Education in China and the World

This open access book provides a comprehensive overview of education in China, covering 12 critical topics including basic education, higher education, professional education, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education, mental health education, and international education and excellence initiatives. Drawing from current research, theoretical literature, and real-life stories, this book examines the developmental trajectories, achievements, and best practices in the above-mentioned topics, to reflect realities of education transformation in China. It also incorporates a global comparison of key indicators to explore strengths of and gaps in Chinese education with its global counterparts. Setting its context in an ever-changing world, this book intends to explore conceptual support to develop “a modern education system with Chinese features and world standards”, to provide implications for further developing quality education in all sectors, and topromote understanding and inspire critical discussion on education development in China and around the world. This book serves as a valuable resource for students, scholars, and policy makers in the field of education studies, as well as for the general public who are interested in Chinese education.

Liu Niancai is a distinguished professor, currently director of the Center for World-Class Universities and dean of the School of Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China. His research interests include world-class universities and research universities, educational evaluation and academic ranking, and internationalization of education and global common good(s). His recent books include ‘World-Class Universities: Global Trends and Institutional Models’ and ‘China and Europe on the New Silk Road: Connecting Universities Across Eurasia’. He is 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 attention.

Feng Zhuolin is a professor at the Center for World-Class Universities and assistant dean of the School of Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China. She joined this university in 2006, whereshe obtained her Ph.D. degree and became Faculty Member (2010). Her primary research interests are the development strategies and performance evaluation of world-class universities. Her research on excellence initiatives of World-Class Universities (WCU) has received municipal and national awards, and her consultation works have been highly recognized and adopted by policy makers at the Chinese State Council, Ministry of Education, and universities in China. Her team is currently working on a database, WCUDATA, to introduce mass data into evaluations on WCUs. She is also making efforts to apply Chinese ethics to studies on WCUs. 

Wang Qi is an adjunct assistant professor at the Center for World-Class Universities, the School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China, and Research Fellow at the Centre for International Higher Education, Boston College, the United States of America. She completed her Master’s degree and Ph.D. studies at the Department of Education, University of Bath, UK, from September 2002 to November 2008. Her research interests include building world-class universities, employability management and skill training, and globalization and education development. Her research on young faculty and academic profession have been awarded several national and municipal research grants.