This article was downloaded by: [Akdeniz Universitesi]On: 20 December 2014, At: 04:19Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Compare: A Journal of Comparativeand International EducationPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ccom20

Changes in Chinese education underglobalisation and market economy:emerging issues and debatesShibao Guo a , Yan Guo a , Gulbahar Beckett b , Qing Li c & LinyuanGuo da Faculty of Education , University of Calgary , Calgary , Canadab School of Education , University of Cincinnati , Cincinnati , USAc College of Education , Towson University , Towson , USAd Faculty of Education , University of Prince Edward Island ,Charlottetown , CanadaPublished online: 05 Sep 2012.

To cite this article: Shibao Guo , Yan Guo , Gulbahar Beckett , Qing Li & Linyuan Guo (2013)Changes in Chinese education under globalisation and market economy: emerging issues anddebates, Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 43:2, 244-264, DOI:10.1080/03057925.2012.721524

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2012.721524

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,

systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

Changes in Chinese education under globalisation and marketeconomy: emerging issues and debates

Shibao Guoa*, Yan Guoa, Gulbahar Beckettb, Qing Lic and Linyuan Guod

aFaculty of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada; bSchool ofEducation, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA; cCollege of Education,Towson University, Towson, USA; dFaculty of Education, University of PrinceEdward Island, Charlottetown, Canada

Fuelled by forces of globalisation, China has gradually shifted from acentrally planned economy to the ‘socialist market economy’. This studyexamines changes in Chinese education under globalisation and marketeconomy, focusing on the teaching and living conditions of teachers.The study reveals that the profound transformation of social andeconomic life has resulted in significant changes to education in China,as manifested in curriculum reform, increased disparity between ruraland urban education, marginalisation of minority education and lack ofaccessible and affordable education for the children of migrant workers.The recent changes have also had tremendous impact on teachers interms of their workload, payment, wellbeing, social status and teachingand living conditions. The study contextualises the concept of globalisa-tion by examining its impact on China through marketisation andprivatisation. Its analysis demonstrates a withdrawal of the state fromprovision and financing of public education. It also reveals a number ofsocial injustices and inequities whose reduction and elimination requirethe Chinese government to take immediate and active measures.

Keywords: globalisation; market economy; Chinese education; socialinjustice and inequity; migrant teachers; curricular reforms; minorityeducation; rural-urban disparity

Introduction

China resisted the pressures of globalisation until 1978, when the lateChinese leader Deng Xiao-ping launched the ‘open door’ policy that shiftedChina gradually to the ‘socialist market economy’. The first step in Deng’sreform was to liberalise the agricultural sector by introducing the householdresponsibility system to replace the collective commune. Measures were alsotaken to reform industry, partly through encouraging joint ventures with for-eign companies, though foreign direct investment did not take place until

*Corresponding author. Email: guos@ucalgary.ca

Compare, 2013Vol. 43, No. 2, 244–264, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2012.721524

� 2013 British Association for International and Comparative Education

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

the mid-1990s, when Deng made a trip to south China and proclaimed abold shift toward the market economy. Since Deng’s southern tour, Chinahas experienced unprecedented economic liberalisation, industrialisation,urbanisation and privatisation – all required by economic globalisation. Inparticular, following China’s joining the World Trade Organisation in 2001,and the subsequent completion of its market opening pledges in 2006, Chinahas formally entered the age of market economy (Huang 2008). Indeed, overthe past 30 years China has experienced ‘an economic miracle’ (Dutta 2006,xii) and a ‘massive, protracted and unexpected economic upsurge’ (Brandtand Rawski 2008, 1). In 2010, its economy became the second largest inthe world after the USA in terms of gross domestic product.

It is not clear, however, whether recent economic changes have broughtthe same ‘miracle’ to education in China. It is therefore the purpose of thisarticle to investigate changes in Chinese education under globalisation andmarket economy. To this end, we ask: What are the major changes inChinese education under globalisation and market economy? In particular,how has China’s market economy impacted upon the teaching and livingconditions of teachers? Related to this, what have these changes meant forthe workload, payment, wellbeing and social status of teachers? The articleis organised into three parts. It begins with a review of literature related toglobalisation, which provides the theoretical framework for this analysis. Itthen moves on to analyse emerging changes in Chinese education underglobalisation and market economy and their impact on teachers. It ends witha discussion and conclusion.

Understanding globalisation and China’s market economy

The genesis of contemporary globalisation can be traced to the early-1970sand the development of sophisticated information technology, economiccompetition from Japan, demise of the Bretton Woods Agreement and theoil crisis (Jarvis 2002). The term ‘globalisation’, however, is essentially acontested concept, a term whose definition is far from settled (McGrew2007; Robertson and White 2007). Attempts at definition focus on the fol-lowing dimensions: speed and time, space, processes and flows and increas-ing integration and interconnection (Ritzer 2007). Careful negotiation ofthese aspects leads Ritzer to a definition of globalisation as ‘an acceleratingset of processes involving flows that encompass ever-greater numbers of theworld’s spaces and that lead to increasing integration and interconnectivityamong those spaces’ (1).

One of the most contentious issues in the field of globalisation studiespertains to the significance of the nation-state in the era of globalisation(Ritzer 2007). Bruff (2005) summarises this debate into a ‘three-waves’analysis. The first-wave literature, characterised by a state-constraint per-spective, maintains that the state is severely restricted in what it can do as a

Compare 245

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

result of unprecedented changes caused by globalisation in the establishmentof global markets, prices and production. The state has been pushed into amarketised corner, attracting, facilitating and supporting capital. The secondwave, according to Bruff, argues that the change has not been overwhelmingand that the state’s capacity to autonomously adapt to new circumstances isstill considerable. It stresses the unexceptional characteristics of the presentera of globalisation, while also pointing to state capacity in exercising con-trols over both capital and labour. The first wave is criticised by Bruff asoverly structuralist, deterministic and narrowly focused, while the secondwave neglects the extra-state factors that have pride of place in the socialworld. Bruff argues that the third wave represents an important step forward.It seeks to move beyond the empirical focus of the previous two by askinghow globalisation is perceived and acted upon across space and time. Itproblematises not just the impact of globalisation, but the term ‘globalisa-tion’ itself. It posits that globalisation is deeply political, contested, contin-gent and complex. It focuses on how agents interpret and act upon theircircumstances. As Ritzer (2007) points out, what matter most from thisperspective are those constructions and not globalisation per se. Anotherimportant message this perspective conveys is that we should not reify glob-alisation because it is ‘not a thing, not an “it”’ (Robertson and White 2007,64). Robertson and White go on to state that recognising its conceptual sta-tus and understanding the global nature of the interest in the discourse aboutand the analysis of globalisation are more important than viewing it as anontological matter. It is this conception of globalisation, as a set of dis-courses that are consumed and reproduced as they are acted upon by partic-ular actors in particular circumstances, that provides the theoreticalframework under which the following analysis takes place.

