Education and Reform in China

Transformative market reforms in China since the late 1970s have improved living standards dramatically, but have also led to unprecedented economic inequality. During this period, China’s educational system was restructured to support economic development, with educational reforms occurring at a startling pace. Today, the educational system has diversified in structure, finance, and content; it has become more market-oriented; and it is serving an increasingly diverse student population. These changes carry significant consequences for China’s social mobility and inequality, and future economic prospects.In Education and Reform in China, leading scholars in the fields of education, sociology, demography, and economics investigate the evolution of educational access and attainment, educational quality, and the economic consequences of being educated. Education and Reform in China shows that economic advancement is increasingly tied to education in China, even as educational services are increasingly marketized. The volume investigates the varying impact of change for different social, ethnic, economic and geographic groups. Offering interdisciplinary views on the changing role of education in Chinese society, and on China’s educational achievements and policy challenges, this book will be an important resource for those interested in education, public policy, and development issues in China.

Albert Park is Associate Professor of Economics and Faculty Associate of the Center for Chinese Studies and International Policy Center at the University of Michigan.

Emily Hannum is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is a member of the Graduate Group in Demography, the Graduate Group in Education, and the Center for East Asian Studies.

Part 1: Overview 1. Market Reforms and Educational Opportunity in China Emily Hannum, Albert Park and Kai-Ming Cheng Part 2: Finance and Access Under Market Reforms 2. School Equity in Rural China Wen Li, Albert Park and Sangui Wang 3. Emergence of Private Schools in China: Context, Characteristics and Implications Jing Lin 4. Educational Access for China’s Post-Cultural Revolution Generation: Enrollment Patterns in 1990 Rachel Connelly and Zhenzhen Zheng 5. Enrollment and Graduation Patterns as China’s Reforms Deepen, 1990-2000 Rachel Connelly and Zhenzhen Zheng 6. School Access in Rural Tibet Gerard Postiglione 7. Educational Attainment of Migrant Children: The Forgotten Story of Urbanization in China Yiu-Por Chen and Zai Liang Part 3: Educational Quality 8. The Growth and Determinants of Literacy in China Donald Treiman 9. Academic Achievement and Engagement in Rural China Emily Hannum and Albert Park 10. Supporting China’s Teachers: Challenges in Reforming Professional Development Lynn Paine and Yanping Fang 11. Incentives and the Quality of Teachers and Schools Weili Ding and Steven Lehrer Part 4: Marketization and the Economic Impact of Education 12. Returns to Education in Rural China Alan de Brauw and Scott Rozelle 13. Returns to Education in China’s Transitional Economy: Reassessment and Reconceptualization Wei Zhao and Xueguang Zhou 14. Rising Returns to Schooling in Urban China Junsen Zhang and Yaohui Zhao 15. In Books One Finds a House of Gold: Education and Labor Market Outcomes in Urban China Margaret Maurer-Fazio