Curriculum Standards in China

Ping Dai Xu Quan

01 China’s educational system organization
02 Teachers’ Qualification
03 The development of Curriculum
For many decades, Chinese education relied on a centralised
curriculum that left little room for local variation and flexibility.

1988
The government began to encourage
diverse interpretations of the
educational programme by producing
different textbooks still based on the 2001
same curriculum.
A new curriculum framework was established.
The framework encouraged diversification.

2011
The government instituted a renewed
version of the educational framework
which allowed even more flexibility.
04 Curriculum Management
China now utilises a three-level curriculum model consisting of curricula developed at the
national level, regional level and school level. This model involves the central government, local
authorities and schools in developing the most suitable curriculum for the local context.
• At the provincial level,
• At the national level
relevant authorities
the Ministry of Education
p develop an implementation plan for the
ü produces the curriculum plan,
national curriculum.
ü develops guidelines
p interpret the intentions and objectives of
ü determines the national level curriculum/ lesson hours.
the national curriculum
ü set the national curriculum standards.
p translate them into a local curriculum
ü conducts pilot studies
that fits the local context
p The plan is then sent to the Ministry of
Education before implementation.
• At the school level,
Ø organise their teachers to develop their own courses
Ø carry out educational research according to the provincial plan.
Ø provide feedback about implementation.
05 New Curriculum

• According to The Basic Education Curriculum Reform Outline (Ministry of Education, 2001) (Box
1.8), the primary school curriculum should consist of courses that encourage all-around
development of individual learners.

• The government suggests that schools offer various elective subjects in addition to the
compulsory subjects. The requirements in elective subjects should be different from the
requirements in compulsory subjects.
 06 Aims stated in the New Curriculum
A socialist builder and successor with all-round development of morality, intelligence,
physique, beauty and labor

have ideals have the ability be responsible

Love the motherland, love the Love learning, be diligent in abide by the law, love public
people, love the Communist thinking; be willing to ask welfare, have a collectivist
Party of China, and be able to questions, dare to question, spirit, love nature, protect
integrate personal pursuits into have the ability to explore the environment, care about
the great dream of national and innovate; love labor, take current affairs, love peace,
prosperity, national rejuvenation, care of yourself and be self- respect and understand
and people's happiness reliant; strengthen your body, cultural diversity, maintain
national unity
Reference: Chinese Compulsory Education Curriculum Plan and Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)
Analysis of English Curriculum

Example: Grade 3 - 4
Reference: The English Curriculum in the People's Republic of China, Bob Adamson.
 English Curriculum in China ---- 6 elements

• Topics
• Discourse/ text
• Language knowledge
• Cultural knowledge
• Language skills
• Learning strategies

Reference: Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)

 English Curriculum in China ---- Content rating

• 4 levels

• There are additional topics

for students in each level

Reference: Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)

 English Curriculum in China ---- Topics

Subject content/topics:

Main topic No.1： Self-managemnet

Main topic No.2: Society
Main topic No.3: Nature

Reference: Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)

 English Curriculum in China ---- Language knowledge

• Phonetic knowledge
• Lexical knowledge
• Discourse knowledge
• Grammar knowledge

Reference: Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)

 English Curriculum in China ---- Language skills

• understanding skills
• expressing skills

Reference: Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)

 English Curriculum in China ---- Learning strategies

• Metacognitive strategies
• Cognitive strtegies
• Communication strategies
• Emotional management strategies

Cognitive strategies:
1. To establish a connection between words and
corresponding things;
2. To establish a connection between old and new
language knowledge;
3. Learn vocabulary and grammar in context;
4. Deepen the understanding and memory of
vocabulary through classification and other methods;
5. Actively use the learned English to express and
communicate;
6. Pay attention to the simple English used in life and
in the media.

Reference: Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)

 English Curriculum in China ---- Learning Assessment Criteria

1-1 Able to understand and respond to

greetings in daily life, and the language is
basically appropriate.

1-2 Can interact with others, respond to

praise, apology, thanks, etc., using polite
language.

1-3 Can understand and respond to simple

commands with the help of pictures,
gestures, etc.

1-4 Able to understand the customs and

customs of major countries in the world
through simple animations, stories with
pictures and other textual materials.

Reference: Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)

English Curriculum in China ---- Reflection

• There is huge difference between the curriculum standards and the reality

ü English teaching and learning is mostly focused on grammar.

ü Listening and speaking skills are missing.
ü Way of Assessment: mostly examnation.

• It is not so specific and in reality the teachers will just follow the courebooks
they are assigned to teach, they don’t have the intention to know more details
about the design of curriculum.

• Cultural knowledge is considered not important and useless.

• Student’s motivation/interest towards English learning is emphasized merely

by mouth, the teachers are spending most of the time on checking the
knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.

• Learning strategies is also usually absent in teaching.

Analysis of Ethics and the Rule of
Law Curriculum

Example: Grade 1- 2
Grade 3 - 4
Grade 7 - 9
Core learner’s profile:

• Political identity
• Moral cultivation
• Concept of rule of law
• Sound personality
• Sense of responsibility
Example: Moral cultivation
Example: Sense of responsibility

•Learn to do things on your own to

• Consciously share family responsibilities,
reduce the burden on your parents.
realize the importance of professionalism, and
• Love the school and class collective,
have a strong sense of responsibility.
actively participate in school and class
• Care about the society, know the advantages
activities, have a sense of collective
of the people's democratic system in the whole
honor, and be able to care and help
process of our country, understand current
others.
affairs, actively participate in social welfare
• Know that the Chinese nation is one
activities and volunteer activities;
big family.
•Have the concept of national interests above
• Get close to nature and care for
everything else, and be able to maintain
animals and plants.
national unity with practical actions.
Reflection:

• The intention is good, but in pratice, the teachers just ask

students to recite the sentences in the coursebooks.

• The assessment for this course is still by exam, which is

inappropriate for the main idea of this class.

• Some moral aspects are introduced too early to students.

Exapmle: Learn to do things on your own to reduce the burden on your
parents.(Grade 1-2)
 aims and objectives of
education in China
enable ever yone who receives an education to develop
morally, intellectually, and physically and to become a
worker with both a socialist consciousness and culture'.

Reference: Chinese Compulsory Education Curriculum Plan and Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)
 First Dimensional Goals:
Objectives- Knowledge and Skills Goals
Bloom Second-Dimensional Goals:
Process and Method Goals
Third Dimensional Goals:
Emotional Attitudes and
Values Goals

Reference: Chinese Compulsory Education Curriculum Plan and Curriculum Standards (2022 Edition)
 such as
Example: Unit1 Lesson 1 Hello habit of
meeting and
students
greeting,
Knowledge who are
self-
and skills: willing to
introduction
speak and
understand and farewell,
dare to
and speak let students
speak
Hello./Hi. learn the
English, and
Goodbye./By daily
stimulate
e-Bye. I'm.... expressions
 Teacher as Classroom
The teacher ’s Manager.
role Teacher as Collaborator.
Teacher as Content Expert.
Teacher as Facilitator.
Teacher as Mentor.
Teacher as Protector.
Is it teacher Would you like to
friendly? use it as a teacher?
Thank you for listening