In the current literature on globalisation, the neglect of the social dimen-sion is ‘rather glaring’, particularly with regard to questions of socialinequality, power and the global-local relationship (Robertson and White2007, 58). It is evident that globalisation from above favours open markets,free trade, deregulation and privatisation, all of which work for the benefitof wealthy nations and, moreover, the economic elite of these nations. Somescholars do draw attention to the ways in which markets and deregulationproduce greater wealth at the price of increased inequality (Appadurai2002). We are experiencing widening gaps between the ‘haves’ and the‘have-nots’ in global society, devastating environmental problems, decliningcivic participation and community and increasing mistrust and alienationamong citizenries (Welch 2001). Global capitalism, it seems, has created aglobal society that is unequal and unjust (Jarvis 2002). Another aspectdeserving of attention is the implications of globalisation for education. AsWelch (2001) points out, globalisation is having substantial effects oneducation, as manifested in the homogenisation, commodification andmarketisation of education. Furthermore, globalisation creates ‘a fragmented

246 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

and uneven distribution of just those resources for learning, teaching, andcultural criticism’ (Appadurai 2002, 273).

China’s reforms took place in the context where ‘globalization andneoliberal deregulation have taken place’ (Pieke and Barabantseva 2012, 4).They coincided with a new stage of globalisation in which further integra-tion of the world economy required China’s cheap labour, its abundantnatural resources and, increasingly, its gigantic consumer market. In thisview, China’s economic growth has fuelled and has been fuelled by forcesof globalisation (Davis and Wang 2009). As a result, China has experiencedunprecedented marketisation, privatisation, corporatisation and commodifica-tion (Mok 2005). As one dimension of globalisation, marketisation hastransformed China in many significant ways. Economically, China hasbecome the second largest economy in the world and a development model.There has been increasing interconnectivity and integration of China withthe rest of the world. It is important to note that China’s transformation hasgone beyond economics. Marketization has also led to fundamental realign-ments in the organization of society (Pieke and Barabantseva 2012). On theone hand, we witness the rise of new entrepreneurial and middle classes,urbanisation and changes in people’s lifestyles. On the other hand, as Piekeand Barabantseva remind us, China has experienced environmental degrada-tion, rural-urban migration, social unrest and contestation and incomeinequality. What concerns us most is the impact of globalisation and themarket economy on Chinese education, a topic that is under-researched. Weare interested in exploring to what extent and in what ways globalisationand the market economy have impacted education in China.

This article sets out in this wider conceptual and contextual frameworkto examine changes in education under China’s market economy. The studyconducts content analysis (Patton 2002) of publications in both print andelectronic forms, available in both English and Chinese, to discern salientpatterns pertaining to changes that have taken place in China since the intro-duction of the market economy. As a result, four recurring themes emergedfrom this analysis: curriculum reform, disparity in rural and urban education,marginalisation of minority education and migrant workers and their chil-dren’s education. In examining each of the themes, we pay close attentionto the impact of recent changes on teachers, including their workload,payment, wellbeing, teaching and living conditions and social status. Takenin turn, these themes provide a focus for the following sections.

Curriculum reform and its impact on teachers

As a requirement of and response to globalisation and the market economy,the Ministry of Education of China launched the New Curriculum Reformin June 2001, a reform of basic education unprecedented in modern Chinesehistory. After the planning and piloting stages, the new curriculum has been

Compare 247

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

being implemented in all grade schools in China since 2005 – this large-scale curriculum reform involving 474,000 schools, 10 million teachers and200 million students (China Education and Research Network 2011). Thephilosophy underpinning the new curriculum, it is claimed, aims ‘for eachstudent’s development’ (Zhong, Cui, and Zhang 2001) and calls for transfor-mative changes in all areas of Chinese education system, includingeducational philosophy, curricula structure and administration, curricula stan-dards and content, pedagogy, the development and use of curriculumresources, curricula assessment and evaluation, curricula administration andteacher education and development (Guo 2010). These required changesrepresent a radical departure from traditional Chinese education.

To illustrate, in 2001 China decided to make English compulsory inelementary schools from Grade 3 upwards. The Ministry of Education issueda document entitled ‘Guidelines for Promoting English Teaching in Elemen-tary Schools’, which replaced the focus of the 1999 curriculum on receptiveskills like reading with a new emphasis on the productive skills for interper-sonal communication (Ministry of Education 2001). Furthermore, a new Eng-lish language curriculum for senior secondary schools was published by thePeople’s Education Press in April 2003, notable for including both a ‘human-istic’ and an ‘instrumental’ aim of English education (Wang 2006), therebyreinforcing moves away from learning the four language skills of listening,speaking, reading and writing to developing intercultural abilities and present-ing China to the world in English (Ministry of Education 2003).

The recent English curriculum reform is strongly influenced by economicglobalisation forces as the nation attempts to shape its education system toprovide those skills needed in the growing global economy. Cen Jianjun(1998), a Ministry of Education official in charge of foreign language educa-tion, states, ‘Foreign language teaching is not a simple issue of teaching. Itbears direct influence on the development of China’s science, technology,and economy, and the improvement of the quality of reform’ (as cited inCai 2006, 3). The Chinese government views the learning of English as par-amount in the nation’s attempt to become competitive in the global market.In large cities such as Shanghai, the economic capital of ‘foreign language’is ‘a prerequisite for turning the municipality into a world-class internationalmetropolis’ (Shanghai Curriculum and Teaching Material Reform Commis-sion 1999, 3). Under China’s market economy, English has become arequirement for decent employment, social status and financial security. Col-lege graduates with competence in their own discipline plus good Englishskills are more likely to find employment than those who lack such skills inforeign enterprises, joint ventures and cooperatively run enterprises, whichoffer highest starting salaries (Gao 2009; Yang 2006). English is also a pre-condition for promotion, and many professionals invest heavily in Englishlanguage learning because it is used as a yardstick to measure general com-petence (Xie 2004). One administrative assistant in a technology company

248 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

in Beijing stated that his desire to improve his English was to achieve socialmobility and get better pay: ‘those with a good command of English usuallyhave more choices and chances … to be promoted to an upper level of thesociety’ (Li 2009, 214).

In addition to English, another example of radical change in the nationalcurriculum reform is science, which became a new compulsory subject inelementary schools and an integrated subject in secondary schools. Tradi-tionally, science education in China only focused on knowledge transmissionand acquisition. The new science curriculum renews the objectives of sci-ence education and requires students to be developed in five areas, includinglatest scientific topics and knowledge, inquiry and problem solving skills,creative and critical thinking skills, abilities in applying science into real lifesituations and positive attitudes towards science. These skills are clearly sta-ted as the fundamental skills needed in the growing global economy anddemonstrate the strong influence of globalisation on Chinese education, withpressure to comply with international standards. Similarly, massive changeshave also occurred in other subject areas, such as language, arts and health.

