Abstract
Although it seems obsolete to analyse and criticise a curriculum from the point-of-view of “subject-centredness”, this is the situation we face during the Chinese basic education curriculum reform. This article gives a brief introduction to the ideas behind the development and practice of the Chinese curriculum reform and the progress of the reform since 2001. Several aspects of the reform are introduced: 1. Re-examining and revamping academic courses; 2. Adding general practical courses; 3. Diversifying the curriculum with local and school-based courses; 4. Providing elective courses for all students. We also give two examples to present the idea of the new curriculum and practice.
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Original language: English
Muju Zhu (China)
Deputy Director-General of the Department of Basic Education and Director-General of the National Center for School Curriculum and Textbook Development, Ministry of Education, Beijing. She serves as Vice-Chairwoman of the Master’s Degrees Subcommittee of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and is a Permanent Member of the China Pre-School Education Society. Ms Zhu is the chief designer and organiser of China’s basic education curriculum reform, which was launched nationwide in 2001. From 1991 to 2005, she was National Director of several UNICEF projects in China. Author of 10 books and numerous articles. E-mail: zhumj@moe.edu.cn
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Zhu, M. Recent Chinese experiences in curriculum reform. Prospects 37, 223–235 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-007-9026-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-007-9026-x