Exploration and Practice of Private Education (Strategic Research on the Development of Private Education in Shandong)

Author: Xia Juting, Jia Dongrong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: This book is the result of the Shandong Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning "Tenth Five-Year Plan" key project "Research on the Development Strategy of Private Education in Shandong." 2002 was destined to be an extraordinary year in the history of China's private education. In June of that year, the National People's Congress Education, Culture, Science, and Health Committee submitted the "Draft of the Promotion Law of Private Education of the People's Republic of China" to the 28th session of the second Standing Committee of the 9th National People's Congress. The content of the draft was subsequently made public, sparking widespread discussion in society. However, due to intense debates among legislative members over issues such as "reasonable return" and "profitability" in the draft, the "Draft of the Promotion Law of Private Education" failed to pass three times during its review process. As society believed that the "Promotion Law of Private Education" would be shelved for some time, with the year 2002 drawing to a close, the 31st session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed the "Promotion Law of Private Education of the People's Republic of China" on December 28, 2002. This marked a milestone in the history of Chinese education, signifying the beginning of the independent development of contemporary private education in China under the law. Contemporary private education in China emerged alongside the deepening reform and opening-up, adapting to societal needs and developing spontaneously. It is both a revival of private education in Chinese history under new circumstances and has its own unique characteristics. From its revival to the present, contemporary private education has experienced two periods of rapid development: one from 1992 to 1994, and another from 1999 to the present. The emergence of these two periods of growth was closely linked to government policies, receiving either encouragement or constraints. As a result, the development of contemporary private education has been divided into two stages: The first stage, from 1978 to 1996, saw the beginning of the revival, development, and formation of private education, along with efforts to pursue its legal status and the opening of various educational levels to private education. The government primarily regulated and managed private education through administrative policies and departmental regulations. The second stage, from 1997 to the present, marked the entry of private education into all educational levels, leading to its independent development under the law. The government initially implemented management and supervision through administrative regulations (the "Regulations on Social Forces Running Schools" of 1997) and later through laws (the "Promotion Law of Private Education"). After more than two decades of development, contemporary private education has completed its transformation from the system's periphery to its core, becoming an important component of the entire education system that develops independently under the law. Influenced by local economic development levels, economic structures, social progress, and regional cultures, the development of private education across different regions varies significantly, exhibiting an imbalance in development. Shandong is the birthplace of private education in China. Over 2,500 years ago, Confucius established private schools here, marking the formal beginning of private education in China. For more than 700 years from the pre-Qin to the Han dynasties, Shandong remained the center of private education in the country. Subsequently, due to wars, political instability, and the shift of the national economic center, Shandong lost its position as the center of private education in China. However, private education, primarily in the form of private schools, continued to develop until 1956, when the People's Republic of China implemented socialist transformation in the field of education, nationalizing private schools and fully adopting state-run and managed education. The people of Shandong have a fine tradition of developing private education. After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1978, with the beginning and deepening of reform and opening-up, private education in Shandong also began to revive and develop. The development of contemporary private education in Shandong follows the general trajectory of national private education development, though with differences in specific content and pace. Unlike other coastal provinces, Shandong's private education was constrained by traditional customs and awareness in the mid-1990s, leading to relatively slow development. Theoretical research and exploration in private education were also lagging, with few creative theoretical explorations. With the promulgation of the "Regulations on Social Forces Running Schools" in 1997 as a turning point, private education in Shandong entered a period of rapid development. The scale of private schools and enrolled students grew continuously, investment in private education surged and diversified, the faculty and staff expanded and underwent qualitative changes, and the operating environment, internal management, teaching quality, and student quality of private schools all improved significantly. Discussion on the practice and theory of private education also gained importance as practice deepened. In 2000, the Shandong Provincial Department of Education explicitly stated that by 2010, the number of enrolled students in higher education in Shandong should reach 1.5 million, with one-third of them in private colleges. This promoted the development of private education. By 2002, private education in Shandong had grown into a force that could not be ignored in the education sector, becoming a hot topic in the field of education. The promulgation and implementation of the "Promotion Law of Private Education" will undoubtedly drive private education in Shandong into a new stage of high speed and high quality development. To seize new opportunities, effectively integrate various forces, create an external environment conducive to the healthy and coordinated development of private education, form a unified education market in the province, and promote the accelerated development of private education in Shandong, with the approval of the Shandong Provincial Social Sciences Planning Office, we established the "Research Team on the Development Strategy of Private Education in Shandong" at Shandong Yingcai