The Fundamentals and Tasks of Building China’s Kindergarten Teacher Workforce During the 14th Five-Year Plan

Abstract

During the 14th Five-Year Plan, preschool education in China will move toward the objectives of quality and balance, and the kindergarten teacher workforce must be formed with sufficient quantity, high quality, and balanced distribution. At present, the scale of China’s current kindergarten teacher workforce still does not meet the standards for teacher assignments. Education levels are still low and there is still a clear gap between urban and rural areas and between provinces in quantity and quality. The tasks of building China’s future kindergarten teacher workforce are: appoint the required number of kindergarten teachers according to the standards and plan for population changes; optimize the education level structure of the kindergarten teacher workforce and further improve the education level of the teacher workforce; and strengthen the construction of rural kindergarten teacher workforce and shrink the inter-provincial gaps between teacher workforces. To this end, this study recommends truly improving the pay and social status of kindergarten teachers, training more preschool education professionals with at least the educational level of associate’s degrees, and systematically improve the management mechanisms of the kindergarten teacher workforce.