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Teacher Education in the People’s Republic of China Rui Yang1 Introduction Modern teacher education usually takes two major forms: pre-service preparation and in-service professional development for those who are to be or already in the teaching profession in schools. China is no exception. Teachers in cotemporary China could be further categorised according to the source and structure of their pay: the state-paid teachers who are regarded as state employees with a regular salary comparable to other civil servants in the Chinese administrative system and the community-paid teachers whose income depends on the economic condition of the local community (Leung & Xu, 2000). What makes China’s practice in teacher education unique is that the Chinese civilisation had its long and rich traditions in teacher education. Traditional Chinese culture valued teachers as the most important player in transmitting knowledge and skills to students, and the most ideal role model for young people (Lo, 1984). The scope of China’s teacher education system is extensive. Its most popular contemporary teacher training educational institutions are called “normal” schools/colleges/universities, a term derived from France where “normale” means “setting a more standard or pattern” (Smith, 1982). While this is the result of China’s emulating French success of Normal schools in forming teachers for the public schools, the modern Chinese teacher education system has also been influenced by China’s ancient educational traditions. There are clear parallels between the values of China’s scholarly traditions and those of the normal schools. It is highly necessary to explore ways in which the Chinese scholarly traditions may enrich contemporary higher teacher education. China’s experience, especially in its normal universities and/or colleges, can shed some light on this important task (Hayhoe & Li, 2009). However, partially for linguistic reasons, perspectives on Chinese teacher education are sadly missing from contemporary debate (Gilroy, 2008). This chapter thus helps to correct that omission. It contributes to the compar-
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Rui Yang, Associate Professor, Comparative Education Research Centre, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, yangrui@hkucc.hku.hk. 117
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ative study of teacher education, and gives a platform to an important element of the international community of teacher educators.
1. Brief Historical Sketch Despite the fact that the Chinese have a long tradition of respecting teachers and attaching importance to education, there had been no real training system for the teaching profession. The term teacher education was adopted from Japan around the 1890s. The first school founded specifically for training teachers was two centuries after the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, which is often seen as the first Western normal school in France. The Nanyang University Normal Institute, founded in 1897 in Shanghai by Sheng Xuanhuai, was the first normal school for training professional teachers in China (The Editorial Board of Educational Almanac, 1948: 909). In 1902, China’s first independent normal school, Hubei Normal School, was established by Zhang Zhidong (Chen, 1981: 117). The same year witnessed the establishment of China’s first private and national normal schools, Tongzhou Private Normal School and the Imperial University Normal Institute respectively founded by Zhang Jian in Nantong and the late Qing government in the nation’s capital (Liu, 1984: 7-8). The institutionalisation of China’s modern teacher education started in the late 19th century. The first national legislation in 1902 covered teacher education. In 1904, teacher education was for the first time envisioned as an independent school system (Sun, 2000: 344). During 1912-1913, several legislations on schools were passed including the Teacher Education Act and the Normal School Regulations. Teacher education was gradually instituted at two levels: normal schools for training primary school teachers and normal universities or colleges for training secondary school teachers respectively at provincial and national levels. Despite the fact that China experienced civil and anti-Japanese wars for many years, the institutionalisation of a modern teacher education system and professionalisation of teachers were remarkably impressive, with 364 normal schools enrolling 48 793 students in 1937, and 902 schools enrolling 245 609 students in 1946 (The Editorial Board of Educational Almanac, 1948: 929-930). Shortly after the communist party came into power in late 1949, China’s new government set teacher education as a national priority. In 1951, the State Council required that teacher education systems be set up independently in the national school system, modelled entirely on the Soviet experience. From the early 1950s to the 1990s, teacher education in China generally had meant two separate systems for those who were to become school teachers: pre-service education and in-service 118
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training (Yang, Lin & Su, 1989). Pre-service education was provided by four types of normal institutions at three tiers: the top level normal universities prepared faculty members for other teacher institutions of higher education at lower levels; the second highest were the four-year undergraduate normal universities and colleges preparing teachers for senior secondary schools; the third were 2-3 years professional teacher colleges preparing teachers for junior secondary schools; and the fourth were the normal schools at secondary education level preparing teachers for primary schools and kindergartens. Meanwhile, provincial and regional colleges of education were responsible for in-service training. Since China started to implement its opening and reform policy in the late 1970s, a number of teacher education policies have been initiated by government to review the previous 30 years’ development of teacher education and the development and reform of teacher education was identified as the first priority in 1980 at the Fourth National Conference on Teacher Education. Teacher education became a national policy priority, with clearly defined targets and tasks