School Education Development and Reform in Shanghai

By Dr. Dong Xiuhua

Professor & DirectorInstitute of Human Resource Development, Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences

xiuhua_dong@hotmail.com2010-9-20 Shanghai

Main contents

• China’s education at a glance

• Education development in Shanghai

• Main reforms of school education in Shanghai

• Some challenges for further development

• China’s education at a glance

6-3-3 School System

• The 6-3-3 school system was restored in the late 1970s.• 3 years kindergartens• 9 years Compulsory Education -6 years primary schools

-3 years middle schools• 3 years senior secondary schools -Academic Stream -Vocational Stream• 2-4 years college and university education• 3 years master study, and• 3 years doctor study

Periods of Education Development

Since the reform and door-opening policy been put into effect in 1978, China education has entered a new era of development. To the present, the new era of education has lasted for more than 30 years. And during this period, 4 sub-periods may be roughly divided as follows:

1978-1984;

1985-1992;

1993 till the present (the year of beginning of market-oriented economy);

2010-

3 milestones• In The Decision on the Reform of Educational System in 1985, the

government clearly affirmed that "Our country is a vast but imbalance one in its economic and cultural development levels" and so "the educational contents, methods" and "development paces and approaches" "should be in line with local conditions."

• In Feb. 1993, the Central Committee of CPC and the State Council issued Outline for Reform and Development of Education in China, which is the government policy for the educational development in the new period (from planned economy to the socialist market economy).

• After 2 years’ drafting process, in July 2010, the Central Committee of CPC and the State Council issued Outline of Long and Medium Term Plan of Educational Reform and Development in China, which set goal for the educational development till 2020.

Main Achievements

• Since 1949, particularly since the launch of the reform and door-opening policy ， China has established the modern educational system with the largest scale in the world.

• China has achieved the goal of basically universalizing 9 years compulsory school education and eliminating adult illiteracy

• At the end of 2009, net enrollment rate of primary education was 99.4% ， gross enrollment rate of junior secondary education was 99% ； that of senior secondary education was 79.2% ， and that of higher education is 24.2% (29.79 million college students in all in 2009).

Some indicators of educational development till 2020

• Basic universalization of pre-school education.• Gross enrollment rate at higher secondary education will reach 9

0%, and students at high schools will overpass 49 million.• Gross enrollment rate at higher education level will reach 40% ，

and students at colleges and universities will overpass 35 million. • Basic formation of learning society with all people learning and li

fe-long learning, participation rate of in-service training will overpass 20%.

• Average population at the age of 15 and above will receive near 11 years education, and new labor people will have 13 years education.

• Education Development in Shanghai

Some statistics (2009)

• 1111 kindergartens with 353800 children admitted

• 1513 primary and high schools with 1275000 students enrolled, including 751 primary schools with 671200 students, and 762 junior and senior high schools with 603700 students

• 109 secondary vocational schools with 166900 students

• 66 colleges and universities (including non-governmental and higher vocational schools) with 512800 students

Outline of Long and Medium Term Plan of Educational Reform and Development in Shanghai

• Started in October 2008, Shanghai is one of 8 provinces and municipals launched long and medium term plan drafting along with the national work, and put forward in Sep.2010

• Key tasks (partly):

--preschool education: for children’s happiness and development

--compulsory education: equal and high quality education for all

--high school education: prepare students with knowledge and skill for their sustainable development

--higher education: make students with more innovation and practice ability

--internationalization of education: equip students with international communication, understanding, cooperation, and competitive ability

--integrate of information technology and education: create more open and easy access learning environment for students

Some main indicators by 20202008 2012 2015 2020

Enrollment rate of 3-6 years old(%)

95 97 98 99

Complete rate of compulsory education(%)

93.1 95 96 99

Gross enrollment rate of upper secondary(%) 

90.0 95.0 97.0 99.0

Number of college students in 100 thousand population

4318 5100 5140 5200

International students to college students (%) 

6.2 9.0 11.0 15.0

Average education years of new labours

13.8 14.5 14.7 15

Proportion of diploma and above holders in 25-64 years old (%)

24.0 29.0 35.0 47.0

• Main reforms of school education in Shanghai

Compulsory education: promoting a well-balanced development

• 3 kinds of differences: rural-urban (economics structure, culture), among districts (government finance investment), among schools (reputation, teaching forces, equipments and students resource)

• In recent years, Shanghai has greatly promoted the well-balanced development of compulsory education, and done every effort to reduce the differences in education between the urban and rural area, among different education levels and varied schools.

