Regional Development of Modernization of Education in China

Author: Tan Songhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
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When studying any theory, it is essential to understand the terminology it uses. When we embark on research in the field of educational modernization, we must also clarify exactly what "educational modernization" means. The theorists who conducted research on educational modernization in the 1960s and 1970s seemed to be more interested in the relationship between education and modernization—such as the relationship between education and national economic modernization or education and human modernization—rather than in "educational modernization" itself. As a result, important educational reference works like the International Encyclopedia of Education and the International Encyclopedia of Higher Education did not include an entry for "educational modernization." Since the 1990s, numerous research papers and books on the theory and practice of educational modernization have emerged in the field of Chinese education. Although there is no unified understanding of what educational modernization is, meaningful discussions have begun.
1. Theories of Education and Modernization
Education is a crucial domain of society, and many modernization theorists have discussed education when addressing social modernization. For example, Black and Rozman discussed the modernization of the entire society from aspects such as political structure, economic structure and economic growth, social interdependence (including human resources, living patterns, organizational structure, and interpersonal relationships), knowledge, and education.①; Israeli scholar Eisenstadt regarded education as an indispensable aspect when discussing social modernization.②; Indian scholar Dese, after synthesizing the views of some modernization theorists, believed that modernization encompasses many aspects, including changes in social structure, political structure, economic structure, ecological structure (urbanization), and changes in the cultural, educational, and knowledge domains.③ The modernization of education is an important component of social modernization. While classic modernization theories all focused on the role of education, especially its role in social modernization, it was the comparative educators who drew inspiration from this and fully developed it. Their main representatives include Anderson (C. A. Anderson), Bereday (George Z. F. Beredav), Noah (Harold J. Noah), and Eckstein (Max Eckstein), who introduced modernization theory into the study of comparative education in a timely manner. Their research focused on the relationship between education and national modernization, believing that developing education is the key to achieving modernization in various countries. Their main viewpoints are as follows:
① Emphasizing the relationship between education and society, as well as the political, economic, and cultural functions of education.
② The process of modernizing education in developing countries is one of imitating and transplanting the educational models of developed countries to achieve educational modernity. A typical example is the modernization analysis model proposed by: developed countries—education problems—education aid—development and modernization of developing countries.①③ Emphasizing human capital research and highlighting the importance of education investment. Economist Theodore W. Schultz argued that education should not be seen merely as a form of consumption but as a productive investment. Education not only enhances individuals' ability to make choices but also provides the types of labor needed for economic growth. Therefore, the most effective way for any society to develop is to improve the quality of its population.