The Chinese higher education system and the impact of gender The structure of Chinese education system and previous research and an empirical study Von der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg – Fakultät I Bildungs- und Sozialwissenschaften – zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktor der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften (Dr.rer.pol.) genehmigte Dissertation von Frau Hua, Jiang geboren am 19.08.1975 in Beijing, China Erste Gutachterin: Prof. Karin Flaake Zweite Gutachterin: Prof. Heike Fleßner Tag der Disputation: 29.10.2010 The Chinese higher education system and the impact of gender The structure of Chinese education system and previous research and an empirical study Von der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg – Fakultät I Bildungs- und Sozialwissenschaften – zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktor der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften (Dr.rer.pol.) genehmigte Dissertation von Herrn Jinsong, Gu geboren am 15.02.1976 in Beijing, China Erste Gutachterin: Prof. Karin Flaake Zweite Gutachterin: Prof. Heike Fleßner Tag der Disputation: 29.10.2010 The Chinese higher education system and the impact of gender The structure of Chinese education system and previous research and an empirical study Gu Jinsong Jiang Hua Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany 1 Table of Contents Abbreviations……………………………………………………………6 Introduction……………………………………………………………..7 Part I The Chinese higher education system and the impact of gender – The structure of Chinese education system and previous research Chapter 1 Chinese education system (Hua Jiang)…………………….9 1.1. Main forms of Chinese education system………………………………………9 1.1.1. Basic education…………………………………………………………...11 1.1.2. Secondary schooling……………………………………………………...13 1.2. Higher education……………………………………………………………….16 1.2.1. History of Chinese higher education……………………………………16 1.2.2. Chinese higher education at present……………………………………18 1.2.3. Tuition fees………………………………………………………………..24 1.3. Other forms of Chinese education system…………………………………….27 1.4. International exchange of Chinese higher education………………………...31 1.5. Characteristics of Chinese higher education…………………………………34 1.5.1. Hierarchical structure of higher education…………………………….34 1.5.2. The proportion of the colleges students…………………………………36 1.5.3. Information technology in higher education……………………………38 1.5.4. The restructuring of the higher education……………………………...39 1.6. The future development of Chinese higher education……………………….41 Chapter 2 Male and female students in Chinese higher education (Jinsong Gu)……………………………………………………………43 2.1. Some statistical data about Chinese students today…………………………43 2 2.2. The socio-economic background of the students……………………………..48 2.3. The career aspiration among students and graduates……………………….54 2.4. Countryside students vs. City students……………………………………….58 2.5. The situation in the labor market……………………………………………..67 2.6. Differences between male and female graduates…………………………….73 2.6.1. Humanities students vs. Science students………………………………73 2.6.2. Number of students with different academic level…………………….81 2.6.3. Attitude towards the occupation as teacher……………………………83 2.6.4. Gender differences in other fields of higher education……………......84 2.6.5. Gender differences among postgraduate students……………………..85 Chapter 3 Teaching professions: Hierarchies, social conditions, and qualifications among Chinese university teachers (Hua Jiang)……90 Chapter 4 Women as teachers in Chinese higher education (Jinsong Gu)……………………………………………………………97 4.1. Few women in Chinese higher education……………………………………..97 4.1.1. Historical reasons………………………………………………………...99 4.1.2. Gender reasons………………………………………………………….101 4.2. Why are there few women leaders in Chinese universities?..........................107 4.3. Female’s behaviors at work in higher education……………………………115 4.4. Gender politics in China……………………………………………………...117 4.4.1. Women’s center in the college………………………………………….117 4.4.2. Occupation………………………………………………………………119 4.4.3. Why do female teachers return to the colleges recently?.....................119 3 Part II The empirical study: Women and men in Chinese universities Chapter 5 The empirical study – Methods and results (Hua Jiang and Jinsong Gu)…………………………………………121 5.1. Concept and methods of the study (Hua Jiang and Jinsong Gu)………….121 5.2. Interviews with the female teachers – biographical summaries (Hua Jiang) 5.2.1. FA………………………………………………………………………..125 5.2.2. FB………………………………………………………………………..131 5.2.3. FC………………………………………………………………………..140 5.2.4. FD………………………………………………………………………..147 5.2.5. FE………………………………………………………………………..155 5.2.6. FF………………………………………………………………………..163 5.3. Interviews with the female teachers – results (Hua Jiang)………………...171 5.3.1. Family