Overview of the Education System in China Nonie Wiggins Arkansas State University March 30, 2010 www.maps.com Chinese Population by Gender http://www.nationmaster.com/country/ch-china/Age-_distribution History/Governance 4000 years of Chinese Dynasties – feudalism dominant Up to 1027 B.C. - Education was a privilege. Goal to produce government officials. Focus on “Six Arts” – rites, music archery, chariot riding, history and mathematics. 770-221 B.C – Confucius philosophy dominant in education Personal conduct Principles of society & government Opium War (1840-1842) – China lost to Britain. Western education introduced by Christian missionaries. 1911 Revolution, Sun Yat-sen ended monarchy More western type education Did not want to lose Chinese identity (Confucius) 1949 – Communist rule – “People’s Republic of China” Soviet Model of Education – focus on technological needs Higher ed. was focus – less than half children in primary & secondary school Mao’s “Walking on two legs” - balance of Western Education & Confucian Vocation/work study Regular university, college & college prep 1966 – Cultural Revolution Classes stopped until fall 1967 – each level shortened Development of “commune” schools for agricultural regions 1976- present - Educational Reform was twofold “Four Modernizations” - agriculture, industry, national defense, science & technology “Four Cardinal Principles” – the socialist road, the people’s democratic dictatorship, the Chinese Communist Party leadership, and Marxim-Leninism-Mao Zedong thought Educational elite schools weeded out Rural primary enrollment declined – children needed to work rather than go to school 4 types of secondary schools – Keypoint middle schools, non-key general or ordinary middle schools, specialized technical secondary schools, vocational schools Surowski, D. http://math.ksu.edu/ dbski/publication/history.html 1985 – (Post Mao) – “Decision of the Reform of the Education System” To bring about the Four Modernizations To increase state funding for education To insure that the education system shall supply a sufficient number of qualified personnel To institute a 9-year compulsory education policy To expand the system of technical and vocational education To give provisions for reform of higher education (eg. To change the system of job-assignments to graduates and to grant colleges and universities more decision making powers) To strengthen educational leadership State Education Commission formed Allow president of a college or university to be the CEO 1995 – “Education Law of the People’s Republic of China” Principles & General Objectives of Education “…Education in the People’s Republic of China must serve the construction of the socialist modernization, be combined with production and labor, and foster builders and successors with all round development of morality, intelligence and physique for the socialist cause. Education shall be carried out in the spirit of inheriting and expanding the fine historical and cultural traditions of the Chinese nation and assimilating all the fine achievements of the civilization progress of human beings.” World Data on Education. http://www.ibe.unesco.org Goals of the Reform Reduce youth illiteracy to <1% & increase adult literacy to 90%. 9 year compulsory education with 95% enrollment Strive for admission age of 6 years Increase senior secondary enrollment to > 50% Increase higher ed. enrollment to 11% (9.5 million; 700/100,000 people) Further develop pre-service and in-service, job transfer training, and continuing education to have a “comprehensive social education system and lifelong learning” World Data on Education. http://www.ibe.unesco.org Education System in China Pre-school education Elementary education Secondary education Higher education Compulsory education Kindergarten Pre-school class Primary school Regular junior middle school Vocational junior middle school Regular senior middle school Graduate school Secondary vocational school College University Technical school Short-term vocational university Vocational middle school Advanced technical school Outcomes of the Reform Increase in kindergarten enrollment (36.8% in 2000; 47.3% in 2008) 99% of primary students were admitted to junior middle schools in 2007 79.9% of junior middle school students were admitted to senior middle schools (29% increase since 2000) 106% more senior middle school students in 2007 than 2000 Increase in secondary vocational school students 10.4 million in 2000 to 19.8 million in 2007 Curriculum Examined – past curriculum placed too much focus on basic knowledge (rote memorization) and too little on practical courses. “Hidden Assumptions of the Reform Policy” Youth key to developing the nation in the future. Meaningful experiences are as important as knowledge delivery. Students need to learn how to learn. The reform is for all of basic education. Reforms success depends on teachers and students as well as the policy makers. Feng, D. (2006). China’s recent curriculum reform: progress and problems. Planning and Changing. 37, 1&2, pp 131-144. Integrated Practical Courses for Senior Middle Schools To Provide: Field work for enrichment Discovery and problem solving skills Practical skills and abilities Foster collaboration Through Research oriented studies Community service Hands on working activities Information technology was also incorporated into the new curriculum Compulsory courses: information retrieval, processing, expression, resource management, & information technology & society. Electives – algorithm & program design, multimedia technology, network technology, data management, artificial intelligence Providing Elective Courses Curriculum Structure of Regular Senior Middle Schools Integrated Practical Activities Arts PE and Health Technology Science Humanities and Social Science Mathematics Integrated Practical Activities Arts Music Fine Arts PE and Health Info Technology General Technology Biology Chemistry Physics Geography History Moral Education Mathematics Foreign Language Including compulsory and elective modules Modules Chinese Subjects Language and Literature Fields of Study Zhu Muju, Basic Education in China Presentation, March 2009 Three Tiered Curriculum Gives more control locally Class hours mandated by the state 80-84% State mandated courses 16-20% Local and school based courses Zhu Muju, Basic Education in China Presentation, March 2009 Challenges and Criticisms of Reform Larger classes Increased competition for school and college entrance Primary schools are local. Others are competitive. Migration of teachers to urban areas – rural areas have trouble with inflexible curriculum Increased teacher workload. Local control may ignore student/parent interests Cultural dilemmas –Western v. Chinese leadership styles among school leaders Government wants immediate outcomes – not enough data yet. Feng, D. (2006). China’s recent curriculum reform: progress and problems. Planning and Changing. 