Integrated macro and micro analyses of student burden reduction policies in China: call for a collaborative “family–school–society” model

Abstract

The ultimate goal of China’s student burden reduction policy is to promote quality education, which is also the core task of UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goal for education (SDG 4). China aims to achieve quality education development through continuous implementation of student burden reduction policies. However, no previous studies have simultaneously explored the macro-level dynamic changes and micro-level stakeholders’ (parents) views regarding the implementation of student burden reduction policies. Here, we examined 232 policy documents from 1951 to 2021 and analyzed 23,567 parents’ responses to a questionnaire survey across 29 provinces to obtain holistic insight into student burden reduction policies. We found that student burden reduction policies followed the form “Central leadership + Ministry of Education sovereignty + multi-department coordination”, while parents received relatively little attention. There is a significant correlation between students’ burden level and parents’ attitude towards student burden reduction policies. We suggest building a collaborative “family–school–society” sustainable education system in China.