The changes demanded by the new curriculum are clearly not easy tomake for Chinese educators because they involve transformative changes intheir understanding of teaching and learning, in educational pedagogies andrelationships and in their professional identities. Teachers are required tobecome thoughtful and tactful pedagogues with capacities of thinking, intro-spection, reflecting, accepting and appreciating the complexity of the new cur-riculum and its application to their situations. For Chinese teachers, who aretraditionally trained and developed in an examination-driven and competi-tively-selective atmosphere under an elitist education system, these changesare not easy and natural. Instead, they have to be deliberately appreciated,guided and sought in both pre-service and in-service teacher education pro-grammes. For many Chinese teachers, the massive curriculum change meanttremendous pressure, dilemmas, ambivalence and constraints, as well as otherpsychological and pedagogical struggles (Guo 2010). It also meant newdevelopmental process for Chinese teachers’ professionalism, including form-ing new understandings of curriculum, rethinking the purposes of educationand developing new strategies to enhance pedagogical relationships andinstructional efficiency. Constrained by the unchanged exam-based evaluationsystem and limited professional development opportunities and resources,Chinese teachers are implementing the new curriculum with much psycholog-ical and pedagogical struggle (Li and Ni 2011).

Identity change has been identified as the most difficult challenge forteachers during this dramatic curriculum reform (Lee, Yin, Zhang, and Jin2011; Wang 2006). In China, a society characterised by its very long historyof a strong collective culture, identity has always been defined as collectiverather than individual. The need of teachers to maintain a collective identitycannot be ignored and devalued, as it reflects deeply-rooted cultural and

Compare 249

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

social traditions. Such collective urges are not, however, to be glorified – con-temporary Chinese are only too familiar with the danger of emphasising thecollective over personal autonomy. A collective teaching identity comes at acost of suppressing teachers’ individual needs, wants and desires. This realitycauses intolerable contradiction between what teachers are expected to do andwhat they want to do as individuals. Meanwhile, many teachers reported thattheir capabilities, experience and pedagogic wisdom, accumulated throughprior educational practice, are undervalued (Guo 2010). Teachers long formeaningful ways to maintain their self-esteem in new personal and profes-sional identities and to deal with the conflicts between the new roles estab-lished by the new curriculum and their ‘old’ identities. Consciously andunconsciously, they constantly reflect on who they are, what they can dowithin the current school and social structure and how much they would liketo invest in implementing the new curriculum.

Other impacts of this education reform are reflected in teachers’ employ-ment and working conditions. The new and high standards of teaching andlearning have made many teachers feel unqualified and depressed because ofthe job insecurity. The greatly extended working hours and heavy workloadrequired for professional development courses and workshops havedecreased teacher’s job satisfaction and teachers’ enthusiasm towards effec-tive curriculum implementation. Typically, these workshops are either simplylectures or seen as ‘divorced from reality’ (Guo 2010, 210), suggesting alinear movement in copying curriculum-as-plan into teaching practices.Teachers who participate in these types of professional development sessionsquite frequently experience disappointment and a sense of failure, dissatis-faction and loss in practice, and eventually turn back to their old ways ofteaching. Their voices and feelings tend not to be recognised or appreciatedin the process of curriculum administration and implementation.

Disparity of education in rural and urban areas

As discussed earlier, one of the consequences of globalisation is the widen-ing gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ in global society, particu-larly in developing countries. Many studies have explored this phenomenonin different countries, for example, Aref (2011) in Iran and Giroux, Jah andEloundow-Enyegue (2010) in sub-Saharan Africa. A common thread identi-fied in this discussion about growing inequality, regardless of the country, isthe urban and rural differences. In fact, spatial segregation is considered as amain character of globalisation because it continually enlarges the existingdifferences between global elites and the local majority (Harvey 2003).

Under China’s market economy, this is manifested in the disparity betweenrural and urban education, an issue that has been researched by Chinese andinternational scholars (Knight and Shi 1996; Tan 2003; Wang and Li 2009;Zhang 2007). Knight and Shi (1996) explored urban-rural disparity, demon-

250 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

strating that rural schools have not only significantly less funding but alsomore decentralised funding than their urban counterparts. Disparity is alsomanifested in ethnic and gender discrimination. For urban-dwellers under 30years of age, no significant difference was identified between men’s andwomen’s education attainment. For women, however, rural residence leads todifferential educational outcomes. ‘National minorities’ (i.e., members offormally recognised ethnic minorities) face multiple disadvantages. Alreadylagging behind urban dwellers, they also find themselves at a disadvantagewith respect to their rural neighbors, this ‘despite … policies of positivediscrimination’ (115).

The market economy has failed to bridge the gulf between rural andurban education in several respects. A recent study of compulsory educationin West China found a large gap in quality between rural and urban schools(Wang and Li 2009). The data shows that many rural elementary schoolsstruggle to achieve even the basic requirements of the curriculum. Ingeneral, student performance in rural schools is significantly poorer than thatof urban students in various subjects including maths, English and Chineselanguage arts. Rural-urban disparity is also found in the high dropout andlow graduation rates of rural students at both elementary and high schoollevels. Wang and Li hold that teaching quality is the key contributing factorto such discrepancies. The issue of leadership cannot be ignored. In ruralschools, research and teaching reforms are hard to develop and put intoeffect in part because county and township officials do not understand theimportance of development of teaching research and hence have failed todevelop teaching research capacity.

On the contrary, the intensification of globalisation and the market econ-omy in China has further widened the rural-urban disparity in education.Wang (2011) maintains that globalisation has allowed urban regions to gainsignificantly more than their rural counterparts, resulting in huge regionalgaps. Such gaps are reflected in both economical and educational aspects(e.g., educational attainment, academic achievement). Rural populations onlyget an average of 7.25 years of schools, while the city residents receive about10.25 years of education. Universities accept only 1% of rural students, ascompared to 14% of urban students. With all the good intentions, several stud-ies have concluded that the New Curriculum Reform failed to bridge and, tocertain extent, even widened, the rural-urban gaps in education (Wang 2011;Yu, X. 2005, 2006). The new curriculum and the companion textbooks sup-press rural life and emphasise ‘student aspirations to industrialized, city andmodern life’. Furthermore, the globalisation and market economy have chan-ged resource allocation, which, consequently, has impacted on the employ-ment of college graduates (Lai, Tian, and Meng 2011). Rural students, again,are disadvantaged because they have fewer resources at their disposal. Ruralfamilies, poorer than their urban counterparts, therefore have limitedresources, such as access to the Internet, visiting museums or travelling

Compare 251

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

abroad, to support rural students’ further development. Rural students, remotefrom political, cultural and economic centres, have less opportunity to findjobs, let alone good jobs. Also, urban students have better extended cognitiveand social skills (e.g., ability to plan, organise, solve problems and work inde-pendently), which are strongly connected with employment capability (Li2010).

With respect to rural teachers, they are poorly trained and have lessopportunity for professional development and support compared to theirurban counterparts (Wang and Li 2009). Rural schools also have fewer lead-ing teachers and are more likely than urban schools to suffer from teachershortages. What is more, rural teachers tend to be older and less motivatedto modify and advance their teaching skills and repertoire (Bao 2006; Wangand Li 2009). As a result, many rural teachers have to teach subjects thatare not consistent with their college or university majors, a phenomenon ofminimal significance in town and city schools.

