Equity and Quality: Challenges in Providing Early Childhood Educational Opportunity in China

Abstract

THIS ARTICLE IS INTENDED to provide a timely outline of early childhood education (ECE) provision and policy in China. It gives a commentary on ECE policy in China and argues for new policy directions. Since 2010, the Chinese government has launched a comprehensive set of education policies designed to promote equitable access to ECE and improvements in the quality. These policies arose as a political response to a national complaint about the difficulties to enrolling children in qualified kindergartens and the growing gaps between education in the cities and rural areas. This study analyses the difficulties for the Chinese government and scholars to reach a balance between the equity and quality of ECE in different areas, especially in rural areas and for migrant children. It concludes that local government will, as well as central government, play an important role in determining whether formulated policies are translated into action on the ground. It is critical to increase the public funding of ECE in China and to conceive specific allocations of the budget.