background……………………………………………………..171 5.3.2. Motivation of working in university…………………………………...172 5.3.3. The significance of family and marriage………………………………173 5.3.4. Educational degree among female teachers…………………………...175 5.3.5. Life of female teachers………………………………………………….175 5.3.6. Disciplines that they study……………………………………………...177 5.3.7. Proportion of male and female teachers in department……………...178 5.4. Interviews with the male teachers – biographical summaries (Jinsong Gu) 5.4.1. MG..............................................................................................................179 5.4.2. MH.............................................................................................................187 5.4.3. MI...............................................................................................................195 5.4.4. MJ..............................................................................................................202 5.4.5. MK.............................................................................................................209 5.4.6. ML……………………………………………………………………….218 5.5. Interviews with the male teachers – results (Jinsong Gu)………………….225 5.5.1. Family background……………………………………………………..225 5.5.2. Motivation of working in university…………………………………...226 4 5.5.3. The significance of family and marriage………………………………226 5.5.4. Educational degree among male teachers……………………………..227 5.5.5. Life of male teachers……………………………………………………227 5.5.6. Disciplines that they study……………………………………………...227 5.5.7. Proportion of male and female teachers in department……………...228 5.6. Similarities among male and female teachers (Hua Jiang and Jinsong Gu) 5.6.1. Family background…………………………………………………….228 5.6.2. Academic degree for the recruitment…………………………………229 5.6.3. The same option to be a teacher………………………………………230 5.6.4. The same conditions of promotion…………………………………….230 5.6.5. For young teachers, career is the most important element…………..231 5.6.6. The same troubles………………………………………………………232 5.6.7. The older teachers have lower pressure than the young teachers…..233 5.6.8. Study abroad……………………………………………………………233 5.7. Differences among male and female teachers (Hua Jiang and Jinsong Gu) 5.7.1. Male and female teachers study different disciplines in the university period…………………………………………………………………..234 5.7.2. The educational degree………………………………………………...235 5.7.3. Different concerns of lives between male und female teachers….......235 5.7.4. More male leaders in university……………………………………….235 Chapter 6 Summary and conclusions (Hua Jiang and Jinsong Gu)238 Bibliography………………………………………………………..…244 Supplement............................................................................................255 1. Questionnaire.....................................................................................................255 2. Interview transcrpits.........................................................................................266 5 Abbreviations CCP Chinese Communist Party CERNET China Education Research Network CPA Certified Public Accountant EPO Education Planning Offices HEIs Higher Education Institutions MOE Ministry of Education NCEE National College Entrance Exam OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PRC People’s Republic of China SOHO Small Office, Home Office SED State Education Commission TFSA Taiwanese Feminist Scholars Association UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization UNNC University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China 6 Introduction This dissertation focuses on the situation of males and females in Chinese universities. This includes the allocation between males and females in different positions and disciplines, as well as an analysis of the reasons for these differences and the meaning of women’s involvement in universities. The dissertation consists of two parts. The first part is based on theories and previous research done by different researchers and could be seen as fundamental information to the subjects of the dissertation. The second part is an empirical study conducted by the authors, including a questionnaire, interview transcripts and the results of the study. There are four chapters in the theoretical part. The first chapter offers an overview of the Chinese education system, emphasising higher education, its history, forms and characteristics. The second chapter describes the students’ situation in Chinese higher education, including their distribution in different disciplines, socio-economic background and career aspiration. An important point in this chapter is the differences between male and female students. The third chapter focuses on recent developments in teacher training, with special attention to teachers in higher education. The last chapter deals with the female