Teacher wellbeing has also been identified as an issue in studies ofmental health (Gao and Yuan 1995; Liao and Li 2004; Zhang and Lu 2008).Such studies find that, although the rates vary, psychological problemsamong teachers are surprisingly common. These problems include, but arenot limited to, depression, anxiety, disturbance of interpersonal relations andbehaviour problems at work. Considering the varied findings in the existingliterature on the mental health of Chinese teachers, Zhang and Lu (2008)quantitatively synthesised and systematically reviewed teacher’s mentalhealth research in China since 1994. Their meta-analysis reveals that ruralteachers have more severe mental disorders and identifies a number of keycontributing factors. First, rapid changes in the social and political environ-ment and various types of social transition have severely affected teachers.Second, conflict between different cultures and values has intensified, alongwith abrupt changes in cultural philosophy. Third, the restructuring of theschool system in general, resulting high expectations and competition is asource of stress. Fourth, constant change in information technology and thedevelopment of mass-media opens teachers’ eyes to a broader world, aworld in which the risk of falling behind leads to anxiety.

Research exploring the impact of the transition from a planned to a mar-ket economy in China has also focused on the reform of teachers’ employ-ment system, namely from the traditional Tongyi Fenpei (TF, unifiedplacement of all graduates) to Jiaoshi Pinren Zhi (JPZ, a free contractemployment system). In the 1980s, western scholars had already observedthe problem of regional brain drain and the potential for development ofinequity in education as a result of the 1985 educational reform in China(Bakken 1988; Lewin and Xu 1989). Since the 1990s, Chinese researchershave also paid attention in this field, producing studies that reveal educa-tional inequality, particularly between urban and rural schools (Bao 2006;Fan, Zhang, and Zhang 2002). Niu (2009) reviewed literature on the reform

252 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

of the teacher employment system and concluded that although the transitionfrom the TF to JPZ enhanced teachers’ motivation and working efficiency, ithas nonetheless resulted in a country-to-city brain drain of veteran teachers.This has consequently led to a significant gap in teaching quality betweenrural and urban regions. Rural teachers, compared to urban teachers, notonly have lower salaries (sometimes left in arrears for long stretches of time)and no bonuses, worse medical care and fewer funding and training opportu-nities, but also teach more students in larger classes with fewer resourcesand worse conditions. Such disparities are the cause of the ‘brain drain’, theflow, that is, of rural veteran teachers to urban schools.

Chinese minority education and teachers

The recent economic, social and political changes in China impact Chinesesociety in general, and its more than 113 million members of minority popu-lations in particular (Beckett and Postiglione 2010). These changes, naturally,have implications for the teaching profession, for teachers and their welfare,with the rapid change in the market economy. Teaching is often seen as anhonorable profession, but one that comes with few benefits. This is particu-larly true in China’s Northwestern areas, where minority teachers are believedto work on jobs that are harder than those of other teachers but with fewer orno benefits. This has resulted in a high teacher turnover rate and has impactedstudents’ educational development negatively (Chang and Lu 2006). Postigli-one (2002) holds that teacher shortages, low salaries, heavy workloads andpoor housing are the major issues of concern, and calls for career incentives,improved recruitment strategies, restructured training programmes, mentoringprogrammes, salary increases and better work conditions.

There is ample evidence revealing that a shortage of qualified minorityteachers is a serious issue in China (Ma 2009; Pan 2009; Tsung, Wang, andHang 2012; Zhou 2012). Zhou (2012), for one, maintains that many teachersin Northwestern China’s Gansu Province are not qualified to teach. Themajority of teachers in Dongxiang County, for example, are graduates of thelocal secondary normal school, with inadequate preparation as teachers. Thisis obviously a complex problem, but a number of causes are key. Primaryamong these is that highly qualified teachers find little incentive to teach inminority areas in Northwestern China. Those who do accept teaching posi-tions there tend to quickly transfer to county level and/or urban area schoolsfor better salary and benefits (Wen 2009). Graduates from minority areasusually look for opportunities in the more developed coastal areas of thecountry rather than going back to teach in their hometowns (Pan 2009).Many graduates of teacher training programmes would rather settle forpart-time work in the cities than take up teaching in their rural hometowns(Yu, L. 2005). This leaves rural schools with almost no teachers with post-secondary education (Pan 2009).

Compare 253

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

What else contributes to the teacher shortage? An aging teaching force,poor working conditions, heavy workload, few training opportunities andpoor salary and housing seem to be the biggest contributors. Poor workingenvironments and work-related stress contribute to a high teacher turnoverrate among minority teaches (Chang and Lu 2006; Li 2004; Zhou 2012). Insome rural minority schools, more than half of the teachers are over 40years of age and carry a weekly teaching load of over 20 hours (Pan 2009).Isolation and poverty exacerbate this problem. Because many minorityteachers live in poor mountainous areas where there is no transportation,some walk an hour or more to work (Zhou 2012). Many minban teacherswith dual identity as teacher and farmer also maintain responsibilities asfarmers on allocated land that must be worked (Zhou 2002). School is oftencancelled during harvest seasons because such teachers are not available toteach (Pan 2009).

As discussed in Sutherland and Yao (2011), precise comparison of anysalaries in China is difficult, if not impossible, due to inconsistencies orabsence of systematic income reporting system. However, there is consen-sus in the literature that large differences and inequalities exist, especiallybetween coastal eastern regions and metropolitan cities such as Beijing,Shanghai and Tianjin inhabited by the majority Han that has much higherper capita incomes than the western regions inhabited predominantly byminority people. For example, by citing the UNDP (2010) and UNDPChina (2008) reports, Sutherland and Yao (2011) illustrate the differencesas follows:

China’s most developed regions, such as Shanghai and Beijing, would rankin within the top 30 nations in the world in terms of their human develop-ment indexes (the HDI is a composite measure of development involvinghealth, education and income). These regions stand at around 0.8. TheirHDI is similar currently to Portugal, the Czech Republic or Malta. Theleast developed provinces (such as Guizhou and Tibet), by contrast, wouldrank at around 125 in the world (at 0.6 similar to Tajikistan, Cambodia orLaos).

Such discrepancies and inequalities are reflected in teacher salaries andwelfare, too. Unlike their coastal counterparts, who benefit from theeconomic boom as a result of China’s market economy, closely tied to glob-alisation, minority teacher's salaries, particularly those of teachers who workin poor rural areas, are very low. Substitute teachers are paid less, evenalthough they do the same work. Minban teachers, by contrast, earn onlyhalf the salary of their gongban counterparts (Chang and Lu 2006). Over57% of minority teachers in Gansu Province, Chang and Lu argue, earn lessthan 1000 yuan ($120 US) a month, 24.4% of whom earn less than 230yuan monthly ($30 US). The situation for minority substitute teachers iseven more dire, as the following figures demonstrate. Monthly salaries in

254 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

Hexi Prefecture of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region range from 45yuan (about $6 US) to 227 yuan (about $30 US), averaging 81 yuan (about$11 US) (Guo 1995). All substitute teachers in Dongba, Ma’an and Du’ancounties earn less than 60 yuan (less than $9 US) a month. The situationbecomes starker still when one recognises that most substitute teachers workonly short-term assignments during several months of the year. Zhang’s(2008) survey of Weiyuan County in Gansu Province reveals that asubstitute teachers’ monthly salary ranges from 40 to 80 yuan (about $5–10US) and over 70% earn only 40 yuan, the same salary that some haveearned for over 20 years. Zhang also found that the average monthly salaryof the 9936 substitute teachers in 172 townships in Guangxi AutonomousRegion was 81.6 yuan (about $11 US). The same teachers in Yunnan Prov-ince earn 113.99 yuan (about $13 US).

