Transformation of Public Kindergartens in Shenzhen: Internet Study of Public Views

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

“…In addition, the ECE departments at different governmental levels were dismissed or simply eliminated. Consequently, the reform has placed public kindergartens in a very disadvantaged situation (Li and Wang 2008;Zhu and Wang 2005).…”

“…All of these reforms during the second 'Dark Age' period have contributed to the overall decline in the quantity and quality of ECE in China (Li and Wang 2008;Zhu and Wang 2005). Upon taking over the directorship of the Department of ECE in the MoE of China, Jiang (2005) listed the following major problems in her annual report:…”

“…During these periods, kindergartens were closed down along with other educational institutions. Children were sent home with no education provided, and qualified teachers were sent to rural or remote areas for reeducation through laboring (Li and Wang 2008). This is the first 'Dark Age' of ECE in China with two decades being 'lost' .…”

“…Since then, many public kindergartens have been driven out of business due to the reformation of the financial system, whereas kindergartens owned by private and NGOs have expanded dramatically. Li and Wang (2008) regarded this reform as a 'silent revolution' of ECE in China, moving from a public kindergarten dominated system to a private kindergarten dominated one, and the so-called 'government retreats but private sector advances' policy was successfully implemented at the expense of both the quality and quantity of ECE in China (Cai 2008;Li and Wang 2008).…”

“…Accordingly, the ECE and its funding system could not keep up with the rapidly expanding needs and demands of kindergartens, and, therefore, had to face the challenge of allocating limited resources fairly and rationally all over the State (Li 2012a;Li and Wang 2008). Due to a lack of infrastructure and budget for public kindergarten, the central government had to accept the privatization of ECE as a workable solution (Li and Wang 2008). Many NGOs and personnel were encouraged to set up private kindergartens to ease the pressure and to meet the demands of the public (Pan and Liu 2008).…”