Equity and Quality of Basic Education in China :

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Equity and Quality of Basic Education in China
???????????????
Wang, Dinghua, PhD
Basic Education Department Ministry of Education,
PRC
October 20, 2007
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1 New Circumstances????????

• During the first two decades of the 21st century,
  China shall face a complicated and changeable
  international situation and more acute
  competition in the knowledge-based economy, and
  needs to actively meet and take full advantage of
  the challenges and opportunities of economic
  globalization.
• China will concentrate its efforts on building a
  well-off society of a higher standard to benefit
  its 1.3 billion people.

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• ??????????
• In order to better respond to the socioeconomic
  changes, China will further develop the market
  economy, improve democracy, enrich culture,
  foster greater social harmony and upgrade
  peoples life.
• The Chinese Government has put forward the
  scientific development outlook of putting people
  in the first place and promoting the harmonious
  development of economy and society and the idea
  of building a socialist harmonious society.
• In order to convert the population pressure into
  huge human resources, China has adopted the
  strategy of reinvigorating the country through
  science and education

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• 2 China has made tremendous achievements in K-12
  education, still some pressing Challenges remain
• ????????,???????

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• Over 98 population areas have realized nine
  -year compulsory education.
• All students in rural areas nationwide enjoy free
  compulsory education now, free of tuition, free
  of misloneaous fee, free of textbooks.
• Enrollment rate for high schools59.2 in 2006.

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• Central and local governments exercise
  responsibilities respectively to guarantee and
  promote development of K-12 education.
• Private education consists of about 5 of total
  primary, middle and high schools/ students.
• Most of the 10 million K-12 teachers are well
  motivated to teach.
• School building constructed and infrastructures
  improved to a great deal.

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Primary middle schools
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The Dropout Rate of Primary Education(2000-2006)

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Gender Parity
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The Proportion of Qualified Middle School
Teachers Meeting State Requirements(2000-2006)

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Inequity ????

• Although K-12 education in China has made
  significant advances, the overall development has
  been quite uneven and imbalanced. Obvious gaps
  exist between different schools. It can neither
  respond well to the needs of rapid socio-economic
  development, nor satisfy the aspiration of the
  broad masses for balanced basic education.

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• ?????????
• Three different categories of equalities
• ?????????
• equity between areas
• ?????????
• equity between student groups
• ?????????
• equity between schools at a same area.

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Quality ????????

• Quality is lifeline for education. High quality
  education not only refers to advanced
  infrastructure, but also refers to qualified
  teaching contingent, improved teaching process,
  better management, and proper philosophy of
  running schools, etc.
• Quality of K-12 education can not meet the
  increasing demand from the public for a high
  quality education.
• Quality of some schools can not meet demand of
  the parents. Esp. in the one family one child
  era.
• Quality of teachers needs to be improved. 240
  thousand teachers with lower academic degrees.
  450 thousand non-registered teachers.

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3 How does China take measures for basic
education equity and quality??????????????
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3.1 Implement education laws and policy
measures????,????

• Compulsory education law as a precondition for
  equity.
• Balanced development of compulsory education,
  between east and west, between urban and rural,
  between schools at a same region.
• More financial input for school infrastructure

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3.2.Setting up fundamental standards of
schools????????

• The development of basic standards for school
• ????
• School standards
• ??????
• The personal standards of teachers
• ??????
• The standards of teachers wages
• ??????
• The standards of public funding

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3.3 ??????,??????National core curriculum to
ensure basic requirement.

• The MOE developed national curriculum standards,
  including all core curricular areas.
• The MOE sets guidance for provincial level
  curricula designing, yet does not interfere in
  its autonomy.
• Likely, each school may set its own school based
  curriculum.
• According to teaching hours, national curricula
  consist of 80, provincial curricula consists 15
  and school curriculum consists 5.

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• From 2001, over 550 counties started pilot the
  new curricula during their compulsory education
  period, usually beginning from grade 1 and grade
  7. By the year 2005, all primary and middle
  schools in all counties in the whole countrys 31
  provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions
  carried out the new curriculum.
• In 2004, 4 provinces began to pilot the curricula
  at their high schools. In 2007 altogether 16
  provinces carried out the new high school
  curricula. Before the year 2008, most of
  provinces are advised to conduct the new high
  school curriculum.

