7 The Construction and Development of the Chinese Open University

Since the late 1970s, China has initiated landmark reforms in education resulting in great strides in international rankings.. Unlike many recent books on Chinese educational reform, which examine macroscopic policies, this book examines the universalization of pre-school education, school selection in elementary education, attractiveness of vocational education, the operational mode of university charters, the development of open universities, the credit bank system in building the learning society, and other aspects of education, and only analyzes one specific problem in each of these contexts for the purpose of comparing China’s educational reforms to their overseas counterparts through microscopic study. Insights on Education Reform in China is not intended to provide a complete picture of China’s educational reform. Rather, it addresses the types of complicated circumstances under which China has made achievements in educational reform, and the conflicts arising in the context of that reform. Topics covered include: Education Reform, Equality, Standardization, Governance, Learning Society