A Comparative Study of School District Systems in China and the United States: An Analysis Based on School Choice in the Elementary Education Stage

Research Article
Open access

A Comparative Study of School District Systems in China and the United States: An Analysis Based on School Choice in the Elementary Education Stage

Tianyu Chen 1*
  • 1 Cornell University    
  • *corresponding author tc579@cornell.edu
Published on 20 November 2023 | https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/24/20230756
LNEP Vol.24
ISSN (Print): 2753-7056
ISSN (Online): 2753-7048
ISBN (Print): 978-1-83558-127-8
ISBN (Online): 978-1-83558-128-5

Abstract

With the rise of globalization, evaluating and improving education systems have become pivotal for individual and national development. As major world economies, China and the United States have undertaken distinct approaches to education. Within these systems, school district policies and structures form the foundation for educational administration and school operations. This paper provides a comparative analysis of school district systems in China and the United States, emphasizing their relationship with school choice policies during elementary education. It examines key aspects including policy content, historical origins, and management structures. According to the analysis, it found that China’s system prioritizes geographic proximity and centralized oversight to ensure equitable access. In contrast, the decentralized United States model grants parents more school choice options within and across districts. While China’s standardized approach promotes fairness, the United States demonstrates that moderately expanding school choice and localized governance can foster competition, innovation, and responsiveness to diverse needs. As China continues reforming its school district system, lessons from the United States highlight potentials for increasing choices and autonomy while upholding equity guardrails. Synthesizing ideas from both nations could help China enhance elementary education quality and fairness.

Keywords:

school district system, school choice, elementary education, education policy, comparative education

Chen,T. (2023). A Comparative Study of School District Systems in China and the United States: An Analysis Based on School Choice in the Elementary Education Stage. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,24,276-282.
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References

[1]. Elementary Education. Encyclopedia of Education. Retrieved August 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/elementary-education.

[2]. Petri, A. E. (1984). Elementary Education in the People’s Republic of China.

[3]. Chen, T. H. (1962). Elementary education in communist China. The China Quarterly, 10, 98-122.

[4]. United States. Office of Educational Research, Improvement. Center for Education Statistics, & Institute of Education Sciences (US). (2010). Digest of education statistics (Vol. 46). US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Education Division, National Center for Education Statistics.

[5]. Fuller, B. F. and Elmore, R. (1996). Who Chooses? Who Loses? Culture, Institutions and the Unequal Effects of School Choice. Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027 (paperback: ISBN-0-8077-3537-X; clothbound: ISBN-0-8077-3538-8).

[6]. Cookson, P. W. and Schneider, B. (2014). Why School Choice? In Transforming Schools, 557-577. Routledge.

[7]. Dong, H. and Li, L. (2019). School choice in China: Past, present, and future. ECNU Review of Education, 2(1), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531119840854.

[8]. Liu, S. and Apple, M. W. (2016). Parental Choice of School, Class Strategies, and Educational Inequality: An Essay Review of School Choice in China—A Different Tale? (X. Wu, New York, NY: Routledge, 2014, 168 Pp. ISBN 978-0-415-81769-1). Educational Policy, 30(6), 940-955. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904816653633.

[9]. Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (1986). Compulsory Education Law of the People’s Republic of China. http://en.moe.gov.cn/documents/laws_policies/201506/t20150626_191391.html.

[10]. Wu, Z. and Shen, J. (2006). School choice and education equity—Change in school choice policies and new direction in public school reform in China. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 6, 111-118.

[11]. Powers, J. M. and Cookson Jr, P. W. (1999). The politics of school choice research: Fact, fiction, and statistics. Educational Policy, 13(1), 104-122.

[12]. Moe, T. M. (2008). Beyond the free market: The structure of school choice. BYU L. Rev., 557.

[13]. Sixth National People’s Congress. (1986). The Law of Compulsory Education of People’s Republic of China (Ninth Article).

[14]. Qian, Y. (2021). An Analysis of the Impact of the “Nearby Enrollment” Policy on Access to Quality Education Resources. In 2021 International Conference on Modern Educational Technology and Social Sciences (ICMETSS 2021), 176-179. Atlantis Press.

[15]. Ouchi, W. G. (2006). Power to the principals: Decentralization in three large school districts. Organization Science, 17(2), 298-307.

[16]. Hu, Y. and Tu, Y. (2006). Equity and Efficiency Analysis of the School Choice System in the United States. Foreign Primary and Secondary Education, 12, 1-11.

[17]. Hawkins, J. N. (2000). Centralization, decentralization, recentralization‐Educational reform in China. Journal of Educational Administration, 38(5), 442-455.

[18]. Mok, K. H. (2005). Globalization and educational restructuring: University merging and changing governance in China. Higher Education, 50(1), 57–88.

[19]. Reese, W. J. (1999). The origins of the American high school. Yale University Press.

[20]. Ryan, J. E. (1999). Schools, race, and money. The Yale Law Journal, 109(2), 249-316.

