Research Article
Open access
Published on 7 December 2023
Download pdf
Tang,X. (2023). Educational Inequality Between Urban and Rural Areas in China. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,30,293-297.
Export citation

Educational Inequality Between Urban and Rural Areas in China

Xi Tang *,1,
  • 1 University College London

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7048/30/20231736

Abstract

China has achieved remarkable economic expansion and progress over the past few decades, but the long-standing huge urban-rural education gap remains a bottleneck for the development of education in China, greatly affecting the progress of society as a whole. The education gap between urban and rural areas in China can be seen in several ways, including resource allocation, teacher forces, and student achievement. This essay focuses on the education inequality between urban and rural areas in China caused by inadequate policy implementation and a lack of high-quality teachers in rural areas. In response to these problems, the essay argues that China needs to adopt a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach, with policy reforms and increasing the number of quality teachers in rural areas as the main areas of endeavor. The essay highlights the urgent need for China to consider educational equality and narrow the urban-rural education gap in the rapid development of the economy.

Keywords

urban-rural gap, educational inequality, China’s education system

[1]. Zhang, H. (2017). Opportunity or New Poverty Trap: Rural-urban Education Disparity and Internal Migration in China. China Economic Review, 44, 112-124.

[2]. Zhang, D., Li, X. and Xue, J. (2015). Education Inequality between Rural and Urban Areas of the People’s Republic of China, Migrants’ Children Education, and Some Implications. Asian Development Review, 32(1), 196-224.

[3]. Wu, X. and Treiman, D. J. (2004). The Household Registration System and Social Stratification in China: 1955-1996. Demography, 41(2), 363-384.

[4]. Gu, H., Ling, Y., Shen, T. and Yang, L. (2020). How does Rural Homestead Influence the Hukou Transfer Intention of Rural-urban Migrants in China? Habitat International, 105, 102267.

[5]. Chan, K. W. (2009). The Chinese Hukou System at 50. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 50(2), 197-221.

[6]. Hao, L., Hu, A. and Lo, J. (2014). Two Aspects of the Rural-urban Divide and Educational Stratification in China: A Trajectory Analysis. Comparative Education Review, 58(3), 509-536.

[7]. Zhang, L. (2009). Disparity between Rural and Urban Education in China. Unpublished Master Thesis. Oslo: Institute for Educational Research.

[8]. Mei, H., Jiang, Q., Xiang, Y. and Song, X. (2015). School Consolidation: Whither China’s Rural Education? Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 9(2), 138-150.

[9]. Wu, Z. (2020). Path and the Standards of Rural School Consolidation in China since 2000. Handbook of Education Policy Studies: School/University, Curriculum, and Assessment, 2, 3-33.

[10]. De Paola, M., Ponzo, M. and Scoppa, V. (2013). Class Size Effects on Student Achievement: Heterogeneity across Abilities and Fields. Education Economics, 21(2), 135-153.

[11]. Hannum, E., Liu, X. and Wang, F. (2021). Estimating the Effects of Educational System Consolidation: the Case of China’s Rural School Closure Initiative. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 70(1), 485-528.

[12]. An, X. H. (2018). Teacher Salaries and the Shortage of High-quality Teachers in China’s Rural Primary and Secondary Schools. Chinese Education & Society, 51(2), 103-116.

[13]. Peng, W. J., McNess, E., Thomas, S., Wu, X. R., Zhang, C., Li, J. Z. and Tian, H. S. (2014). Emerging Perceptions of Teacher Quality and Teacher Development in China. International Journal of Educational Development, 34, 77-89.

[14]. He, Z. (2023). Problems of Unbalanced Teacher Quantity and Quality and Countermeasures. International Journal of Education and Humanities, 9(3), 44-50.

[15]. Cui, L. T., Zhao, J. T., Liu, Y. and Liu, H. F. (2020). Teacher in the Compulsory Education in Rural China, Characteristics and Limitations. In Peters, M. A. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Teacher Education, 1-7.

[16]. Gao, M., Liu, J. and Wu, L. (2022). The Development Dilemma and Breakthrough of Chinese Rural Teachers from the Perspective of Rural Revitalization. In 2022 International Conference on Science Education and Art Appreciation, 501-514).

Cite this article

Tang,X. (2023). Educational Inequality Between Urban and Rural Areas in China. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,30,293-297.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Disclaimer/Publisher's Note

The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Interdisciplinary Humanities and Communication Studies

Conference website: https://www.icihcs.org/
ISBN:978-1-83558-175-9(Print) / 978-1-83558-176-6(Online)
Conference date: 15 November 2023
Editor:Javier Cifuentes-Faura, Enrique Mallen
Series: Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media
Volume number: Vol.30
ISSN:2753-7048(Print) / 2753-7056(Online)

© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See Open access policy for details).