Patterns of Development of Chinese Teacher Education in a Reform Context

Abstract

China has been in rapid development since entering the era of reform in the 1980s. Given that education has both social and economic values, how to provide quality education in the most effective and efficient manner has therefore become a critical issue. In this context, teacher education has to be reformed in order to have the various problems and issues addressed. As recent research (see, e.g., Ding, 2001; Lin & Xun, 2001; Wang, 2001; Zhu & Zhu, 2001) has indicated, teacher education has been challenged at all fronts and has to change very frequently to adapt to environmental demands. Unfortunately, members from different sectors of the society do not always agree with each other about the directions of the changes. In such a context, teacher educators are not sure what they should do at what opportunity cost in order to achieve what goals amid the various socio-economic and political reforms that are in place in China. The position of this paper is that the teacher education institutions in China should never ever forget that the greatest contribution they could provide to the development of China’s school system is to enhance professionalization of teachers. A historical perspective can enlighten the future development course of professionalization of teachers in China, which is presented in this chapter. The focus of analysis is on the patterns of development, using Beijing Normal University as a case for illustration when appropriate, as Beijing Normal University is the oldest and the leading teacher education institution in China.