in the new era for the first time. In 1983, primary, junior and senior secondary school teachers were required to complete respectively secondary, 2-3 years postsecondary and 4 years university-level teacher training programmes. In 1985, the historic document, the Decision on the Reform of the Education System issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE), designated development of teacher education as a key strategy in China’s educational reforms. In the same year, the National Conference on Secondary and Primary Teachers emphasised the targets, policies and procedures for building a contingent of teachers for basic education. In 1993, the Law of Teachers of the People’s Republic of China started a new round of teacher education reform. In the Programmes for Education Reform and Development in China issued by government in the same year, the Chinese government declared that government at all levels would increase their financial input to improve teacher education. In 1995, the State Council issued the Ordinance of Teacher Qualification. China’s rapid expansion of compulsory education and postsecondary education in the 1980s and the 1990s generated huge demand for qualified teachers. The Soviet model of an independent teacher education system could no longer meet the demand for a massive teacher workforce. In 1996, government emphasised teacher education again at its Fifth National Conference on Teacher Education as a strategic priority, and envisioned a teacher education system that relies on independent normal universities and colleges and complimented by comprehensive higher education institutions. Since 1999 when the Third National Conference of Education promulgated the Decision about Deepening the Reform of Education and Boosting the Quality of Education to encourage those higher education institutions that had not been involved in teacher education to engage in training teachers, the traditional bound119
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aries between “normal education” and those non-teacher education higher institutions have become blurred. Traditional universities and college of teacher training would no longer be the only legal institutions to train teachers (Shi & Englert, 2008: 348). In 2001, the State Council finally adopted “Teacher Education” for the first time to replace “Normal Education” in its executive circular, the Decision about Reform and Development of Basic Education (Zhang, 2000: 632-33, 643, 666, 722). Since then, the previous teacher education system that was independent and separate from other higher education institutions formed in the planned system since the higher education reorganisation in the early 1950s has been transformed into a more open and multi-institutional one (Yuan, 2004). This vision has charted a new direction for the restructuring of China’s teacher education system. It includes new participants who were excluded from the system such as non-normal higher learning institutions. Meanwhile, against an increasingly intensified globalisation, the Chinese government reorganises the crucial role of teacher education and relocates resources for its development.
2. Major Providers of Teacher Education According to China’s legal requirements, teachers for schools at different levels are trained by different educational institutions, and providers of pre- and in-service education of teachers are also divided. However, as noted above, recent reforms have blurred the dividing line. Since the 1990s, China’s teacher education has been undergoing radical transformations, moving from an independent, closed training system in which normal universities/provincial colleges of education were the sole providers of teacher education, to an open model in which both normal universities/provincial colleges of education and comprehensive universities provide the services. This transformation has had tremendous impact on teacher education institutions: the vision and mission of teacher education have changed significantly; teachers’ roles are redefined in order for them to respond to the new demands from the dramatically changing society; the “market” for preparing teachers is shared by various competitors; and new degrees, programmes as well as curricula are designed for prospective teachers. Teacher education programmes in China usually include qualification/certificate studies, undergraduate studies and graduate studies. China’s regular teacher education institutions for pre-service teacher training include normal universities and colleges, junior teachers’ colleges, and secondary and early childhood normal schools. 120
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2.1. Normal Universities and Colleges Funded publicly, normal universities and colleges are the main providers of preservice senior secondary school teacher training in China. It is also quite common for the graduates from such institutions to teach at other teacher training institutions. China’s normal universities and colleges are divided into two tiers: national key and provincial ones, with the latter as the overwhelming majority and enrolling the largest student body of teacher education nationally. They generally offer four-year undergraduate programmes. Some of them also provide three-year Master’s programmes. A few of them have three-year doctoral programmes. Increasingly these institutions also provide certain amount of in- service training for senior secondary school teachers and principals. Their students enrolled in undergraduate programmes are recruited from senior secondary school graduates based on the results of the Unified Higher Education Entrance Examination (UHEEE). Undergraduate curricula include general courses (political theories, foreign languages, educational and psychological studies, and physical education), specialised core courses based on their majors, and school practicum that usually lasts for six weeks. A dissertation is required for graduation. Each province has at least one of such institutions. Indeed, many provinces have a few normal universities and colleges. There are five national key institutions locating respectively in Beijing (Beijing Normal University), Shanghai (East China Normal University), and China’s northeast (Northeast Normal University), central (Central China Normal University), and northwest (Shaanxi Normal University) regions.