Vocational and Technical College in October 2002. The team conducted research on the current status, characteristics, problems, and shortcomings of private education in Shandong, including private higher education, private primary and secondary education, and private preschool education. Professor Xia Juting, the president of Shandong Yingcai Vocational and Technical College, served as the team leader, while Vice President Jia Dongrong of the Institute of Private Higher Education at the college was responsible for the implementation of the project. We also invited Director Mao Yougao of the Development Planning Department of the Shandong Provincial Department of Education and Investigator Zhang Zhaosong of the Vocational and Adult Education Department as consultants. Over the course of more than a year, with the support of the Development Planning Department, the Vocational and Adult Education Department, and the Shandong Provincial Civil Organization Administration, among other units, we collected some materials on the development of private education in Shandong since the reform and opening-up, conducted research on some secondary private schools and kindergartens in cities such as Jinan, Qingdao, and Jining, and carried out questionnaire surveys. Based on a comprehensive analysis of these materials, we conducted serious reflection and research. Jia Dongrong also served as a visiting scholar at the School of Political Science and Public Administration of Shandong University for a year to enhance his theoretical analysis capabilities and deepen his understanding of China's reform and opening-up efforts. Considering the broad scope of private education and the main problems faced in the development of private education in Shandong, we adopted a thematic research approach. The advantage of this approach is that it facilitates in-depth and detailed analysis of relevant issues, while the drawback is some repetition of content across different themes. In terms of material analysis, we combined quantitative and qualitative methods. We selected six themes as the focus of our analysis and exploration: the historical evolution of private education in Shandong, the current status and characteristics of contemporary private education in Shandong, the external environment of private education, the investment and financing of private education, the imbalance in the development of private education, and the faculty and staff development of private schools.
Part 1: Shandong—The Cradle of Private Education in China
This part primarily outlines the historical context of the development of private education in Shandong, focusing on analyzing and discussing the historical background and causes of Shandong becoming the birthplace of private education in the Spring and Autumn period and the center of private education in the Warring States and Han periods. It briefly analyzes the formation of the "Dengzhou Wenhuiguan phenomenon" in modern times and explores the historical patterns and influencing factors of the development of private education in Shandong as a regional entity, providing insights for the development and policy orientation of contemporary private education.
Part 2: The Current Status and Characteristics of Private Education in Shandong
This part summarizes the general overview, characteristics, and trends of the development of contemporary private education in Shandong, as well as the background of its revival and development.
Part 3: Research on the External Environment of Private Education in Shandong
This part reviews the evolution of policies and laws regarding contemporary private education, explores the legal foundation for its existence and development, and analyzes the legal, administrative, and market environments of private education in Shandong, identifying problems and shortcomings while proposing corresponding countermeasures.
Part 4: Research on the Investment and Financing of Private Education in Shandong
This part analyzes the operating models, sources of funding, and composition of contemporary private education in Shandong. Based on this, it summarizes the characteristics and problems of investment and financing in private education in Shandong, introduces major financing channels, and explores solutions to issues such as "funding difficulties," insufficient investment, and a single source of funding.
Part 5: Research on the Imbalance in the Development of Private Education in Shandong
This part summarizes and analyzes the hierarchical, regional, urban-rural, institutional, and inter-school differences in the development of private education in Shandong from a macro perspective, explores the causes of the imbalance, and proposes ideas and suggestions for handling the relationship between private and public education, as well as for the development of private education.
Part 6: Research on the Faculty and Staff Development of Private Education in Shandong
This part primarily takes private higher education as an example to analyze the current status, characteristics, problems, and shortcomings of the faculty and staff in private schools, proposing countermeasures and suggestions for building a faculty and staff team for private education under the current environment.
Based on the above analysis and research, we propose the positioning and policy orientation for the development of private education in Shandong: Establishing the core leading role of private education in preschool education, secondary vocational education, and vocational skill training, as well as its important supplementary role in compulsory education, general senior high school education, and general higher education. In terms of policy orientation, use macro-control measures such as laws, economics, and information services to create a favorable development environment for private education and build a unified education market in the province. Provide convenience for investment and financing in private education through policy guidance and the establishment of professional financial institutions. Guide private schools to establish modern school systems and management mechanisms, enabling their independent development under the law.
Finally, we reviewed the development journey of Shandong Yingcai Vocational and Technical College over the six years of its operation, summarized the practical experience of Yingcai College and its expansion into other fields such as part-time training, senior high school education, and preschool education, andd the difficulties, setbacks, and experiences encountered during the process. This is included as an appendix to the book to allow readers to gain a practical understanding of the survival and development of private schools in Shandong since 1998.