankful” that I was able to work towards them and complete them. It took me five years to complete a master’s degree with the University of Bath (UK) through a part-time hybrid distance/face-to-face programme (2005-2010). That’s a long time for a master’s degree! With two very young children at home, there wasn’t much time in the evenings or during holidays to work on it. So…it was “slow going”. Yet, I managed to get it done.

I then began a Doctor of Education programme in 2011 with the same university. Our children were older by that time and helping them with more demanding homework every evening meant that I had even less time to work on my studies. The doctoral programme was also offered through a part-time hybrid distance/face-to-face (in Bath, UK) format, and I completed it in 2019, eight years later! Although I would not describe myself as a monarchist, I felt very privileged that Prince Edward himself was present at the graduation ceremony and conferred my doctorate. (Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, has held the position of Chancellor at the University of Bath for over ten years.)

▲ Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, was present at the graduation ceremony and conferred Adam’s doctorate.

My doctoral thesis was entitled, “An analysis of the leadership and management of dual-culture co-principals in international schools in China”. So, yes, I do know a lot about the co-principalship leadership model as it exists (and has existed) in many countries around the world. Given that the dual-culture co-principal model can still be found on some SUIS campuses, perhaps my research will be of use to Xiehe in the future – the doctoral programme required that I engage deeply with qualitative research, literature reviews, and writing, and perhaps these skills may also be useful in the future. I am “itching” to get back into serious research soon, but for the time being, I just don’t have the time.

Perspective:

Obtaining a doctorate does not make me any smarter than the next person. I do feel, though, that achieving the doctorate demonstrated perseverance. There were times over the eight years that I felt like giving up…or that I didn’t have what it takes to complete it. Yet…I “plugged on”, and this doggedness (or stubbornness?) was something I really wanted to show our children i.e., that success comes from working hard and not giving up. Having my family at the graduation ceremony meant a lot to me – I hope that our children also pursue their goals with the same level of perseverance.

▲ Barbershop Quartet singing in 1988 – Adam is second from the right

Now, this is a very long time ago, but I will mention this anyways. For many years as a younger adult, barbershop quartet singing was an avid hobby of mine. I participated in many competitions, in both quartets and choruses. In 1988, my quartet at the time, “Signature”, won the Ontario District contest, which then allowed us to represent Canada at the international competition in New Orleans (USA) a few months later. We ended up coming 45th out of 59 quartets – not great, obviously, but…it was an amazing experience and again, something I am thankful for.Finally, I am thankful for the opportunity to have participated in several school accreditation visits as a member of a “visiting team” (Council of International Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges). A visiting team evaluates all aspects of a school’s operations (academics, administration, support staff, finances, services, etc.) against a wide-ranging set of evaluation criteria.

Could you tell us about your daily life and any hobbies you might have?

Well, as I had mentioned before, singing has always been a hobby of mine, and in particular, barbershop quartet singing – it is a unique musical art form. I am delighted to say that I have been able to start singing barbershop again after decades away from it – I managed to convince three other male colleagues at SUIS Qingpu to learn some barbershop songs, and we have already performed several times in front of our students!😊

▲ Playing ice hockey with the Shanghai Golden Warriors – 2010

I also enjoyed playing ice hockey for many years, both in Shanghai and Jakarta, but…one evening in 2014 my knees started swelling up after a game. So, I had to give up playing ice hockey. I now try to get exercise in other ways (by going to the gym and by swimming).

▲ Principal Adam offers weekly astronomy lessons through primary, middle and high school Co-curricular Activity (CCA) time.

Another hobby of mine is astronomy, and to help me both keep up-to-date with my hobby and also share my passion for it with others, I have been volunteering to deliver three after-school astronomy lessons each week to our students, one lesson each for Grade 4, Grade 8 and Grade 9 students. This is not easy to do on top of my job, but I try to make it work as best as I can.

Who or what has impressed you most during your time with Xiehe?

Well, I’ve mentioned truly amazing colleagues. I might add that I have always been impressed by our Xiehe Center staff – I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to work closely with them on many occasions. They work professionally and hard to support more than 40 kindergartens and 10 campuses – that is a massive group of institutions!

Finally, I would say that I am thankful for Xiehe’s commitment to being an organization that focuses on providing a research-based, innovative “East Meets West” education while still adhering to national education requirements – this is not an easy feat. Moreover, where many other schools or school networks around China may lean towards a more “for profit” model for their school/network operations, Xiehe, from my experience, continues to put the education of students and the needs of families first.

When you came to China, what was your impression of the Chinese education system? What are the differences between the education in China and those in other countries, which you are familiar with?

Even after decades in China, I am still not very familiar with all aspects of the Chinese education system. I did become more familiar with it, though, once I started to work for Xiehe. I must say that I am very impressed by China’s education system – to successfully educate such a populous and diverse country through a broad, rigorous curriculum is incredible. It is also clear from the on-going education reforms that China is aware of and responds to the demands of our changing and complex world.

What factors, do you think, play key roles in improving school operating and development, and the outcomes of students?

That is a good question! A number of things come to mind right off the bat. A school’s leadership team needs to be aware of its market. What are the needs of the parents? What are universities looking for in your students? What is society demanding in terms of skills? If your school has primary, middle and high school divisions, it is important that those divisions work closely with each other so that students are prepared to move into higher stages successfully and parents have the confidence that the school can provide an education that prepares their children for subsequent stages.

Teachers’ professional development, maintaining high standards/expectations for teaching and learning, and communication are also very important. Data. The ongoing review of data from assessments, surveys, observations and other sources really help to inform teachers, managers, admin staff and school leadership/management teams about its educational provision and school operations that, in the end, all lead to student progress, health and safety.

Finally, it is important to set clear goals and work collectively toward them. I am proud of how SUIS Qingpu has embraced the OKR system to set and work towards its goals.

What do you think is the most important challenge in being a good teacher? What advice can you give them?

Teaching in our context is not easy, for a variety of reasons – working life can be fast paced, tiring, and busy, and life can sometimes be somewhat of a “roller-coaster ride”. As our campuses tend to be very diverse environments, teachers need to be good listeners, patient, and adaptable. Successful teachers are committed and need to be willing sometimes to put in longer hours. Of course, teachers need to be experts in their given field, and they need to be willing to learn and accept constructive feedback if there are any particular areas of their teaching that require improvement.

Perspective:

I appreciate the opportunity to be interviewed – I have enjoyed this! Thank you! Please allow me to say once again how thankful I am to Xiehe for the opportunity to contribute to the organization over these past nine years. I am thoroughly enjoying my time at SUIS Qingpu, and I am looking forward to contributing more and more in the years to come. Xiehe offers so many channels for growth and development, and, as I consider myself a life-long learner, working at SUIS Qingpu continues to be a fulfilling experience.

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2024-02-05 By suiseditor Groupnews