The purpose of the study was to look into the past educational history of China as well as to determine the nature of the conflicts that have developed in Chinese education and the likely ways in which these conflicts will be resolved. The major inputs of educational policies at each stage of development were identified and discussed. Particular emphasis was placed on the impacts of the on-going educational innovations after Mao upon the future educational system of China. Although this "educational foundations" approach was the major methodological basis of the study, the nature of the topic and characteristics of the Chinese society required an interdisciplinary approach. In addition to historical description, the other technique used was an opinion survey of scholars in China studies regarding the future of Chinese education. Some seventy-nine recognized scholars throughout the world in the educational and related studies of China were consulted. 1. Education in China is a tool of the political leadership. The texts of educational policy reflect the values which the leadership wishes to inculcate in the citizens. 2. Education in the fields of science and technology is a basic tool for China's modernization. In these areas, China might have lost a generation, as was recently admitted by its Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (Teng Hsiao-p'ing). It is therefore likely the Chinese will continue a relatively practical and pragmatic course. 3. Mao's mass education, though necessary in the past, has outlived its usefulness, especially at the level of higher education. 1 The Maoist legacy will continue, but, as is hinted by the leadership today, it will not be the core value of future education. The forces in Chinese society that are in favor of a more ideological approach to education might find it more difficult to make their influence felt. 4. Pursuant to the stated goal, Chinese education did not develop individual talents, but aimed at producing citizens with specific levels of expertise and political commitment to the system. The current Chinese leaders were not satisfied with the rate of progress though literacy among the masses has improved. FT-he Chinese will borrow aspects of education from abroad but they will transform them into a unique Chinese style of educational system. 5. The underlying forces for the post-Mao reforms in education appear to be such that the pre-1966 trends should be chosen as the base more relevant to the study of future trends. The Cultural Revolution can be treated as an aberration in China's educational development. 6. Today, the Chinese society is being pulled forward by its own "magnetic images of an idealized future" resulting from the "Four Modernizations." This implies that the current trend toward science and technology will continue in the future.The more specific findings of the opinion survey are summarized as follows: (A) The respondents to the survey questionnaire indicate that the emphasis on science and technology education will continue in the future of China. At the same time, the increased emphasis on scientific and technological expertise is likely to open the door to the social sciences and the humanities. Admittedly, if the push for modernization in China does not prove immediately successful, the experts indicate that more radical change will be made in their educational system. (B) However, the current trend of emphasis on science and technology education or an elitist approach to education will not result in a model similar to that of the West orof the Soviet Union. Yet the likelihood of China developing a Soviet-like model of education is small but larger than that of its developing a Western model. (C) In spite of the current thrust of the elitist approach to education, the "red" versus "expert" debate will be repeated in the future of China, and there will also be a curtailment of freedom if Chinese scholars criticize their government. (D) Although the present emphasis on "ability" in the Chinese educational system will re-introduce the classic schism between intellectuals and the people, there is less possibility that the renewed respect for scholarship will bring with it a return to traditional intellectual elitism in China.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/178969 |
| Date | January 1980 |
| Creators | Nahm, In-Sook |
| Contributors | Bailey, Mollie B. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 4, viii, 150 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | a-cc--- |
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