Progress or Stagnation: Academic Assessments for Sustainable Education in Rural China

Abstract

Educational sustainability development (ESD) is central to our sustainable future. To promote inclusive and equitable quality education under the backdrop of sustainable developmental goals (SDGs), we intend to understand how rural students perform in academic studies of post-compulsory high-school education in China by assessing their academic performance based on measurements of four content subjects: Chinese, English, Physics and Biology. A total of 93 senior high school students (Grade 11 and Grade 12) participated in this study and they were enrolled in a rural school from the Guizhou province, China. Our results yielded no significant differences in overall test scores between Grade 11 and Grade 12. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) across grade level showed stagnant progress in English reading and a decrease in science-related subjects, which indicates a plateau of academic achievements in rural secondary education. Furthermore, the interactional analysis identified a gender gap leaning toward male students because boys scored higher than girls in the three tested subjects. Applied implications were discussed with respect to sustainable education development in rural areas.

Factors Affecting the Development of Education in China

“…Boys and girls have different physiological structures, so of course, their brains will also have different ways of thinking. A study by Haomin Zhang, Xi Cheng and Liuran Cui shows that girls have some advantages in reading and arts-related subjects [5,6]. In contrast, in high school, boys have greater development potential in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related subjects [5].…”

Educación a Distancia en Comunidades Rurales: Logros Y Retos en Educación Superior

“…Lo anterior viene a reforzar la idea de que la educación es el mecanismo privilegiado de superación de la pobreza (Concha, 2009;Cornejo Espejo, 2013). Tal es el caso de China, donde el éxito del crecimiento económico sostenido depende más del desarrollo en las zonas rurales, en el cual la educación juega un factor determinante para facilitar el desarrollo sostenible (Zhang et al, 2021).…”

The Impact of Student-Teacher Policy Perception on Employment Intentions in Rural Schools for Educational Sustainable Development Based on Push–Pull Theory: An Empirical Study from China

“…However, due to geographical isolation, limited access to professional development activities, low salary, and engagement in teaching a variety of subjects [4], large rural areas in many countries are experiencing a decrease in the number of teachers and are facing a serious challenge of recruiting and retaining qualified teachers [5], which has impeded sustainable development of the whole society. To curb this problem and to prevent the deterioration of the situation, many countries and universities have introduced relevant policies and spent a substantial amount of resources to train, recruit, and retain qualified teachers, especially for rural areas [6][7][8], such as the National Outstanding Teacher in Disadvantaged School Program launched by Australia [9] and the Rural Revitalization Strategy (RRS) introduced by China [10].…”