2.2 Junior Teachers’ Colleges Junior teachers’ colleges provide 2-3 years pre-service training programmes for junior secondary school teachers. Their curricula are identical to those offered by normal universities and colleges, with reduced depth and quantity. The graduates from the 3 years programmes are granted Diplomas in Education and those from the 2 years programmes are granted with Associate Bachelor degrees. The students are recruited from senior secondary school graduates through the UHEEE. Many of these institutions are being upgraded into normal universities or colleges, often consolidated with provincial/regional colleges of education.
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2.3. Secondary and Early Childhood Normal Schools Secondary and early childhood normal schools provide 3 years education programmes for pre-service training respectively for primary schools and Kindergartens / nursery teachers. The courses include political theories, language studies (Chinese and foreign languages), History, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Hygiene, Geography, Psychology, Educational Studies, teaching methodology, music, arts, and internship or practice of classroom teaching. Their graduates are granted Certificates in Education to be qualified for teaching at primary and preschool levels. Their students are recruited from junior secondary school graduates. While these schools used to be the major channel for primary school and Kindergartens / nursery teachers, they are being upgraded into normal professional colleges. In some places they are being shut down, as primary school teachers are increasingly required to have a college degree. Another reason for the reduced number of such schools is that when graduates from universities and colleges find it more and more difficult to find jobs in secondary schools in cities, they come to primary schools to find opportunities. In 2001, there were 570 normal schools enrolling 0.66 million students. By 2004, the number of secondary and early childhood normal schools had rapidly declined to 282 with 0.28 million students (The Editorial Board of the People’s Republic of China Yearbook, 2005: 752, 884). The institutions for in-service teacher training include colleges of education at provincial, county and city levels, teachers’ advancement colleges, and teachers’ schools for advanced study.
2.4. Provincial Colleges of Education Provincial colleges of education provide 3-4 years training programmes for inservice secondary school teachers. Similar to the curriculum at normal universities and colleges, the curricula include general courses (political theories, foreign language, educational and psychological studies, and physical education), specialised core courses based on majors, internship or practicum fieldwork, and a dissertation. The graduates from the 4 years programmes are granted a Bachelor degree, while those from 3 years programmes a diploma in education. Their students are recruited from in-service senior secondary school teachers, with the majority coming from rural areas. Each province in China has set up at least one college of education, usually located in the capital city of the province. Like normal universities and colleges, there are often quite a few such colleges of education in most of China’s provinces. 122
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This means within the provinces there are often colleges of education in their major cities. With a context of amalgamation in Chinese higher education, such provincial colleges of education are now being consolidated with normal universities and colleges or being upgraded into normal universities or colleges themselves. From 1998 to 2002, 55 such colleges were merged into normal universities or colleges or other higher education institutions (Gu & Shan, 2004: 103). Their numbers decreased from 122 in 2001 to 83 in 2004. During the same time period, their student body shrank from 304 000 to 194 000 (The Editorial Board of the People’s Republic of China Yearbook, 2002: 884; 2005: 752).
2.5. County / City Colleges or Teachers’ Advancement Colleges At county or city levels, there are some colleges of education or teachers’ advancement colleges. Their roles are similar to those of provincial colleges of education, with a reduced length of study of 2-3 years. Their curricula are also similar to those of provincial colleges of education with less depth and quantity. These institutions recruit in-service junior secondary schools teachers, with the overwhelming majority coming from rural areas. Their graduates are granted a diploma in education.
