Education and Society in Post-Mao China

'Perhaps no subject excites as much attention in China as the future of education. Vickers and Zeng have crafted a comprehensive, thoughtful and highly readable analysis of how - and why - China's education system works as it does. Combining attention to issues of ideology, finance, and the place of education within an emerging middle-class society, their book will surely become a standard account for years to come.' Rana Mitter, University of Oxford China Centre 'We have long been in need of a well-researched and up-to-date overview of how the worlds largest education system has evolved over time, what it looks like today, and the implications of this transformation. Now such a book is finally available! Vickers and Zengs study is a pleasure to read, and will be an essential reference for courses on comparative and East Asian education, and for all scholars researching contemporary Chinese society.' Mette Halskov Hansen, University of Oslo 'Vickers and Zeng provide a thorough and well-researched overview of the post-Mao education system and its relationship with Chinese society and politics, analyzing the changes of the past four decades. With its impressive breadth and depth, this book will be invaluable for anyone who wants to understand how education works in China.' Vanessa Fong, Amherst College 'Education and Society in Post-Mao China plugs a major gap in the English-language literature by achieving its aim of offering a reasonably comprehensive and historically informed and critical commentary on the development of Chinese education in the past 40 years of rapidly changing and often turbulent circumstances.' Comparative Education 'Education and Society in Post-Mao China is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding contemporary Chinese society.' The China Quarterly 'Edward Vickers and Zeng Xiaodong dig beneath the surface of these issues, describing and evaluating education in China since 1978. Success, of course, depends on what one thinks education is ultimately for (p. 328) and, in attempting to respond to this question, the volume identifies the mainstream ideology on the purpose of education in China and the debates and tensions centred on policy-making.' Tim Summers, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Chatham House, Hong Kong

Edward Vickers is Professor of Comparative Education at Kyushu University and co-editor of Imagining Japan in Post-war East Asia: Identity Poitics, Schooling and Popular Culture (with Paul Morris and Naoko Shimazu, Routledge 2013). Zeng Xiaodong is Professor at Beijing Normal University and author of A Historical Analysis on Education Development from 1978 to 2008: Key Indicators and International Comparisons (2008).

Introduction: Education, development and social change in post-Mao China framing the debate Comparative and historical perspectives on education and development in contemporary China The politics of education in Post-Mao China: An overview Early childhood education and care The funding and administration of basic education The school curriculum: Ideology and control The teaching profession: Training, retention and professional development Evaluation, assessment and the senior high school Marketisation, competition and schooling Vocational and technical education Higher education from 1977 to the mid-1990s Higher education since 1998: Expansion, stratification and control The international dimension Conclusion