China Education System: Past, Present, and Future

China Education System: Past, Present, and Future.

Jocelyn F. Smith

Global Operations and Strategy

School of Professional Studies

Professor: Emilio Iodice

It is hard to deny a country economic growth that has increased 9.3 percent in one year. China has made great contributions in growth to its income per capita, much faster than any other region in the world. This is a good move for a large country with a large rural population. China rural poverty population has decreased by a big margin. "According to China's national poverty line, rural poverty population has dropped from 250 million in 1978 to 28.2 million in 2002, decreasing by 88.7%. Poverty population has averagely decreased by 9.24 million per year. (Angang, Linlin, Zhixiao, 2004). The cost of living per capita per day is below $1.00, the World Bank estimates. China is the country with the largest population and has the largest poverty population, making unprecedented achievements in poverty reduction. The relationship between economic growth and poverty reduction is not simplistic. It is not the rate of economic growth but the quality of economic growth that actually plays an important role. Since the 1990s, the economic development of many developing countries, especially that of east Asia demonstrates that although economic growth plays an important supporting role in social development, rapid economic growth will still produce deconstructive effects on environment and resources. China's economic growth has tightly connected the country's development with the rest of the world in terms of expanding trade and investment ties. China has expanded as a market for raw material and component products from other countries and region. There growth has also increased their domestic markets that are now estimated to include up to 100 million middle and upper income (people earning $7,000 per year).

China has experience the largest population removing in the world since the policy of reform and open-up was carried out. This allowed population transference, in China case has transferred household from agricultural population to non-agricultural population, directly for recruiting personnel for employment from rural areas, such as graduates of junior college, technical secondary school, professional personnel, etc. Despite a low level of economic development, a large population, and considerable cultural and geographical diversities, China has made substantial achievement in education of its people since 1949. The development of China means opportunities to the world. Today's China is rapidly changing promise land. The development of China contributes to regional and world peace and stability and brings about vast cooperative opportunities and actual benefits. To quicken steps in its modernization endeavor and build on its developmental potentials. "China now is focusing its attention on the implementation of the national strategy of rejuvenating the nation through science, technology and education so that the huge population pressure could be turned into rich human resources." (Xiaoya, 2005). A highly educated population will contribute even more to the prosperity, peace and development of the world. Today, in China, education is still an important and effective way to raise one's social and economic status. Success in school, especially if one can pass the national university entrance examination, and then graduate from university, means that he or she could expect a better career with security and high income.

When Deng Xiaoping took the reins of power in China in the winter of 1960, he decided that the country's leadership could safely make economic growth their primary goal. "Deng recognized that to meet the goals of modernization it was necessary to develop science, technology, and information science, and advanced management expertise---were levied as a result of the reform of the economic structure and the emergence of new economic forms." (Dryer, Merchant 2005). Deng Xiaoping's far-ranging educational reform policy, which involved all levels of the education system, aimed to narrow the gap between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and other developing countries. A modernized education system was integral to a modernized China. Evolution of educational management from the central to the local level was the means chosen to improve the education system. Academically, the goals of reform were to enhance and universalized elementary and junior middle school education. Deng also wanted to increase the number of schools and qualified teachers; and to develop vocational and technical education. A uniform standard for curricula, textbook, examination, and teacher qualifications (especially at the middle-school level) was established. In the past two decades, the universalization of compulsory education has been a focus of educational policy in china. "Presumably compulsory education raises the quality of the people so that they can become more productive individuals and more informed citizens." (Tsang & Ding, 2005).

China seems like a mystery place to most of the western countries. It is necessary to go over the history of China and the Chinese educations system to see how and why they have transformed to the current educational system.

China has a history more then 4000 years. Officially, it began from the Xia dynasty at 2205 BC until now. The Chinese lived for many centuries in a closed world, with their own at the center. They developed a culture that had very little foreign influence for many centuries and the Chinese had no contact with other nations at similar level of development.

China is being constructed around the centrality of Chinese affairs and strongly defined by political and ethical values. The ethical or moral part of this worldview encompasses "relationships in societies and in the overall balance of world forces as well as in advance of retreat of right" (Cui 2005).

China has three philosophies: Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian. Of these, Taoism and Buddhism are religions. It is important to accept that Confucianism is not a religion.

" The traditional purpose of Chinese philosophy is seen to be different to that of Western philosophy in that it does not seek to increase man's knowledge of facts, but rather to elevate the mind and seek for higher moral values. Confucian philosophy undergirded traditional Chinese political thinking about government and rulers. Government was assumed monarchical and modeled in family life. The ruler both represented Heaven and a traditional father figure, and