Education in the People's Republic of China

1
Education in the People's Republic of China
Mustafa Ergün
2
(No Transcript)
3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
Dynasties Ancient China was governed by a
ruling class of warrior nobles headed by a king.
Ruling families are referred to as dynasties. The
Shang Dynasty (1766 BC) was the first verifiable
dynasty and ruled China for 600 years. The Shang
dynasty was overthrown by Zhou who established a
dynasty and introduced the idea of the Mandate of
Heaven. The Han dynasty centralized the Chinese
government and established a bureaucracy which
included eighteen different ranks of civil
service jobs that civilians obtained by taking
competitive examinations. 1911-1949 The
Republic of China was established under the
leadership of Sun Yat-sen 1949- The Republic of
China moved to the island of Taiwan 1949 The
Peoples Republic of China came to power under
the Communist leader Mao Zedong.
6
China Philosophy and Religion
Confucius was addressed as The Master all over
China.  His teachings were based on virtue and
goodness.  Confucius believed that the past tells
us how to live in the present.  His sayings were
recorded in a book called The Analects. 
One day a teacher, father the whole life
????? One knows more by reviewing the past !
7
(No Transcript)
8
China Development of Writing
The earliest examples of Chinese writing are
found on oracle bones. Shang dynasty rulers
consulted the gods through the use of oracle
bones, animal bones and tortoise shells on which
priests scratched questions for the gods. The
priest applied a hot poker to the bones which
cracked and then interpreted the cracks to see
how the gods answered the question.
The Chinese writing system is not alphabetic like
English. It used symbols for words called
characters.  Each character stands for an idea,
not a sound. The characters are read vertically
in columns (down and up). The written language is
not linked to the spoken language, so people all
over China could learn the same system of
writing, even if they spoke different languages.
9
The Republic (1911-1949)

1. New national curriculum to produce citizens of a
   republic, not subjects of an emperor
2. Traditional curriculum abolished
3. Confucianism no longer taught
4. Junior, senior middle schools and universities
   appeared
5. FL (EL the most important) was compulsory

10

• From 1949 to the Present
• This period (1949-1966) witnessed
• Primacy English to Russian, and back to English
• The Great Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
• The period 1978 up to the present
• English as the primary FL well established
• This reflects the impact the political atmosphere
  has on FL in China.

11
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a
period of widespread social and political
upheaval in the Peoples Republic of China
between 1966 and 1976, resulting in nation-wide
chaos and economic disarray. It was launched by
Mao Zedong on May 16, 1966 he alleged that
"liberal bourgeois" elements were permeating the
party and society at large and that they wanted
to restore Capitalism. He insisted that these
elements be removed through pre-revolutionary
class struggle by mobilizing the thoughts and
actions of Chinas youth, who formed Red Guards
groups around the country. The movement
subsequently spread into the military, urban
workers, and the party leadership itself.
One of the main focuses of the Cultural
Revolution was the abolishment of the Four Olds
Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old
Ideas.
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
(No Transcript)
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
Compulsory Education Law The Law on Nine-Year
Compulsory Education, which took effect July 1,
1986, established requirements and deadlines for
attaining universal education tailored to local
conditions and guaranteed school-age children the
right to receive education.
The compulsory education law divided China into
three categories cities and economically
developed areas in coastal provinces and a small
number of developed areas in the hinterland
towns and villages with medium development and
economically backward areas.
18
Basic Education in China

• 95 of total population receives 9 year
  compulsory education.
• High school education grows up quickly.
• Curriculum reforms are undergoing pretty well.
• Teachers are respected.
• A series of educational laws promulgated and
  revised.

19
China's basic education involves pre-school,
nine-year compulsory education from elementary to
junior high school, standard senior high school
education, special education for disabled
children, and education for illiterate
people. Children usually entered primary school
at seven years of age for six days a week, which
after regulatory changes in 1995 and 1997 were
changed to five and a half and five days,
respectively. The two-semester school year
consisted of 9.5 months, and began on September 1
and March 1, with a summer vacation in July and
August and a winter vacation in January and
February.
20
"Key schools," shut down during the Cultural
Revolution, reappeared in the late 1970s and, in
the early 1980s, became an integral part of the
effort to revive the lapsed education system.
They also were allowed to recruit the best
students for special training to compete for
admission to top schools at the next level.
21
Examination-driven

• Although innovations are undergoing with entrance
  examinations into higher education institutions.
• Examination related subjects emphasized.
• Too much learning burden is faced up with
  students.

