Social Transformation and Private Education in China - by Jing Lin (Hardcover)

About the Book

Private schools resurfaced in China after 1978 when the Chinese government embarked on an economic reform for modernization. This book offers a comprehensive review of the development, characteristics, issues, and problems of private schools at primary, secondary and university levels, especially elite private schools for children of very wealthy families.

Based on fieldwork at about 40 private and public schools in China, this study also critically examines social response and government reactions to private education development, and ends with reflections on its significance and future prospects, touching on issues concerning social equality, efficiency, public school reform, and democratization in China.

Book Synopsis

Private schools resurfaced in China after 1978 when the Chinese government embarked on an economic reform for modernization. This book offers a comprehensive review of the development, characteristics, issues, and problems of private schools at primary, secondary and university levels, especially elite private schools for children of very wealthy families.

Based on fieldwork at about 40 private and public schools in China, this study also critically examines social response and government reactions to private education development, and ends with reflections on its significance and future prospects, touching on issues concerning social equality, efficiency, public school reform, and democratization in China.

Review Quotes

.,."its contribution to the understanding of contemporary Chinese private education is significant."-Comparative Education Review

?...its contribution to the understanding of contemporary Chinese private education is significant.?-Comparative Education Review

?[T]he book's greatest value lies in the thorough and rich use made of Chinese sources and the detailed insights this provides into the world of educational debate within China....probably the most thorough and up-to-date study yet to appear on the highly significant topic of private education in China. It opens up many questions that go far beyond education itself to the future shape of Chinese society, polity, and economy. It should be of wide interest to students scholars of comparative education, as well as those interested in contemporary China.?-The Journal of Asian Studies

?I believe ms. Lin has done an excellent job in nagigating readers through the path of the devlopmen of private education in China....Any reader, whether an educator or not, will benefit from reading the book.?-American Journal of Chienese Studies

"ÝT¨he book's greatest value lies in the thorough and rich use made of Chinese sources and the detailed insights this provides into the world of educational debate within China....probably the most thorough and up-to-date study yet to appear on the highly significant topic of private education in China. It opens up many questions that go far beyond education itself to the future shape of Chinese society, polity, and economy. It should be of wide interest to students scholars of comparative education, as well as those interested in contemporary China."-The Journal of Asian Studies

..."its contribution to the understanding of contemporary Chinese private education is significant."-Comparative Education Review

"I believe ms. Lin has done an excellent job in nagigating readers through the path of the devlopmen of private education in China....Any reader, whether an educator or not, will benefit from reading the book."-American Journal of Chienese Studies

"[T]he book's greatest value lies in the thorough and rich use made of Chinese sources and the detailed insights this provides into the world of educational debate within China....probably the most thorough and up-to-date study yet to appear on the highly significant topic of private education in China. It opens up many questions that go far beyond education itself to the future shape of Chinese society, polity, and economy. It should be of wide interest to students scholars of comparative education, as well as those interested in contemporary China."-The Journal of Asian Studies

About the Author

JING LIN is Associate Professor of Education at McGill University. She is the author of several books including The Opening of the Chinese Mind (1994), Education in Post-Mao China (1993), and The Red Guards' Path to Violence (1991) all by Praeger Publishers.