Chinese Corner - Education in China

This event has ended.

A good education has always been highly valued in China. In Chinese culture it is believed that education ensures not only the future and development of the individual, but also the family and the country as a whole

Since as early as the Shang Dynasty (16th century BC - 11th century BC), inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells were the simple records of teaching and learning. In the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC - 771 BC), nobles built schools to teach their children, as their offspring would be the officials of the future. The great educationalist, Confucius, after whom our Institute is named, also had a profound influence on the early development of education in China.

Over time, the education system in China has had to grow and adapt to meet new challenges and today it is the largest education system in the world. With almost 260 million students and over 15 million teachers in about 514000 schools (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2014), excluding graduate education institutions, China’s education system is not only immense but diverse.

In this evening talk we will introduce the history of Chinese education, explaining how it has developed over time and how it prepares children of all ages, backgrounds and abilities for life in modern day China and beyond.