Worse yet, although minority substitute teachers do the same work aspermanent teachers, they do not have the same medical insurance, unem-ployment insurance, retirement benefits and housing allowance that thelatter do, leading to resentment and high teacher turnover (Zhang 2008).We are urged to ask what contributions teachers living and working insuch conditions can make to Northwestern regions’ educational develop-ment and how such poor conditions impact teaching quality (Shang, Liu,and Liu 2008). Despite the central government’s call for teacher welfareimprovement, minority teachers in minority areas also face poor housingconditions. Limited budgets mean that housing is allocated to two-teacherhouseholds only. As the majority of teachers in poor minority areas aresingle, they tend to be excluded (Zhou 2002, 2008). Zhou’s (2008) sur-vey of rural teachers’ living conditions shows that a majority of schoolshave no housing arrangement for teachers. Most teachers live in decrepitold classroom-cum-houses with minimal furnishings. Years of neglecthave left these mostly mud-brick and wooden houses structurally dam-aged and nearly uninhabitable.

In addition, rural minority teachers’ heavy workloads include non-teach-ing duties. This happens in situations of dual-supervision by both thecounty bureaus of education and xiang/township governments. This isproblematic because while the bureaus of education issue teaching assign-ments, xiang/township departments assign additional non-teaching taskssuch as managing employment services, surveying rural surplus labourersand registering labourers for various training programmes, all of whichteachers must perform successfully lest they forfeit part of their wages. Attimes, additional work, such as cleaning, gardening and campus securitywatch, is expected of these teachers (Ma 2009). Needless to say, not manypeople want to be teachers under such conditions. Those who do take upteaching positions in rural minority areas tend to transfer to the betterfunded and managed urban areas, leaving rural schools to substitute teach-ers (Li 1999; Pan 2009; Yu, L. 2005).

Compare 255

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

Migrant workers and their children’s education

Migrant workers provide the temporary, abundant, cheap and exploitablelabour that continues to fuel much of China’s economic boom under itsmarket economy. Originating mainly in rural areas, they work variously inthe urban construction industry, in manufacturing and in food and domesticservices. A recent census of China reveals that China’s migrant populationreached 221 million in 2011 (National Bureau of Statistics of China 2011).This enormous ‘floating population’ is claimed by some to be the largest inhuman history (Fishman 2005). Pieke and Barabantseva (2012) argue that theissue of the floating population in China is couched in the teleology of mod-ernisation, although rural migrants still remain a permanent exception to theenduring legacy of high socialist fixed residence and employment. Like manycountries in the world, migration in China is ‘a requirement of, a response toand a resistance against, global institutional transformation and integration ofthe world economy’ (Jordan and Düvell 2003, 63). While globalisation hascontributed to the widening gap between the northern and southern countriesinternationally, within China it has exacerbated the gap between the eastcoast and western regions. Such forces continue to push and pull migrantsfrom the rural hinterlands to coastal cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou,Shenzhen, Beijing and Tianjin. It is estimated that another 300 million peopleare expected to move in the next three decades, particularly from rural tourban areas (National Bureau of Statistics of China 2011).

Despite the indispensable contributions migrant workers have made toChina’s booming economy, their social and political status remains low. Theywork long hours, typically at the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs, and, inmany cases, are ‘underpaid or even unpaid after months of hard work’ (Lo2007, 138). In some places, overdue or defaulted payments to migrant workersdrive social unrest (Xiang 2004). Outside of the workplace, integration intourban life means facing countless barriers (Guo and Zhang 2010). Institutionaland economic barriers deny migrants access to affordable public housing,leaving many to live in ‘migrant enclaves’ officially regarded as ‘slums orshantytowns’, zones of ‘chaotic land use, dilapidated housing, severe infra-structure deficiency, intensified social disorder, and unsightly urban eyesore’(Zhang 2005, 250). As a result, a new urban underclass consisting of migrantworkers has developed in many Chinese cities (Solinger 2008).

While many migrants are temporary sojourners, some bring families tothe cities. One prominent issue facing migrant families concerns migrantchildren’s access to education (Liang and Chen 2007, Lu 2007, Zhu 2001).Given the transient nature of migration, it is difficult to assess precisely thenumber of migrant students. It is estimated that approximately 20 millionmigrant school-aged children have accompanied their parents in relocatingto cities in China (Wong, Chang, and He 2009). Whatever the number, whatis clear is that, despite the promise of China’s education law to provide

256 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

equal access to nine years of compulsory education for all school-aged chil-dren in China, migrant children are often deprived of such opportunitiesbecause they do not have urban household registration, or hukou, a segre-gated system that was put in place in the late-1950s to regulate rural-urbanmigration (Chan 2010; Li and Chui 2010; Zhang 2010). Research showsthat migrant children are much less likely to be enrolled in school comparedto bendi (local) children (Liang and Chen 2007). Liang and Chen also pointout that migrant children suffer most during the first year of migration, whenschool enrollment rate is only 60%. As a group, it takes five years formigrant children to reach parity with local students in school enrollment.Until recently, to gain admission to local public schools, migrants wererequired to pay any number of extra fees, including ‘education endorsementfees’ (jiaoyu zanzhu fei 教育赞助费), ‘education rental fee’ (jiaoyu jiedu fei教育借读费), ‘education compensation payment’ (jiaoyu buchang fei 教育补偿费) and ‘school choice fee’ (zexiao fei 择校费), usually amounting tothousands of yuan. This broad-stroke portrait of barriers to migrant chil-dren’s education perhaps obscures substantial regional variations. Surpris-ingly, migrant children in more coastal regions and in destinations with highlevels of development and a high concentration of migrants (e.g., Shanghai,Guangdong) tend to experience more barriers to education. Local govern-ments in these regions are more likely to impose rigid control measures as away of deterring permanent settlement of migrant families (Lu 2007). AsZhu (2001) explains, local governments are concerned that financial supportfor migrant schools might lead to a drastic expansion of the migrant popula-tion and, thus, further burdens for the local school infrastructure.

Clearly, public schools are less than accessible to and affordable formigrant children. For many, the only option has been to enroll their childrenin unlicensed, under-funded and inadequately staffed schools specifically formigrant children (Inwin 2000; Kwong 2004; Woronov 2004). In Beijingalone, for example, it is estimated that there are between 200 and 300migrant schools (Inwin 2000). While some proprietors of such schools aremotivated by a desire to provide an affordable education for migrant chil-dren, others are driven by profit motivations or simply by the need to makea living – some by a combination of these. Whatever the motivation, theseschools lack the good conditions of the local public schools. Many of themare shanty schools housed in makeshift sheds that are overcrowded andunsafe (Kwong 2004; Zhu 2001). Furthermore, as Kwong (2004) notes,lighting is poor and air circulation inadequate. They do not have facilitiesfor extracurricular activities and lack clean drinking water and adequatelavatory facilities. In addition, the pedagogical standards are low and do notmeet government requirements. They lack qualified teachers, adequateequipment, books and other teaching materials. More importantly, they oper-ate without governmental recognition or support because they are seen as anencroachment on government jurisdiction (Li et al. 2010). Moreover, as

Compare 257

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

Woronov (2004) explains, migrants and their children are seen to embodyremnants of a weak and backward China and, hence, do not deserve therecognition as equal citizens to receive a free education.

