Education in China and the World: National Development and Global Benchmarking

This open access book is the second edition of Education in China and the World: Achievements and Contemporary Issues. It builds upon the commitment to provide a comprehensive analysis on education in China to a global audience. Focusing on seven education segments, from basic to post-secondary education, this edition draws on the latest literature, official data, and statistical resources to reflect the  trends and development in Chinese education. Based on the groundwork built previously, this edition further explores the excellence index to assess Chinese education as compared to its international counterparts. It also provides updated influential case studies of educational practices and inspiring educators and renews a comprehensive literature review on current research and national policy, to support the development of a modern education system with Chinese characteristics and global standards.

The featured analysis in this edition highlights China’s significant growth in education attainment and research output, underscored by substantial government support. Concurrently, the analysis also reveals disparities in quality performance, particularly in educational resource allocation. It calls for further efforts to promote academic excellence and to address public educational needs comprehensively.

This book serves as a valuable resource for students, scholars, and policy makers in the field of education studies, as well as readers who are interested in Chinese education.

Feng Zhuolin is a Professor at the Center for World-Class Universities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. Her primary research interests are the development strategies and performance evaluations of world-class universities. In the past years, her research outcomes on the excellence initiatives of WCU were honored with excellence research awards nationally and in Shanghai. She is also an active practitioner of consultation exercises, and her consultation reports have been accepted by policy makers of the Chinese State Council, Chinese Ministry of Education, and higher education institutions.

Wang Qi is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Center for World-Class Universities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. She completed her Master of Arts (MA) and PhD studies at the Department of Education, University of Bath, United Kingdom, from September 2002 to November 2008, and joined SJTU in May 2009. Her research interests include building world-class universities, employability management and skill training, and globalization and education development.

Liu Niancai is the Director of the Center for World-Class Universities and the Dean of the School of Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China. His research interests include world-class universities and research universities, educational evaluation and academic ranking, internationalization of education and global common good(s). His recent books include Education in China and the World: Achievements and Contemporary Issues, World-Class Universities: Global Trends and Institutional Models, and China and Europe on the New Silk Road: Connecting Universities Across Eurasia. He is a member of the editorial/advisory boards of several international and national journals. The Academic Ranking of World Universities, an online publication of his group since 2003, has also attracted worldwide attentions.