The Chinese Model of Teacher Education: Retrospects and Prospects over a Century

Abstract

This article aims at a comprehensive examination of the Chinese model of teacher education by critically revisiting the developmental trajectory of the teacher education system in China over the past century, with a particular focus on policy trends since the 1990s. It interrogates the Chinese model of teacher education with two macro lenses: the historical and the comparative. The historical lens looks deeply into the Chinese way of reform with a catch-up mentality in various stages, while the comparative lens locates the Chinese model of teacher education in an international context. The paper begins with a comprehensive review of the related literature, surveys the historical pathway of China's modern teacher education system since its birth in 1897, presents an overview of the current provisions of the system, and examines recent policy trends in the landscape of China's teacher education. Finally, the article concludes that the Chinese model consists of a hybrid system of teacher education provided by normal schools, normal colleges and universities, with the participation of comprehensive universities and internet-based higher education institutions, and accompanied by a consistent licensing system for the teaching profession. With such core features as independence, openness, adaptability and diversity based on Confucian epistemology and pragmatism, the Chinese model of teacher education is likely to illuminate new paths for the development of education and the pursuit of excellence in the global community.

Same Mindset, Different Pedagogical Strategies: A Case Study Comparing Chinese and Finnish Teachers

“…As indicated in Table 1, although the teaching profession can be traced back to Confucian times, the formal establishment of teacher education in China is considered to have begun by the 1900s (Guo, 2005;Li, 2012Li, , 2013 with the first teaching training school, Nanyang Gongxue, in 1897, and to have developed especially after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 (Wen, 1989). To improve the social position of teachers, the first national Teachers' Day was celebrated in 1985, and the Law of Teachers was formulated in 1993 to guarantee teachers' legal rights.…”

China's quest for world-class teachers: a rational model of national initiatives and institutional transformations

“…The modern system of teacher education was established in China for political purposes to serve national survival and revival and to catch up with Western powers in the late 19 th century. This post-colonial catch-up mentality has continued over a century, with four stages of development under various historical contexts: the first stage of establishment (1897)(1898)(1899)(1900)(1901)(1902)(1903)(1904)(1905)(1906)(1907)(1908)(1909)(1910)(1911), the second stage of institutionalization , the third stage of re-institutionalization and the most recent stage of professionalization (1993-present) (Li, 2012).…”

“…On the other hand, the new model of teacher education has been built upon China's own traditions as a country that has a long history of education. In other words, China has been seeking a form of teacher professionalism that balances the global and the local (Li, 2012;2013, Feb. 7).…”

“…On the other hand, Li (2010) demonstrated how three different "logics"that of institutional strategies, economic demand and state political initiatives have driven the developmental model of TEIs in China, with a detailed comparison of three leading universities for teachers. Foreign models of teacher education system also provide China with valuable experiences (Hayhoe, 2002;Hayhoe & Li, 2010;Li, 2012;Zhu, 2001).…”

Research on Teaching Pattern Based on Internet Plus

“…In this stage, the teachers should form their teaching team about curricula, divide tasks reasonable to team members, and complete the teaching design and course preparation. They must accomplish resource integration and optimization, construction of teaching and tasks scenarios, consultation teaching organization mode online and offline, evaluation methods and content of each learning task [10]. In the teaching design, there must be specific teaching target and personalized requirements, considering the differences of learners.…”