China Today. Cambridge, Medford, MA: Polity Press, 2019. ix, 242 pp. (Map) US$27.95, paper. ISBN 978-0-7456-6410-1
Janette Ryan’s Education in China offers a panoramic view of the educational development of China in the twenty-first century. The book delves into every aspect of organized learning; as such, a reader can find references to any aspect of the Chinese educational system they are interested in.
A map of China, together with the chronology of China’s history in the opening pages, gives readers unfamiliar with the country’s geography or history a useful background. The chronology begins with the life of Confucius (551–479 BCE) followed by milestones of major political and educational events from the sixth century to the present. That said, the rational for including some dates, escapes me. For example, the Nanjing Massacre was a horrific event but I cannot see its relevance to the central theme of education. Moreover, I would like to see in the chronology inclusion of recent educational regulations and official pronouncements, especially those cited in the text. This would help me and perhaps other readers to follow the changes described in later pages.
Chapter 1 offers another useful piece of background information by introducing the educational thoughts of Confucius and providing a lengthy discussion of the teaching’s evolution over the centuries. When the book opens with such a chapter, I expect to find references to how this school of thought shaped or was embedded in contemporary education in the pages to follow, but this is not the case. The author remains silent till the end. Indeed in chapter 5, Confucius’ thoughts are resurrected in the section “Resurrecting Confucius” as one among the many competing ideologies shaping education in this second to the last chapter.
The second chapter lays out the groundwork for understanding contemporary education from another perspective. It takes a cross-sectional approach explaining educational national policies, funding, and structures—covering topics ranging from public schools to private efforts, pre-school to higher education, academic to vocational training, conventional learning to online education, and basic education to adult education—a herculean effort and achievement to tell so much in a single chapter.
The next three chapters examine the educational reforms introduced in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. There is a disjuncture between the articulated policies and the efforts of the government. Ryan writes that the government recognized the urgency to improve rural education to close the rural urban divide (47). However subsequent reforms focused on changing the curriculum and teaching styles, while looking to the West for inspiration. Special rewards were given to educational units that excelled. These attempts seemed to aim at improving the quality of education at every level, as measured by student scores in government-organized public examinations or in international rankings.
As a result, instead of bridging the gap between the cities and the countryside, children in rural areas left behind by parents seeking employment in the cities, rural children who followed their parents into the cities, and those with disabilities often suffered. The educational gap widened in more ways than one. Ryan attributes the inconsistencies between policy and action to competing national needs and local requirements, as well as to the contradictions between utilitarian demands and ideologies. In the arena of ideologies, modern thinking was not necessarily compatible with tradition, and Confucian thought might not have paired well with communist moral education.
In chapter 6, the last chaper, Ryan offers an assessment of the present and a look into the future. The country has made great progress in education. Chinese educated abroad have returned, bringing with them new ideas, while international students are coming to study in China. Chinese universities establish branch campuses abroad and Confucius institutes have become an arm to disseminate Chinese culture. China no longer looks to the West for guidance; it has moved into the age of education internationalization.
Education in China is an ambitious attempt to trace China’s contemporary education from its Confucian origins to policies and implementation, pre-school to higher education, organized education to private efforts, and a present look to the future. There were times I would have liked Ryan to have delved a bit deeper into an issue, or pushed a point further, but a choice has to be made. It would be impossible to do that in a book of barely 200 pages; its value is in its breadth. It is to Ryan’s credit to have woven so many educational issues into a cogent whole within the limited space.
The author has lucidly highlighted the directions of recent educational changes, and the treatment of the numerous issues raised is not superficial—a feat that can only be done by an expert very familiar with the field. Ryan diligently scoured the literature, integrated the materials, and filtered the results with the insights she gained from her many years working in China in various capacities.
In the end, Janette Ryan has produced an interesting and valuable volume on contemporary Chinese education situating the many changes against a backdrop of equally fast-changing cultural and economic contexts. I recommend the book to anyone interested in learning the main trends of development in contemporary Chinese education. Even a reader with little or no background in China or Chinese education should have no problem following her argument, thus making Education in China an excellent choice for instructors looking for a reader in a course on Chinese education or comparative education.
Julia Kwong
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg