From ‘Cinderella’ to ‘Beloved Princess’: The Evolution of Early Childhood Education Policy in China

Accessibility, affordability, accountability, sustainability and social justice of early childhood education in China: A case study of Shenzhen

“…However, since the 1990s, the aggressive policy -- 'government retreats but private-sector advances' (国退民进) – has been rigorously implemented with the aim to promote private kindergartens. Accordingly, the public kindergartens were closed down, suspended, merged, transformed and sold, shifting the responsibility of funding and monitoring ECE from the government to the private sector ( Li, Yang, & Chen, 2016 ). This radical transformation has made the ECE services more privatized and market-oriented and has brought about the following consequences: (1) a drastic decrease in national financial budget planning for ECE, which was less than 1.3% of the entire education budget in 2005, leaving the local governments to sponsor the remaining public kindergartens; (2) a substantial weakening in the planning, policymaking and supervision of ECE due to the cutting down of the number of officials in the ECE departments in all government levels; (3) a flourishing of private kindergartens to meet the demands in major cities; and (4) a significant decline in both the quantity and quality of ECE in China ( Li and Wang, 2008 , Li et al, 2016 , Zhu and Wang, 2005 ).…”

“…Accordingly, the public kindergartens were closed down, suspended, merged, transformed and sold, shifting the responsibility of funding and monitoring ECE from the government to the private sector ( Li, Yang, & Chen, 2016 ). This radical transformation has made the ECE services more privatized and market-oriented and has brought about the following consequences: (1) a drastic decrease in national financial budget planning for ECE, which was less than 1.3% of the entire education budget in 2005, leaving the local governments to sponsor the remaining public kindergartens; (2) a substantial weakening in the planning, policymaking and supervision of ECE due to the cutting down of the number of officials in the ECE departments in all government levels; (3) a flourishing of private kindergartens to meet the demands in major cities; and (4) a significant decline in both the quantity and quality of ECE in China ( Li and Wang, 2008 , Li et al, 2016 , Zhu and Wang, 2005 ). All these consequences have jointly caused the '3A' problems to the ECE services in China: (1) accessibility problem (入园难), as it is very tough to get into a kindergarten, especially those public kindergartens which are usually of higher quality; (2) affordability problem (入园贵), as some kindergartens charge much higher than universities; and (3) accountability problem (入园差), as most private kindergartens are terrible in quality with no necessary supervision ( Li et al, 2016 ).…”

On the road to universal early childhood education in China: A financial perspective

“…ECE in China has always suffered from major systemic problems of quality and sustainability. Prior to 2010, ECE in China went through two separate downward developmental cycles due to political turbulence and government mismanagement (Li, Yang, & Chen, 2016). The first cycle was a chaotic period from 1958-1977 when the country went through the "Great Leap Forward" (1958)(1959)(1960) and the "Cultural Revolution" (1966)(1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976).…”

“…By 2010, ECE in China was plagued by the aforementioned 3A's problems. There were many factors that contributed to these issues, among which was the lack of a fair and adequate funding system (Li et al, 2016). To solve these problems, the Chinese State Council issued two important policy directives in 2010: The Outline of China's National Plan for Medium and Long-term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) (hereinafter referred to as "the Plan"), and the Several Views on the Development of Preschool Education by the State Council (hereinafter referred to as "the Views").…”

“…Finally, the third mission dictated the strengthening of ECE in rural areas: All the children left behind by parents working away from their home villages shall have access to kindergartens. Rural ECE resources shall be replenished by all means (Li et al, 2016).…”