2.6. County Teachers’ Schools for Advanced Study County teachers’ schools for advanced study provide mature in-service primary and Kindergarten teachers with 2 years training programmes leading certificates that formally qualify them to teach at their schools. Although these schools used to be quite significant in China’s teacher training, they are being shut down or consolidated into the National Network for Teacher Education, a newly created national organisation for teacher education based on the Internet. As primary school teachers are increasingly required to have a college degree especially in cities, such teacher schools are understandably more likely to be seen operating in rural areas. Another reason for the disappearance of such schools is the decline of China’s school age student population, as the result of China birth control policy since the late 1970s. While there was a total of 0.18 million students enrolled in 1 703 county/local teacher schools in China in 2002 (The Editorial Board of the People’s Republic of China Yearbook, 2003: 807), no national statistics for such schools was categorised in 2004, implying that most of them had been closed or consolidated. In addition to the above providers of teacher education, comprehensive higher learning institutions are building their faculties or departments of education to train 123
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school teachers. By 2004, 315 comprehensive universities or colleges had set up teacher education programmes, enrolling a total of 0.48 million students (The Editorial Board of the People’s Republic of China Yearbook, 2005: 752). At the other end, there are some teachers’ supervisory centres at towns and villages which provide some non-certificate professional development programmes for the in-service school teachers in their localities. Meanwhile, in urban areas, the departments of teaching and research within the education bureaus at provincial and county levels also run some short training courses for their in-service school teachers often on some special topics in order to sustain implementation of the school curriculum and to improve teaching skills of teachers (Leung & Xu, 2000).
3. Some Critique of Recent Teacher Education Reforms Over the past two decades, teacher education in China has witnessed unprecedented changes occurring throughout the entire higher education system (Shi & Englert, 2008: 347). During this period of time, the Chinese government has issued a series of policy documents to promote its teacher education reforms, including: The Program for the Reform and Development of Education in China, the CPCCC and the State Council, February 1993. The Law of Teachers of the People’s Republic of China, the Standing Commission of National People’s Congress, October 1993. The Ordinance of Teacher Qualification, the State Council, December 1995. The Ninth Five-Year Plan for China’s Educational Development and the Development Outline by 2010, the State Commission of Education, April 1996. The Opinion on the Reform and Development of Teacher Education, the State Commission of Education, December 1996. The Action Plan for Educational Revitalisation Facing the 21st Century, the Ministry of Education, December 1998. The Opinion on Adjusting the Structure of Teacher Education Institutions, the Ministry of Education, March 1999. The CPCCC and State Council’s Decision on the Deepening of Educational Reform and the Full Promotion of Quality Education, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, June 1999. The Decision on the Reform and Development of Basic Education, the State Council, May 2001. The Guidelines for Basic Education Curriculum Reform, the Ministry of Education, June 2001. 124
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The Tenth Five-Year National Plan for Education, the Ministry of Education, July 2001. The Opinion on the Reform and Development of Teacher Education during the Tenth Five-year National Plan, the Ministry of Education, February 2002. The Rejuvenation Action Plan for Education 2003-2007, the Ministry of Education, February 2004. Central to these policy mandates is to improve the quality of China’s basic education. It is important to point out that these policy documents and the major measures to implement them are based on a number of theoretical understandings that are imported from Western countries. Among them, the modernisation and human capital theories are especially influential. The former believes that “to modernise is to develop, and that a society cannot hope to develop until the majority of its population holds modern values” (Fagerlind & Saha, 1989: 16). The latter views schooling as capital in the sense of raising earnings, and assumes that “education and training are the most important investments in human capital” (Becker, 1993: 17). Embracing these theories, the Chinese policymakers apply them to rationalise teacher education reforms (Ashmore & Cao, 1997: 70). The government believes that education contributes to China’s economic productivity and growth, and teachers are responsible for transforming average labourers into specialists and knowledge workers (Zhang, 1995: 149). It has therefore endeavoured to pursue a path to modernisation at all levels and in all aspects of the country, and has been committed to a number of modernisation projects including rapid socio-economic development, universalising compulsory education, expanding higher education, restructuring education system, and uplifting education quality. Reforming teacher education system is an integral part of these projects. The modernisation and human capital theories became two of the major ones on which China’s teacher education reform policies are based. The Chinese government has a linear equation: a better teacher education system prepares better teachers; better teachers improve the quality of schooling and student achievement; better education quality and student achievement bring about higher quality of labour force; and ultimately a higher quality labour force contributes tremendously to the nation’s social development and economic growth. The mutual enhancement of all these links has always been taken for granted. Based on such a simple, direct approach, the multiple tasks and strategies outlined by the Chinese policymakers in different periods have greatly shaped China’s teacher education reforms, of which the ultimate goal is to reconstruct and optimise China’s teacher education system in order to allow for diversity, produce a highly qualified teaching 125