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I. Introduction
The past thirty years witnessed China’s economic booming and social development. Education has also undergone a reform with great improvement. However, there is still a gap in education between rural and urban areas.
The urban-rural education gap is quite evident in all levels of education, but remains widest in higher education with rural students are eleven times less likely to go to China’s elite Project 211 colleges (Li et al. 189). The rural-urban education disparity in China is an urgent issue to be solved and measures should be taken to bridge the gulf.
II. Factors that result in the education gap between urban and rural areas
This problem of education gap is a comprehensive issue involving causes from all aspects. The most essential one is the backward level of economic development in rural areas. Due to the government’s poor fiscal revenue and insufficient fiscal expenditure, the infrastructure and basic teaching facilities are scant and of low equality, which will result in inefficient teaching and studying.
“Teachers’ quality is a key factor determining the participation rates of children in schooling and the quality of their education” (Hanushek 42). But the teachers’ quality in rural areas is another impeding element in education. Teachers in rural regions are required a lower degree and less ability compared to their counterparts in cities.
The education system and curriculum is another factor that results in the education gap. In China, all levels of education before university are all college-oriented, which is too academic for the rural students who start working at an early age, “all the courses are urban-based and irrelevant to the needs of rural people and seldom focus on crucial skills for life” (Adelabu 37).
III. Solutions to this problem
Solutions to this problem call for joint efforts. Government should provide a larger budget for education to several resources to raise teachers’ payment and compensation in rural areas and increase education infrastructure.
Some reform is needed to have a more elaborate design of a wider range of courses. Different curricula are to be designed for different students with different aspirations. For those skill-oriented students, there should be more vocational-oriented courses. Apart from the reform for curricula, there also needs to improve the vocational training schools should to teach students with real practical skills. For teachers and parents, they should set good examples for their children. Teachers should commit themselves to constant study. Parents should spend more time to supervise the children. For students themselves, they should start to identify their own way of life and their career path and choose a proper school to achieve them.
IV. Conclusion
Though many measures are being taken, there is also a problem which cannot be easily solved, that is there are no courses to satisfy all learners’ needs due to their diverse expectations. A system mainly for vocational training is therefore unacceptable (Adelabu 54). And this issue needs further study to solve.
References
[1] Hanushek, E.A.. “Economic Outcomes and School Quality” Paris and Brussels: The International Institute for Education Planning and International Academy of Education, April, 2010:38-43.
[2] Li, Hongbin, Prashant Loyalka, Scott Rozelle, Binzhou Wu, Jieyu Xie. “Unequal Access to College in China: How Far Have Poor, Rural Students Been Left Behind?” The China Quarterly, 13 July 2013:185-207.
[3] Liu, Chengfang, Liuxiu Zhang, Renfu Luo, Scott Rozelle, Brian Sharbono and Yaojiang Shi. “Development Challenges, Tuition Barriers and High School Education in China.” Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 2009, vol 29(4):503-520.
[4] Adelabu, M.A. “Making Education Services Work for Rural Population: A case Study of Egbedone Local Government of Osun State Nigeria.” The Journal of International Social Research, 2008, vol.1/4:36-61. Print.
(作者单位:河北大学外国语学院2013级英语专业1班)
The past thirty years witnessed China’s economic booming and social development. Education has also undergone a reform with great improvement. However, there is still a gap in education between rural and urban areas.
The urban-rural education gap is quite evident in all levels of education, but remains widest in higher education with rural students are eleven times less likely to go to China’s elite Project 211 colleges (Li et al. 189). The rural-urban education disparity in China is an urgent issue to be solved and measures should be taken to bridge the gulf.
II. Factors that result in the education gap between urban and rural areas
This problem of education gap is a comprehensive issue involving causes from all aspects. The most essential one is the backward level of economic development in rural areas. Due to the government’s poor fiscal revenue and insufficient fiscal expenditure, the infrastructure and basic teaching facilities are scant and of low equality, which will result in inefficient teaching and studying.
“Teachers’ quality is a key factor determining the participation rates of children in schooling and the quality of their education” (Hanushek 42). But the teachers’ quality in rural areas is another impeding element in education. Teachers in rural regions are required a lower degree and less ability compared to their counterparts in cities.
The education system and curriculum is another factor that results in the education gap. In China, all levels of education before university are all college-oriented, which is too academic for the rural students who start working at an early age, “all the courses are urban-based and irrelevant to the needs of rural people and seldom focus on crucial skills for life” (Adelabu 37).
III. Solutions to this problem
Solutions to this problem call for joint efforts. Government should provide a larger budget for education to several resources to raise teachers’ payment and compensation in rural areas and increase education infrastructure.
Some reform is needed to have a more elaborate design of a wider range of courses. Different curricula are to be designed for different students with different aspirations. For those skill-oriented students, there should be more vocational-oriented courses. Apart from the reform for curricula, there also needs to improve the vocational training schools should to teach students with real practical skills. For teachers and parents, they should set good examples for their children. Teachers should commit themselves to constant study. Parents should spend more time to supervise the children. For students themselves, they should start to identify their own way of life and their career path and choose a proper school to achieve them.
IV. Conclusion
Though many measures are being taken, there is also a problem which cannot be easily solved, that is there are no courses to satisfy all learners’ needs due to their diverse expectations. A system mainly for vocational training is therefore unacceptable (Adelabu 54). And this issue needs further study to solve.
References
[1] Hanushek, E.A.. “Economic Outcomes and School Quality” Paris and Brussels: The International Institute for Education Planning and International Academy of Education, April, 2010:38-43.
[2] Li, Hongbin, Prashant Loyalka, Scott Rozelle, Binzhou Wu, Jieyu Xie. “Unequal Access to College in China: How Far Have Poor, Rural Students Been Left Behind?” The China Quarterly, 13 July 2013:185-207.
[3] Liu, Chengfang, Liuxiu Zhang, Renfu Luo, Scott Rozelle, Brian Sharbono and Yaojiang Shi. “Development Challenges, Tuition Barriers and High School Education in China.” Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 2009, vol 29(4):503-520.
[4] Adelabu, M.A. “Making Education Services Work for Rural Population: A case Study of Egbedone Local Government of Osun State Nigeria.” The Journal of International Social Research, 2008, vol.1/4:36-61. Print.
(作者单位:河北大学外国语学院2013级英语专业1班)