School Choice in China: Past, Present, and Future

CITATION

Dong, H. and Li, L. (2019) School Choice in China: Past, Present, and Future, ECNU Review of Education, 2, 1-9

For library access / research help in a similar topic: anyangoceline19@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Purpose: Focusing on the hot-debating issue of school choice in China, this article aims to present a
narrative of the policy interventions, especially promulgated by the Chinese central government
during the past 20 years, and to discuss those challenges facing the governments and the society as a
whole in the new era.
Design/Approach/Methods: This article conceptually approaches the topic based on policy texts
analysis and literature review.
Findings: This article pictures the historical dynamics of school choice phenomenon and its
interaction with the corresponding policy initiatives promoted by the central government. It argues
that school choice governing in China basically experienced three stages since the middle of 1990s,
namely controlling “choice fees,” promoting equalization and equity as well as comprehensive
governance toward greater quality and equity. The effective implementation of these policy measures
is gradually cooling down the “choice fever” in urban areas and restoring order for student
enrollment in compulsory education, but great challenges are still lying ahead since the problem of
school choice turns to be “wicked” in nature and cannot be simply solved within the education
sector.
Originality/Value: This article contributes to the global discourse of school choice research with
much updated information of policy initiatives and the newly emerged situations since 2014, calling
for close attention and deeper research from researchers both from China and from abroad.


REFERENCES
Ding, W. (2004, March 26). Zhou Ji: No choice students for public schools; parental choice for minban schools;
reputable schools run minban schools. People’s Daily, 11 [in Chinese].

Dong, H. (2014). Policy research on the choice of compulsory education in China. Beijing, China: Education
Science Press [in Chinese].

Forsey, M., Davies, S., & Walford, G. (2008). The globalization of school choice? An introduction to key issues
and concerns. In M. Forsey, S. Davies, & G.Walford (Eds.), The globalization of school choice? (pp. 9–25).
Oxford, England: Symposium Books.

Kipnis, A. (2008). Competition, audits, scientism and school non-choice in rural China. In M. Forsey, S. Davies,
& G. Walford (Eds.), The globalization of school choice? (pp. 165–184). Oxford, England: Symposium
Books.

Li, Z. (2016). Commencing from the absolute public to the international route: How these five roads touched
the pain of middle-class parents in Shanghai. Retrieved from http://learning.sohu.com/20161227/
n477027224.shtml [in Chinese]

Liu, S., & Apple, M. W. (2016). Parental choice of school, class strategies, and educational inequality: An essay
review of “School choice in China: A different tale?” Education Policy, 30, 940–955.

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2006). Some opinions on implementing the compulsory
education law to further standardize the behavior of running a school for compulsory education.
Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3321/200608/t20060824_81811.html [in Chinese]

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2010). Opinions of the Ministry of Education on
implementing the scientific outlook on development and further promoting the balanced development of
compulsory education. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3321/201001/t20100119_
87759.html [in Chinese]

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2014a). Notice on further implementation of major
cities education to exempt nearby enrollment. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3321/
201401/t20140129_164088.html [in Chinese]

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2014b). Suggestions on how to further improve the
elementary school into the junior high school which exempt from examination nearby enrollment implementation.
Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3321/201401/t20140126_163246.html [in
Chinese]

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2015). Notice on how to enroll students for compulsory
education in cities in 2015. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3321/201503/
t20150324_189380.html [in Chinese]

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2018a). Measures on the administration of national
competition activities for primary and middle school students (for trial implementation). Retrieved from
http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3321/201809/t20180920_349550.html [in Chinese]

Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2018b). Notice on the effective reduction of the
extracurricular burden of primary and secondary school students and the launching of special administrative
actions for off-campus training institutions. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A06/s3321/
201802/t20180226_327752.html [in Chinese]

Wang, R. (2018). Annual report on new types of education suppliers (2017). Beijing, China: Social Sciences
Academic Press [in Chinese].

Wang, R., & Tian, Z. (2018). Welcoming the era of education finance 3.0. China Economics of Education
Review, 3, 26–46 [in Chinese].

Wu, X. (2008). The power of positional competition and market mechanism: A case study of recent parental
choice development in China. Journal of Education Policy, 23, 595–614.

Wu, X. (2011). The power of positional competition and market mechanism: An empirical study of parental
choice of junior middle school in Nanning, P. R. China. Research Papers in Education, 26, 79–104.

Wu, X. (2014). School choice in China: A different tale? New York, NY: Routledge.

Wu, Z., & Shen, J. (2006). School choice and education equity. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 27, 111–118 [in
Chinese].

Xinhua Net. (2010). Ministry of Education adopting “ten measures” to deal with arbitrary fees in school
choice. Retrieved from http://www.gov.cn/fwxx/wy/2010-11/02/content_1735834.htm [in Chinese]

Yuan, Z. (2018). Dual priority agenda: China’s model for modernizing education. ECNU Review of Education,
1, 5–33.

Zeng, X. (2010). On the policy’s sub-optimal choice: Based on analysis on public school-choosing preference.
Research in Education Development, 2, 18–22 [in Chinese].