EDUCATION in CHINA a Snapshot This Work Is Published Under the Responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD
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EDUCATION IN CHINA A Snapshot This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. 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Education in China A SNAPSHOT Foreword In 2015, three economies in China participated in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, for the first time: Beijing, a municipality, Jiangsu, a province on the eastern coast of the country, and Guangdong, a southern coastal province. Shanghai, which, like Beijing, is also a Chinese megacity of over 20 million people, has participated in PISA since 2009. These four economies alone are home to more than 233 million people – more than the entire population of Brazil, nearly three times the population of Germany and nearly four times the population of France. What do we know about the largest education system in the world? A system that is educating 260 million young people, and that employs 15 million teachers? Not very much. This paper aims to change that. It provides a broad overview of how China’s education system is organised and operates, and how reforms, both past and current, have reshaped education in China over time. The report then examines in greater detail education in the four economies within China that participated in PISA 2015. It provides the context in which China’s participation in PISA – and its results in PISA – should be interpreted. This report was drafted by Yuanyuan Pan, during her internship and consultancy at the OECD, and was completed and reviewed by Sophie Vayssettes and Elizabeth Fordham, from the OECD Secretariat. Yang Cancan, from the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges in the Chinese Ministry of Education, co-ordinated the review of the report within the Ministry. The report was also reviewed by an external expert, Kai-ming Cheng, Emeritus Professor at the University of Hong Kong. Sakshi Mishra provided analytical support, and Yi Zhou was responsible for data checking and iconographic research. Sophie Limoges co-ordinated the publication process, Marissa Colón-Margolies edited the report, and Sara Gouveia provided administrative support. EDUCATION IN CHINA: A SNAPSHOT © OECD 2016 – 3 Table of contents Chapter 1 ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION IN CHINA ............................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 8 China’s education system ............................................................................................. 9 Teachers and teaching .................................................................................................. 17 Student affairs .................................................................................................................. 22 Curriculum ......................................................................................................................... 23 References .......................................................................................................................... 25 Chapter 2 EDUCATIONAL REFORMS AND CURRENT ISSUES .............. 27 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 28 Narrowing the rural-urban gap and regional differences in education .... 28 Reforming curriculum at all levels and focusing more on creativity ...... 30 Reducing the role of standardised testing and reforming the gaokao .... 31 Strengthening educational inspection .................................................................. 33 References .......................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3 BEIJING ........................................................................................................ 35 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 36 Alleviating academic burdens for elementary school students ................ 38 Overcoming inequality ................................................................................................. 39 Improving the quality of education ........................................................................ 39 References .......................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 4 SHANGHAI ................................................................................................ 41 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 42 Pioneer in examination reform ................................................................................ 42 Enhancing equity and inclusion .............................................................................. 43 References .......................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 5 JIANGSU ..................................................................................................... 45 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 46 A leader in pre-school and equitable development ........................................ 46 4 – EDUCATION IN CHINA: A SNAPSHOT © OECD 2016 Redistributing resources and expanding access for migrants ................... 47 Providing a well balanced curriculum ................................................................... 49 Note ....................................................................................................................................... 49 References .......................................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 6 GUANGDONG .......................................................................................... 51 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 52 Increasing investment and building partnerships .......................................... 53 Spurring education development in Shenzhen ................................................. 54 References .......................................................................................................................... 55 Annexes Annex A The responsibilities of the Ministry of Education .............................................................................................. 58 Annex B List of the Ministry of Education’s departments with functions ............................................................ 60 Boxes Box 1.1 Participation in PISA ...................................................................................8 Box 1.2 Administrative divisions in China .........................................................9 Box 1.3 Government efforts to reform pre-school education .....................11 Box 1.4 Where are the 15-year-olds? .................................................................11 Box 1.5 Admission to higher education ............................................................12 Box 1.6 Education funding .....................................................................................16 Box 1.7 Educational investments in compulsory education in rural areas ...............................................................................................17 Box 1.8 Basic Education Curriculum Reform ...................................................23 Box 2.1 Special policies for teachers in rural areas .......................................29 Box 2.2 The hukou system ......................................................................................29 Box 6.1 Languages in China ..................................................................................52 EDUCATION IN CHINA: A SNAPSHOT © OECD 2016 – 5 Tables Table 1.1 The content of qualification examination in different types of education .................................................................................................19