• Building more schools devoted to compulsory education• Rendering greater help to schools in rural area• Exempting the students attending the program of

compulsory education from the comprehensive fees and textbook fees

Building more schools devoted to Com. Edu.

• Pushed standardized construction for primary schools and high schools, three-fourth school houses have undergone reconstruction

• Improved the facilities of junior high schools, poorly equipped schools have taken on a new look

• Improved the facilities in the schools located in outskirt of Shanghai, 400 schools have been re-equipped

Rendering greater help to schools in rural area

• Entrusted management: the schools in the rural area whose compulsory education task are relatively undesirable were rendered help by taking the advantages of the good educational resources in the urban area. 20 schools in 2007, 44 schools in 2009

• The program of information environment facilities in rural schools: part of the municipal objective program in 2007, 492 schools were equipped with information facilities

• Transfer payments to the poverty area: from 2005 to 2007, the municipal government invested 300 million RMB yuan each year on the compulsory education in remoter rural areas

• System of communication and cooperation in pairs: applied between 9 urban areas and 9 rural areas by signing contracts

Steps towards full-free compulsory education

• Exempting the students attending the program of compulsory education from the comprehensive fees and textbook fees

• Since 2006, the comprehensive fees for compulsory education used to be charged by public schools exempted;

• Since autumn 2007, textbook fees used to be paid by rural students for compulsory education exempted;

• Since Spring 2008, textbook fees and notebook fees exempted

The second-round curricular reform

• The first curricular reform and textbook reform were launched in 1988, and the second round reform was launched in 1998

• Attached importance to Basic Curriculum, Exploring Curriculum, and Research Curriculum, and laid emphasis on the concept of student’s development with an integral approach to student’s knowledge and skills, process and method, emotion attitudes and values

• First experimented on 179 schools and kindergartens• Since the autumn semester of 2004, 2005 and 2006

respectively, new curriculum and textbooks applied in primary, junior and senior high schools

• In the autumn semester of 2008, new curriculum and textbooks been used in all schools

• Some Challenges

Some Challenges

• Young teachers and female teachers

• Mis-match of educational resources and school age population

• New trends of school age children

Young teachers and female teachers

According to the statistics,

• more than 70% teachers in primary and secondary schools are below 40 years old, and 52.6% primary school teachers are bet

ween 31-40 years old.

• more than 74.2% teachers in primary and secondary schools are female

Average age of primary school teachers of S

hanghai, China and OECD （ % ）

Regions＜ =30Y

s31-40Ys 41-

50Ys51-60Ys

＞ 60Ys

Shanghai 20.7 52.6 15.6 11.0 0.1

China average 29.8 28.0 25.8 16.5 0.0

OECD average 16.1 26.0 29.8 25.0 3.2

Proportion of female teachers (%)

Shanghai Beijing Jiangsu Zhejiang China average

OECDaverage

primary school

74.2 78.8 53.8 63.2 55.2 79.0

junior school

64.2 73.3 43.1 50.4 47.0 65.7

senior school

77.4 68.7 40.7 45.2 44.2 52.1

Mis-match of educational resources and students residence

• As a result of urban reconstruction, a great part of school-age population moved from urban to rural area. About 65.13% students now living in 9 rural districts. And

• More than 400000 peasant workers’ school-age children moved with their parents together to Shanghai, and more than 80% gathered in rural area. But

• Schools in rural areas are relatively weak equipped and shortage in number. So

• The municipal government take measures to allocate new added educational resources to rural area. 400 kindergartens, 150 primary schools, 120 junior schools and 10 senior high schools or branch campuses will be newly built in rural areas and large residential areas.

Scale change of residential school-age students

上海市基础教育阶段在校生数预测

020406080100120140160180

小学初中高中

Scale change of residential school-age students

(in 10 thousand persons) Year Total

numberPrimary school Junior school Senior school

2007 127.31 46.98 36.68 43.65

2010 116.31 46.33 35.55 34.43

2012 117.11 49.11 36.80 31.20

2015 127.84 61.31 35.79 30.74

2020 154.78 71.50 53.15 30.13

• Number of primary school age students decreased in the last years, but will increase from 2011, and will amount to 715000 by 2020;

• Number of junior school age students will decrease before 2017, then increase promptly, and will amount to 531500 by 2020;

• Number of junior school age students will decrease as a whole trend, and will reach to 301300 by 2020

Thanks ！