Educational

reforms
AN OVERVIEW OF CHINA
AND CHILE.
Contents of this presentation
- Chilean reforms

- Chinese reforms

- Final thoughts
 Chilean context
A history of reforms and challenges:
• 1953 Creation of the Ministry of Education

• 1965 Expansion of the access to education

• 1973 The end of “Escuelas Normales”

• 1990 Constitutional Organic Teaching Law (LOCE) –

Curriculum as a set of minimum required knowledge.
• 2003 12 years of scholarity

• 2009 General Law of Education

• 2011 ”National educational quality insurance system”

 China : World's largest education system
“More than 150 million students are enrolled in China's compulsory education
system, attending about 220,000 schools across the country, according to the
Ministry of Education” (Wescott, 2019).

A long road: 8 educational (waves) reforms since 1949:

• Soviet model (first wave: 1949–1952; second wave: 1953–1957).

• “Renaissance” in education (third wave: 1958–1962; fourth wave: 1963–1965).

• Cultural Revolution 1966. Rebuilt after 1976 with the introduction of a national
college entrance exam in 1977 (fifth wave: 1977–1980; sixth wave: 1981–1984).
•Modern education reforms began in 1985 (seventh wave: 1985–1998).

•1999–present (eighth wave).

The basic concept of the new wave is both for the revitalization of the Chinese
people and for the development of each student.
Current reform
I) Introduction of the market mechanism – 1992

Since then the focus lies the following factors:

1. Establishing an education management system compatible

with the socialist market economy system.

2. Education funds were raised in multiple channels. Still,

government support is not enough. “Luan Shoufei” issue.

3. Privatization of public schools. Two types of schools:

Minban Gongzhu (civilian run and public subsidized),
Gongban Minzhu (public run and civilian subsidized )
 Current reform
II)From efficiency to equity (2003–2009).
1. The arbitrary collection of school fees was
stopped.
2. Transformed schools were regulated.
3. The balanced development of compulsory
education was actively promoted.
III)From management to governance (2010 to
present) :
“The main contradiction in Chinese society has
shifted from the ever-growing material and cultural
needs of the people and the backward social
production to the contradiction between the
unbalanced and inadequate development and the
people’s ever-growing needs for a better life” (Fan,
2020).
Final thoughts
1. Chinese challenges: Seeking Appropriate Tension and Stimulating Vigor

2. Chilean challenges: Which path to choose: quality, economical development, access?

References
Fan G. (2020) Changes in Educational Institutions in China: 1978–2020. In: Fan G., Popkewitz T.
(eds) Handbook of Education Policy Studies. Springer, Singapore.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8347-2_6

REVEDUC, 2015, Hitos de la historia del Mineduc. Revista de Educación. Consulted URL:
http://www.revistadeeducacion.cl/hitos-de-la-historia-del-mineduc/#_ednref1

Wescott, B., 2019. Beijing education reforms aim to help China’s overworked, over-tested students.
Retrieved from: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/16/asia/china-education-reform-intl-hnk/index.html

Yunhuo Cui et Yan Zhu, « Curriculum reforms in China: history and the present day », Revue
internationale d’éducation de Sèvres [En ligne], Colloque : L’éducation en Asie en 2014 : Quels
enjeux mondiaux ?, published 05 June 2014, consulted 15 June 2021. URL :
http://journals.openedition.org/ries/3846