22
Through introduction of computer labs,
satellite reception devices, CD-ROM playing
devices, and VCD and DVD materials, quality
educational resources will reach rural schools in
remote and poor areas.
23
(No Transcript)
24
Secondary education in China has a complicated
history. In the early 1960s, education planners
followed a policy called "walking on two legs,"
which established both regular academic schools
and separate technical schools for vocational
training. In the late 1970s, government and
party representatives criticized what they termed
the "unitary" approach of the 1960s, arguing that
it ignored the need for two kinds of graduates
those with an academic education (college
preparatory) and those with specialized technical
education (vocational). Chinese secondary
schools are called middle schools and are divided
into junior and senior levels.
25
Vocational and technical schools The "Law on
Vocational Education" was issued in 1996.
Vocational education embraces higher vocational
schools, secondary skill schools, vestibule
schools, vocational high schools, job-finding
centers and other adult skill and social training
institutes. Under the educational reform
tenets, polytechnic colleges were to give
priority to admitting secondary vocational and
technical school graduates and providing
on-the-job training for qualified
workers. Technical schools had several hundred
different programs.
26

• Roots of Chinese Higher Education
• By the 18th century, China had perfected one of
  the worlds most durable political systems during
  2000 years of its imperial history and had
  developed a unique civilization that had deeply
  influenced the culture of its neighboring
  countries.
• Chinas higher education had evolved according
  to its own logic and never deviated from its
  developmental path, despite external influences.
• Over a long historical process, a unique set of
  scholarly values arose in China. There was no
  institution in Chinese tradition that could be
  called a university. Instead, the imperial
  examination system and the academies (??) were
  key elements of ancient Chinese higher learning.
• University reforms in China are a combination of
  externally imposed standards that force China to
  adopt international (usually Western, and often
  American) modes of education and administration,
  with voluntary and often enthusiastic acceptance
  of foreign standards of academic excellence.

27
Overview of Chinas Formal Education
Total Enrollments (225 m)
Total Enrollments(197 m)

High(14.2m)
High2.2m)
Middle School (98.6m)
Middle (52.4m)
Primary (122.4m)
Primary (112.5m)
1990
2004
Data China National Statistics
28
Higher education in China By the end of 2004,
China had 2,236 schools of Higher Learning, with
over 20 million students the gross rate of
enrollment in schools of higher learning reached
19 percent. Between 1999 and 2003, enrollment in
higher education increased from 1.6 million to
3.82 million. In 2004, the total enrollment in
ordinary schools of higher learning was 4.473
million, 651,000 more than in 2003. Schools of
higher learning and research institutes enrolled
326,000 postgraduate students, 57,000 more than
the previous year.
29
Total Enrollments of Regular HEIsIn 2020 (in
million)
30
(No Transcript)
31

• Rapid Growth of Undergraduate Enrolment
• Chinese higher education has experienced rapid
  developments since 1978, particularly in the past
  10 years.
• China now has 1,700 universities and colleges,
  about 40 of them have the power of awarding
  bachelor degrees.
• The total number of undergraduate admission in
  2005 was about 5 million, more than four times
  that in 1998.
• The total number of undergraduate enrolment in
  2005 was more than 20 million, with a gross
  enrolment ratio of about 21 of the same age
  population.

32

• Private Higher Education
• The first private (MinBan) college of modern
  China was founded in 1982.
• The number of private universities and colleges
  is now about 500.
• The number of students enrolled in private
  higher education institutions reached 1.4 million
  in 2005.
• Almost all of the private universities and
  colleges focus on undergraduate education.
• The quality of private higher education needs
  improvement.

33
(No Transcript)
34
In 1985, the government designated September 10
as Teachers' Day, the first festival day for any
profession and indicative of government efforts
to raise the social status and living standards
of teachers.
35
? ? Thank you