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Objectives of new curriculum in China

• (1) To understand Chinas history and her
  current status thus become ready to assume
  responsibilities for their personal and national
  development, in the meantime to respect other
  nations and their cultures and to be ready to
  participate in international development and
  communication

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• (2) To master the basic skills for reading,
  writing and arithmetic operation, basic knowledge
  for culture and science, necessary skills to
  express themselves and communicate with others,
  capacity to process information, to acquire basic
  labor skills, so that they can adapt effectively
  to the learning society

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• (3) To develop, through observation and
  experience, a scientific understanding of the
  environment, sustainable development and
  ecological ethics, and to be able to identify,
  analyze and solve problems in their daily life

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• (4) To understand and care for the
  society, to form appropriate moral values and
  behavioral habits, ready to serve the people and
  the community

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• (5) To develop sound self-consciousness
  and independent personality thus to take good
  care of life, learn to rationally plan for and
  assess ones own development and to cope with
  frustrations in the social life to be accustomed
  to engage in regular physical exercise and proper
  living habits

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• (6) To develop healthy interest for
  esthetic appreciation of the beauty of the
  nature, society, science and art to be inclined
  to join in different cultural activities.

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Math Innovation
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Chemistry Innovation
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3.4 ???????????Teacher professional development
and rotation among schools

• Build upon the current teachers training,
  attract more talented people to join the
  teachers profession. Implement the Gardeners
  Project
• Free education at six normal universities under
  the MOE.
• Reward excellent teachers by the Teachers Day

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???????????????To build the mechanism of
school-based teacher professional development

• ???????????????
• the professional training based on the need to
  improve the teaching quality of
• ??????????????
• the distance research based on the needs of the
  new curriculum implementation
• ?????????????
• the school-based teaching based on of problem
  solving

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To promote the professional standards of
teachers????????

• ?????????
• To promote the academic standards of teachers
• ????????????
• To make Primary school teachers from the normal
  school to 3 year college
• ????????????
• Junior high school teachers from 3 year college
  to undergraduate
• ??????????
• the requirements to improve teaching competency
  
• ??????
• The ability to develop courses
• ??????
• IT capacity
• ???????
• Creative Teaching Abilities

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• encourage teachers to rotate among schools
  for equality reason.
• special positions at western rural areas.
• hand in hand project among schools
• internet training.

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• 3.5 Quality improvement of all schools
• ??????,??????
• Grade instead of 100 marks
• More encouragement
• Qualities at all aspect are encouraged
• Continuous innovations toward entrance
  examinations will be conducted

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Teaching and Learning Innovations

• Interactive learning
• Hands-on ability
• How to fish instead of giving fish
• Social activities and society-participation
• Project oriented study
• Team work

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3.6 ICT is widely applied. ??????????
Through introduction of ICT, qualified
educational resources might reach all schools
including those in remote and poor areas.
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4. Conduct educational supervision and
inspection?????????

• improve educational administration, leaving
  more flexibility for each locality.
• improve school management, welcome proper
  involvement of social walks and parents.
• send supervisors and inspectors to different
  provinces to ensure national educational laws and
  policies being carried out properly.
• School effectiveness indicators and Child
  Friendly School criteria.

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• ???????????
• Inspection and assessment of Primary and
  secondary school level
• ??????????
• Inspection and assessment of the development of
  primary and secondary
• ??????????
• The assessment of balanced development of
  compulsory education
• ??????????
• the system of inspectors responsibility in
  responding area of primary and secondary school

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?????????? The inspectors duties of each area

• ??????????????????,??????
• Focus is standardizing the period of compulsory
  education school operators, the main contents
• ???????????????????????????
• the length of time that students in school
  every day. Students are in school or not On the
  Weekend or during holidays.
• ???????
• regulated fees.
• ?????????????????????
• the quantity of students homework ,the
  situation of teachers correcting .
• ????,?????????????????????????,??????????????
• the curriculum, particularly music, sports, art
  and practice of integrated courses, and the
  students daily sports time.
• ??????????????
• The situation of various examinations and
  competitions.

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• ???????????
• The subscriptions for teaching.
• ??????????????
• Morality of teacher and teachers tutor acts
  for fee.
• ???????????????????
• To divide the students in different grades by
  remarks
• ????????????????????????,?????
• To investigate the prevalent problems and
  difficulties and make recommendations.
• ??????????????????,?????????
• To notify the work of responding area timely ,
  and report special situation at any time.

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5 Enhance international cooperation for basic
education equality?????????

• Our collaboration and cooperation in the field of
  education has brought us closer. And we hope
  more.

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Thank you very
much
wangdh_at_moe.gov.cn