[21]. Wang, Y. (2022). The development, problems and improvement of school district system in China. Curriculum and Teaching Research, (12), 12-14.

[22]. Zhang, X., Shi, Q. and Liu, L. (2022). Democracy and bureaucracy in American education: An analysis of school district governance. Journal of Educational Administration, 60(3), 435-453.

[23]. Hong, Y. and Cui, Y. (2022). Principal leadership in China: A review and future research agenda. Educational Administration Quarterly, 58(2), 291–329.

[24]. Beckham, J., Wills, B. K. and Weeks, K. M. (2016). School Boards: responsibilities, duties, decision making and legal basis for local school board powers.


Cite this article

Chen,T. (2023). A Comparative Study of School District Systems in China and the United States: An Analysis Based on School Choice in the Elementary Education Stage. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,24,276-282.

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About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities

ISBN:978-1-83558-127-8(Print) / 978-1-83558-128-5(Online)
Editor:Enrique Mallen, Javier Cifuentes-Faura
Conference website: https://www.icgpsh.org/
Conference date: 13 October 2023
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.24
ISSN:2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

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References

[1]. Elementary Education. Encyclopedia of Education. Retrieved August 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/elementary-education.

[2]. Petri, A. E. (1984). Elementary Education in the People’s Republic of China.

[3]. Chen, T. H. (1962). Elementary education in communist China. The China Quarterly, 10, 98-122.

[4]. United States. Office of Educational Research, Improvement. Center for Education Statistics, & Institute of Education Sciences (US). (2010). Digest of education statistics (Vol. 46). US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Education Division, National Center for Education Statistics.

[5]. Fuller, B. F. and Elmore, R. (1996). Who Chooses? Who Loses? Culture, Institutions and the Unequal Effects of School Choice. Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027 (paperback: ISBN-0-8077-3537-X; clothbound: ISBN-0-8077-3538-8).

[6]. Cookson, P. W. and Schneider, B. (2014). Why School Choice? In Transforming Schools, 557-577. Routledge.

[7]. Dong, H. and Li, L. (2019). School choice in China: Past, present, and future. ECNU Review of Education, 2(1), 95-103. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531119840854.

[8]. Liu, S. and Apple, M. W. (2016). Parental Choice of School, Class Strategies, and Educational Inequality: An Essay Review of School Choice in China—A Different Tale? (X. Wu, New York, NY: Routledge, 2014, 168 Pp. ISBN 978-0-415-81769-1). Educational Policy, 30(6), 940-955. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904816653633.

[9]. Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (1986). Compulsory Education Law of the People’s Republic of China. http://en.moe.gov.cn/documents/laws_policies/201506/t20150626_191391.html.

[10]. Wu, Z. and Shen, J. (2006). School choice and education equity—Change in school choice policies and new direction in public school reform in China. Tsinghua Journal of Education, 6, 111-118.

[11]. Powers, J. M. and Cookson Jr, P. W. (1999). The politics of school choice research: Fact, fiction, and statistics. Educational Policy, 13(1), 104-122.

[12]. Moe, T. M. (2008). Beyond the free market: The structure of school choice. BYU L. Rev., 557.

[13]. Sixth National People’s Congress. (1986). The Law of Compulsory Education of People’s Republic of China (Ninth Article).

[14]. Qian, Y. (2021). An Analysis of the Impact of the “Nearby Enrollment” Policy on Access to Quality Education Resources. In 2021 International Conference on Modern Educational Technology and Social Sciences (ICMETSS 2021), 176-179. Atlantis Press.

[15]. Ouchi, W. G. (2006). Power to the principals: Decentralization in three large school districts. Organization Science, 17(2), 298-307.

[16]. Hu, Y. and Tu, Y. (2006). Equity and Efficiency Analysis of the School Choice System in the United States. Foreign Primary and Secondary Education, 12, 1-11.

[17]. Hawkins, J. N. (2000). Centralization, decentralization, recentralization‐Educational reform in China. Journal of Educational Administration, 38(5), 442-455.

[18]. Mok, K. H. (2005). Globalization and educational restructuring: University merging and changing governance in China. Higher Education, 50(1), 57–88.

[19]. Reese, W. J. (1999). The origins of the American high school. Yale University Press.

[20]. Ryan, J. E. (1999). Schools, race, and money. The Yale Law Journal, 109(2), 249-316.

[21]. Wang, Y. (2022). The development, problems and improvement of school district system in China. Curriculum and Teaching Research, (12), 12-14.

[22]. Zhang, X., Shi, Q. and Liu, L. (2022). Democracy and bureaucracy in American education: An analysis of school district governance. Journal of Educational Administration, 60(3), 435-453.

[23]. Hong, Y. and Cui, Y. (2022). Principal leadership in China: A review and future research agenda. Educational Administration Quarterly, 58(2), 291–329.

[24]. Beckham, J., Wills, B. K. and Weeks, K. M. (2016). School Boards: responsibilities, duties, decision making and legal basis for local school board powers.