Discussion and conclusion

This study set out to examine changes in Chinese education under globalisa-tion and the market economy, with a focus on the teaching and livingconditions of teachers. The study reports that, fuelled by forces of globalisa-tion, China has gradually shifted from a centrally planned economy to oneof a socialist market economy. As a result, China has experienced unprece-dented economic liberalisation, industrialisation, urbanisation and privatisa-tion. This profound social and economic transformation continues to posesignificant challenges to education in China, as manifested in curriculumreform, disparity between rural and urban education, marginalisation ofminority education and lack of accessible and affordable education formigrant children. The study reveals that recent changes in education havehad a tremendous impact on all facets of teachers’ lives and work, includingtheir workload, income and benefits, wellbeing and teaching and living con-ditions. Curriculum reform in China has brought teachers tremendous pres-sure, dilemmas, ambivalence and constraints, as well as psychological andpedagogical struggles in the process of curriculum implementation. Further-more, China’s ‘economic miracle’ has not improved working and living con-ditions for teachers in significant positive ways. On the contrary, the statusof teachers, particularly those in rural and minority areas, has deteriorated. Itis evident that schools in rural and minority areas have significantly fewerresources than their urban and coastal counterparts. As a consequence,teachers in these areas are paid less, live in poor housing conditions, faceheavy workloads and suffer from psychological disorders. In urban areas,roaring housing price and high inflation rate have forced many teachers intoprivate tutoring to seek extra income to make ends meet (Bray 2006).

This study raises questions about even more important issues than those itinitially targeted. Through an account of changes in education under China’smarket economy, this study contextualises the concept of globalisation byexamining its impact on China through forces of global capitalism. It isevident that China’s economic growth has fueled and has been fueled by themost recent expansion of global capitalism (Davis and Wang 2009). As aresult, China has experienced unprecedented marketisation, privatisation,corporatisation and commodification (Mok 2005). One area in which suchchanges take place is social policy and welfare development in general, andeducation reform in particular. Under the market economy, Mok (2005)argues, China introduced fundamental value changes by privatising andmarketising social policy and social welfare, shifting China from a universaland state welfare model to a market-based model. In this process, the actual

258 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

finance, delivery and provision of social policy rests with the market. Assuch, the Chinese government has successfully downloaded social welfareand social policy responsibilities to society. According to Mok, the recentchanges in social policy form a stark contrast to those in the Mao’s era, whichupheld the social ideals of equality and safeguarded people’s basic needs.

Education, one of the most important social policies, is not exempt fromthe pressures of global capitalism. Under China’s market economy,education is also undergoing the process of marketisation and privatisationin terms of orientation, provision, curriculum and financing (Chan and Mok2001). Chan and Mok identify four features of education under China’s mar-ket economy: the rise of private or non-government schools, funding fromnon-state sectors, an increasing number of self-paying students and market-driven curricula. In this process, education has adopted the fee-paying prin-ciple and reduced state provision and has been driven by revenue-generatingcourses and programmes. As such, education has become a commodity andschools are run like businesses. As Chan and Mok (2001) argue, the ‘userpay’ principle and the rise of non-state provision in China suggest a with-drawal of the state from provision and subsidy of public education. Thewithdrawal of the state responsibility is evident in the case of education formigrant children, who have to pay high additional fees to enter publicschools or alternatively have to be enrolled in unlicensed, under-funded andinadequately staffed schools specifically for migrant children. Furthermore,the curriculum reform also illustrates the market-driven orientation that priv-ileges practical and applied knowledge for the preparation of graduates forthe labour market. It is evident that market economy has redirected educa-tion to directions that assume economic integration and reduces ‘citizenry’to a ‘workforce’ (MacPherson 2012).

Another important debate this study evokes pertains to issues of socialjustice and equity. Many argue that the market economy has not onlyproduced an economic miracle but also glaring inequality (Davis and Wang2009; Han and Whyte 2009; Lee 2009). As a central player in global capi-talism, Davis and Wang (2009) argue, China’s practices and institutions ofsocialism appear to have receded into a distant past. China is moving towarda pattern of inequality in which ‘the returns to capital exceed those tolabour’ (16). Han and Whyte (2009) identify a long list of people who havelost out in the reform process, including rural residents, rural migrants livingin cities, those with low incomes and little schooling, the unemployed, fac-tory workers, those still employed by financially troubled state-owned enter-prises, non-Party members, residents of China’s interior and Westernprovinces, women and those middle-aged and older and anyone whose stan-dard of living is threatened or has fallen. As Lee (2009) notes, social injus-tice is ubiquitous, a view that is not restricted to the ‘losers’ but also toordinary Chinese of different generational, educational and occupationalbackgrounds. In addition to unequal distribution of income and wealth, Lee

Compare 259

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

also includes political and social structures in her discussion of social jus-tice. She views structures of oppressions and the extreme imbalance of polit-ical power between officialdom and ordinary people as the cores of socialinjustice in China. Evidenced in this discussion, regional inequality, rural-urban disparities, the marginalisation of minorities and migrant educationclearly illustrate such injustice and inequity.

This discussion is particularly important in the current context, whereChinese education and society are at a crossroads. It seems clear that thereis a dire need for the Chinese government to take active measures to reducesocial injustice and inequity. To achieve this goal, it is important that equalaccess to educational opportunities has to be guaranteed, particularly for themigrant population, minorities and rural residents. Furthermore, resourcesneed to be redistributed nationally to help improve teachers’ wellbeing,teaching and living conditions and social and economic status. China by nomeans is the only country that is undergoing such fundamental changes. Itis hoped that China’s recent experience can inform other countries about itssuccesses and lessons learned from this ‘experiment’.

ReferencesAppadurai, A. 2002. Grassroots globalisation and the research imagination. In The

Anthropology of Politics: A reader in ethnography, theory, and critique, ed. J.Vincent, 271–84. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.

Aref, A. 2011. Perceived impact of education on poverty reduction in rural areas ofIran. Life Science Journal 8, no. 2: 498–505.

Bakken, B. 1988. Backwardness reform in Chinese education. Australian Journalof Chinese Affairs 19, no. 20: 127–63.

Bao, C. 2006. Policies for compulsory education disparity between urban and ruralareas in China. Frontiers of Education in China 1, no. 1: 40–55.

Beckett, G.H., and G.A. Postiglione. 2010. A few words from the editors. Diaspora,Indigenous, and Minority Education: An International Journal 4, no. 1: 1–3.

Brandt, L., and T. Rawski. 2008. China’s great economic transformation. In China’sgreat economic transformation, ed. L. Brandt and T. Rawski, 1–26. New York:Cambridge University Press.

Bray, M. 2006. Private supplementary tutoring: Comparative perspectives on pat-terns and implications. Compare 36, no. 4: 515–30.

Bruff, I. 2005. Making sense of the globalization debate when engaging in politicaleconomy analysis. British Journal of Politics and International Relations 7, no.2: 261–80.

Cai, J. 2006. ELT at tertiary level in China: Review, reflection and research. Shang-hai: Fudan University Press.

Chan, D., and K.H. Mok. 2001. Educational reforms and coping strategies underthe tidal wave of marketization: A comparative study of Hong Kong and themainland. Comparative Education 37, no. 1: 21–41.

Chan, K.W. 2010. The household registration system and migrant labor in China:Notes on a debate. Population and Development Review 36, no. 2: 357–64.

Chang, B.N., and G.G. Lu. 2006. Investigation analysis into the teacher of middle-primary school runs off situation in poverty-stricken area of northwest: Gansuprovince as a case. Education Science 22, no. 6: 61–4.

260 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

China Education Research Network. 2011. China embarks on basic education reform.Retrieved from China Education and Research Network, http://www.edu.cn.

Davis, D., and F. Wang. 2009. Poverty and wealth in postsocialist China: An over-view. In Creating wealth and poverty in postsocialist China, ed. D. Davis andW. Feng, 3–19. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Dutta, M. 2006. China’s industrial revolution and economic presence. Singapore:World Scientific.

Fan, S., Zhang, L., and Zhang, X. 2002. Growth, inequality, and poverty in ruralChina: The role of public investments (Vol. 125). Washington, DC: InternationalFood Policy Research Institute.

Fishman, T. 2005. China, Inc.: How the rise of the next superpower challengesAmerican and the world. New York: Scribner.

Gao, F., and J. Yuan. 1995. Mental health survey of primary school teachers inShanghai. Shanghai Research on Education 3: 40–5.

Gao, Y. 2009. Sociocultural contexts and English in China: Retaining and reformingthe cultural habitus. In China and English: Globalization and the dilemmas ofidentity, ed. J.L. Bianco, J. Orton, and Y. Gao, 56–78. Bristol, UK: MultilingualMatters.

Giroux, S., F. Jah, and P. Eloundou-Enyegue. 2010. Globalization, asymmetricurbanization and rural disadvantage in sub-Saharan Africa. In Rural educationfor the twenty-first century: Identity, place and community in a globalizingworld, ed. K. Schaffi and A. Jackson, 132–49. University Park, PA: Pennsylva-nia State University.

Guo, Q.Z. 1995. Honorable profession but low pay: A study on 50 substitute teach-ers in Hechi, Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomy Region. Basic Education Research2: 40–1.

Guo, L. 2010. The meaning of curriculum reform for Chinese teachers. Saarbrüc-ken, Germany: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.

Guo, S., and J. Zhang. 2010. Language, work and learning: Exploring the urbanexperience of ethnic migrant workers in China. Diaspora, Indigenous, andMinority Education 3, no. 4: 47–63.

Han, C., and M.K. White. 2009. The social contours of distributive justice feelingsin contemporary China. In Creating wealth and poverty in postsocialist China,ed. D. Davis and W. Feng, 193–212. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Harvey, D. 2003. Young people in a globalizing world: World Youth Report. NewYork: United Nations.

Huang, Y. 2008. Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship andthe state. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Inwin, J. 2000. China’s migrant children fall through the cracks. UNESCO Courier53, no. 9: 13–5.

Jarvis, P. 2002. Globalisation, citizenship and the education of adults in contempo-rary European society. Compare 32, no. 1: 5–19.

Jordan, B., and F. Düvell. 2003. Migration: The boundaries of equality and justice.Cambridge: Polity Press.

Knight, J., and L. Shi. 1996. Educational attainment and the rural urban divide inChina. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics 58, no. 1: 83–117.

Kwong, J. 2004. Educating migrant children: Negotiations between the state andcivil society. China Quarterly 180: 1073–88.

Compare 261

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

Lai, D., Y. Tian, and D. Meng. 2011. Differences between the employment ofhigher education students from the cities and the countryside and the fairness ofhigher education: From the perspective of employment capability. Chinese Edu-cation and Society 44, no. 1: 3–26.

Lee, C.K. 2009. From inequality to inequity: Popular conceptions of social (in)jus-tice in Beijing. In Creating wealth and poverty in post-socialist China, ed. D.Davis and W. Feng, 213–31. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Lee, J.K., H.B. Yin, Z.H. Zhang, and Y.L. Jin. 2011. Teacher empowerment andreceptivity in curriculum reform in China. Chinese Education and Society 44,no. 4: 64–81.

Lewin, K., and H. Xu. 1989. Rethinking revolution: Reflections on China’s 1985educational reforms. Comparative Education 125, no. 1: 7–17.

Li, D.F. 1999. Modernization and teacher education in China. Teaching and TeacherEducation 15: 179–92.

Li, Q. 2004. The present condition of minority PE teachers in the higher institutionsin Urumqi and its countermeasures. Journal of Beijing Sport University 27, no.2: 241–3.

Li, J. 2009. Motivational force and imagined community in ‘Crazy English’. InChina and English: Globalization and the dilemmas of identity, ed. J.L. Bianco,J. Orton, and Y. Gao, 211–23. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Li, X., L. Zhang, X. Fang, S. Stanton, Q. Xiong, D. Lin, and A. Mathur. 2010.Schooling of migrant children in China: Perspectives of school teachers. Vulner-able children and Youth Studies 5, no. 1: 79–87.

Li, Q., and Y. Ni. 2011. Impact of curriculum reform: Evidence of change in class-room practice in mainland China. International Journal of Educational Research50: 71–86.

Li, W. 2010. The effect of higher education on students’ development: Alilityimprovment or ability screening? Beijing daxue jiao yu ping lun [Beijing Uni-versity Education Review] 3: 2–16.

Li, Y., and E. Chui. 2010. Governmental policy and social exclusion of ruralmigrants in urban China. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 19, no. 2:295–306.

Liang, Z., and Y.P. Chen. 2007. The educational consequences of migration for chil-dren in China. Social Science Research 36, no. 1: 28–47.

Liao, Q., and H. Li. 2004. The staus quo of the teachers’ mental health in primaryand junior high schools and its harms: The overall narration about the tachers’mental problem in recent years. Academic Exploration 4: 56–9.

Lo, C. 2007. Understanding China’s growth. London: Palgrave.Lu, Y. 2007. Educational status of temporary migrant children in China: Determi-

nants and regional variations. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 16, no. 1:29–55.

Ma, R. 2009. The development of minority education and the practice of bilingualeducation in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Frontiers of Education inChina 4, no. 2: 188–251.

MacPherson, S. 2012. From neo-liberal ideology to critical sustainability theory forlanguage policy studies in the PRC. In China’s assimilationist language policy:Impact on indigenous/minority literacy and social harmony, ed. G.H. Beckettand G. Postiglione, 190–206. London: Routledge.

