Educational Reform: A Critical and Post-structuralist Perspective

Author: Paul / Hou Dingkai (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-12-01
Features: The reform of Chinese education is in full swing. Can the designers of the reform avoid the inevitable problems? The case of British education reform can provide valuable insights for examining the ongoing basic education curriculum reform in China. The internationalization of education makes this reference even more urgent. The agenda of educational reform is extremely broad and complex. It links the market and school management, school performance, and the transformation of the nature of the state together. Reform grants managers and organizations greater decision-making autonomy. However, we cannot mistakenly assume that these reform processes merely mean a reduction in the importance of norms—in reality, it is a process of reaffirming norms; it does not signify the abandonment of state control, but rather the establishment of a new form of state control. These educational reforms provide a new, more universal, and simultaneously more invisible normative model. This is a new collection of norms. Such a collection combines the material, textual, and moral elements of educational policy in a more sophisticated and free manner, temporarily, to better facilitate management. In this process, teachers need to consider and calculate their personal interests, allowing themselves to "add value" and improve their performance.