37, 1&2, pp 131-144. Financing of Education in China Local schools are financed by local budgets. Central treasury of China also provides some funding. 2002 – Social investment in education was1.94% of GDP State’s investment was 3.41% of GDP Other financial input Social enterprises Extra fees tuition Fundraising Donations Pre-school Education Not compulsory More in urban than rural areas – full time, part-time, boarding Rural areas preschools are mainly nurseries Photos: Farrell, L. (2004). An emergent curriculum in China: collaborative tolerance. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 59(2). 243-250. Primary Education Ideology & moral character Chinese language Math Society – not until 4th Nature PE Music Painting Work –beginning grade 3 World Data on Education. http://www.ibe.unesco.org Lower Secondary Ideology & politics Chinese language Math Foreign language History Geography Chemistry Physics Biology PE Music Painting Work Skills World Data on Education. http://www.ibe.unesco.org Vocational Education Junior vocational – part of the 9 years compulsory (3-4 yrs) Mostly in rural areas to provide basic professional knowledge & skills to workers, peasants & employees Secondary vocational – (3-4 years) Practice oriented technical and normal schools Tertiary vocational - (2 years) for high school and secondary vocational graduates. Vocational training courses – managed by the department of education and labor but provided by the employers Special Education For blind, deaf or mentally retarded children and teens 1539 special education schools Some students attend regular school Many are kept at home or institutionalized. Some immigrate to US. http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/38282.htm Crawford, R. – personal conversation March 2010. Classes/schools Uniforms unique to each school Segregated either by school or by class in higher grades Higher Education Very competitive Entrance exams Some problems with autonomous regions & municipalities Moral assessment and physical constitution Assessment of Higher Ed. Self-assessment Administrative organizations Social assessment Graduation Requirements Complete all courses Complete thesis Are up to standard in morality. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.smellchina.com/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2009/10/wuhandaxue-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.smellchina.com/2009/10/wuhan-university/&usg=_ Teacher Education Examinations for best candidates Chinese citizen Must be sound ideologically and politically Good knowledge of pedagogy Good physique Graduate from: normal school for pre-schools secondary normal schools for primary schools Two year normal colleges for junior-middle schools Normal or other universities & four year colleges for senior secondary. Post-graduates or undergraduates from universities for teachers of schools of higher learning Television outreach for teachers Zhu, X. and Han, X. (2006). Reconstruction of the teacher education system in China. International Education Journal, 7(1). P 66-73. Discipline Do not bring shame to family Discipline is not usually a problem In the past corporal punishment was used. Other Issues Military training for both girls & boys. Boys have mandatory military service Conformity is stressed. No individuality. All know standing in the class. Grades are announced Shame if performance is not perfect You are from the province of your ancestors. Must have foreign passport to attend private institutions Study abroad is encouraged. Many with PhD’s do not return References China in World Data on Education. 6th ed. Retrieved 1/20/10 from http://www.ibe.unesco.org/. China Education. Retrieved from http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/china/239636.htm on 3/27/10. Colb, S. (January 26, 2005). China announces that it will criminalize sex-selection abortions; what, if anything, should the U.S. do about the practice in this country: retrieved 3/28/10 from http://writ.news.findlaw.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page_/colb/20050126.html. Crawford, R. Personal communication 3/28/10. Farrell, L. (2004). An emergent curriculum in China: collaborative tolerance. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5(7), pp.243-250. Feng, D. (2006). China’s recent curriculum reform: progress and problems. Planning and Changing. 37 (1&2). P. 131-144. Introduction to China. Retrieved from http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/china.htm. on 3/17/10. King-Head, S. (2010). China-Us: PhD students stay on. University World News. Retrieved from http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story+2010030511225767 March 17, 2010. Kvaternik, R. (2001). Teacher education through distance learning. Education Sector, Higher Education Division, Teacher EducationSection . Fontenoy, France.UNESCO Ministry of the Education of the People’s Republic of China available at http://www.moe.edu.cn/edoas/website18 Muju, Z. (2009). Basic education and curriculum reform in China (Presentation). Premier reports on Outline of new 5 year plan (II). Retrieved from http://english.peopledaily.com./english/200103/05 on 1/20/2010. . Special education and vocational education. Retrieved 3/28/10 from http://www.china.org/cn/english/features/38282.htm. Surowski, D. editor. History of the educational system of China. Retrieved from http://www.math.ksu.edu/~dbski/publication/history.html. on 1/20/2010. Zhu, X. & Han, X. (2006). Reconstruction of the teacher education system in China. International Education Journal. 7(1). 66-73.