McGrew, A. 2007. Globalisation in hard times: Contention in the academy andbeyond. In The Blackwell Companion to Globalisation, ed. G. Ritzer, 29–53.Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

262 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

Ministry of Education. 2001. Standard of English courses for 9-year compulsoryeducation and general senior high schools (for experiment). Retrieved fromNational Basic Foreign Language Teaching Research Centre, http://www.tefl-china.net/2003/ca13821.htm.

Ministry of Education. 2003. Standard of English courses for general senior highschools (for experiment). Retrieved from Ministry of Education, http://www.sxbjjy.com/upload/200741317124048074.doc.

Mok, K.H. 2005. Riding over socialism and global capitalism: Changing educationgovernance and social policy paradigms in post-Mao China. Comparative Edu-cation 41, no. 2: 217–42.

National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2011. Communiqué of the National Bureau ofStatistics of People’s Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 PopulationCensus[1] (No. 2). Retrieved from National Bureau of Statistics of China, http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/newsandcomingevents/t20110429_402722516.htm.

Niu, Z. 2009. Reforms on teachers’ employment system and children’s rights to edu-cation in China. International Journal of Educational Management 23, no. 1:7–18.

Pan, L. 2009. The existent problem of minority compulsory education and counter-measures in the western poor region. Social Scientist 146, no. 6: 65–7.

Patton, M.Q. 2002. Qualitative research and evaluation methods. 3rd ed. ThousandOaks: Sage Publications.

Pieke, F.N., and E. Barabantseva. 2012. New and old diversities in contemporaryChina. Modern China 38, no. 1: 3–9.

Postiglione, G.A. 2002. Ethnic minority teacher education in Guizhou province.Chinese Education and Society 35, no. 3: 87–104.

Ritzer, G. 2007. Introduction. In The Blackwell companion to globalisation, ed. G.Ritzer, 1–13. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Robertson, R., and K.E. White. 2007. What is globalisation? In The Blackwell com-panion to globalisation, ed. G. Ritzer, 54–66. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Shang, Y.G., Q. Liu, and Y.Z. Liu. 2008. A report on living conditions of teacherssubstitute in less developed northwest area-based on the study in three regions,Tongwei, Huachi & Tianzhu. Private Education Research (A Bimonthly Journal)38, no. 5: 86–93.

Shanghai Curricular and Teaching Material Reform Commission. 1999. Programmefor 21st century-oriented reform on foreign language curriculums for primaryand secondary schools in Shanghai: 2000–2010. Shanghai: Shanghai EducationPress.

Solinger, D. 2008. The political implications of China’s social future: Complacency,scorn, and the forlorn. In China’s changing political landscape: Prospects fordemocracy, ed. L. Cheng, 251–66. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Sutherland, D., and S. Yao. 2011. Income inequality in China over 30 years ofreforms. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 4: 91–105.

Tan, S. 2003. Status quo, difficulties and countermeasures of the development ofrural education in China. Peking University Education Review 1: 99–103.

Tsung, L., G. Wang, and Q.Y. Hang. 2012. Bilingual education in China: The caseof Yunnan. In China’s integrationist language policy, ed. G.H. Beckett and G.Postiglione, 105–20. London: Routledge.

UNDP. 2010. Human development report 2009 – Overcoming barriers: Humanmobility and development. New York: UNDP.

UNDP China. 2008. China human development report 20207/8 – Access for all:Basic public services for 1.3 billion people. Beijing: UNDP.

Compare 263

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014

Wang, C. 2002. Minban education: The planned elimination of the ‘people-man-aged’ teachers in reforming China. International Journal of Educational Devel-opment 22, no. 2: 109–29.

Wang, D. 2011. The new curriculum and the urban rural literacy gap: The case ofone county in western China. Chinese Education and Society 44, no. 6: 87–101.

Wang, J. 2006. Challenges of the new curriculum faced by teachers. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jy360.cn/Article/ArticleShow.asp?ArticleID=4023.

Wang, J., and Y. Li. 2009. Research on the teaching quality of compulsory educationin China’s west rural schools. Frontiers of Education in China 4, no. 1: 66–93.

Welch, A.R. 2001. Globalisation, post-modernity and the state: Comparative educa-tion facing the third millennium. Comparative education 37: 475–92.

Wen, Z.C. 2009. Government’s responsibility of promoting the development of edu-cation in ethnic minority areas. Journal of ShanXi Finance and Economics Uni-versity (higher education edition) 12, no. 3: 12–6.

Wong, F.K.D., Y.L. Chang, and X.S. He. 2009. Correlates of psychological wellbe-ing of children of migrant workers in Shanghai, China. Social Psychiatry andPsychiatric Epidemiology 44, no. 10: 815–24.

Woronov, T.E. 2004. In the eye of the chicken: Hierarchy and marginality amongBeijing’s migrant schoolchildren. Ethnography 5, no. 3: 289–313.

Xiang, J. 2004. China focus: 2003–2004. Beijing: China International Press.Xie, K. 2004. Doubts raised on mandatory English learning. Retrieved from China

Daily, http://www.chinatodav.com.cn/English/e2004/e200405/f2.htm.Yang, D., ed. 2006. The development report of China’s education. Beijing: Social

Sciences Academic Press.Yu, L. 2005. When teachers say goodbye to substitute: Study on related issues of

teachers substitute. Educational Science Research 5: 32–5.Yu, X. 2005. The cultural disadvantage of rural children in formal education.

Shanghai Educational Studies 3: 26–7.Yu, X. 2006. Cultural reproduction: An exploratory analysis of the urban-rural gap

in China’s education. Journal of East China Normal University 24, no. 2:18–26.

Zhang, H. 2010. The hukou system’s constraints on migrant workers’ job mobilityin Chinese cities. China Economic Review 21: 51–64.

Zhang, J., and A. Lu. 2008. Review of teachers’ mental health research in Chinasince 1994. Frontiers of Education in China 3, no. 4: 623–38.

Zhang, L. 2007. The key to promoting educational equity is to imporve compulsoryeducation qulaity in village. Jiangxi Educational Research 1: 82–4.

Zhang, Z.Z. 2008. Discussion on welfare of teachers substitute. Modern BusinessTrade Industry 20, no. 3: 188–9.

Zhong, Q., Y. Cui, and H. Zhang. 2001. For revival of the Chinese nation, forevery child’s growth: Understanding the compendium for curriculum reform ofbasic education. Shanghai: ECNU Press.

Zhou, X.T. 2002. On aiding the poor through education and strengthening the rankof teachers in ethnic minority poverty-striken areas. Journal of Research andEducation for Ethnic Minorities 1, no. 3: 65–8.

Zhou, Y.S. 2012. A brief report of bilingual education for the Dongxiangs: A newinitiative. In China’s assimilationist language policy: Impact on indigenous/minority literacy and social harmony, ed. G.H. Beckett and G. Postiglione, 75–83. London: Routledge.

Zhu, M. 2001. The education problems of migrant children in Shanghai. Child Wel-fare League of America 80, no. 5: 563–9.

264 S. Guo et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Akd

eniz

Uni

vers

itesi

] at

04:

19 2

0 D

ecem

ber

2014