How China's Education System Shaped American Schools

 It's no secret that China is a global powerhouse. The country has the world's largest economy, it dominates the manufacturing industries, and it boasts some of the fastest internet speeds on Earth. And now, new research suggests that China is responsible for another notch in its belt: It changed American education.

The rise of Chinese literacy and the Chinese education system was linked by the early 1950s. In 1982, over half of the Chinese population were illiterate, and their level of education far fell short of that of most other countries. At the same time, faculty salaries were very low, and prestige of teachers was very low. Additionally, existing schools were poorly maintained, 

dirty, and often did not have basic equipment. Despite these challenges, nearly 60% of Chinese children finished elementary school, and many of them were able to finish high school.

In the mid-1990s, Chinese parents began to place an emphasis on education, and many families were compelled to pay school fees. While the Chinese government has promised to improve the system, many parents still make great personal sacrifices to send their children to school. 

Since then, the illiteracy rate among China's young and middle-aged population has declined from 80 percent to 5 percent. As of 2015, the Chinese educational system trained more than 60 million mid-and high-level professionals and trained more than 400 million laborers to the high school level. Today, almost 250 million children in China to attend two, three, or four-level schools.

The Chinese government and businesses have contributed to the education of their children. They have built schools that were funded by government departments and private donors. The Chinese government has pledged to improve the system, 

but the results are not as good as the government promises. In 1995, the Chinese education system was ranked 119th out of 130 countries, and the number of university graduates per hundred thousand people is only 103. As of 2006, only 2% of Chinese school-age children attend university, and 50% of all students are enrolled in adult education classes. This growth in private schools has nothing to do with national policies. It is the result of parents who believe that the official schools in China are too bad.

The Chinese government was also a pioneer in assisting economically disadvantaged areas of China. By 1988, the government increased state education appropriations and founded the Hope Project, which provides back-to-school funds for impoverished children. By 1994, the Hope Project had raised over US$42.7 million in donations for children. In addition, this initiative has helped more than 1 million children return to school.

The People's Republic of China's education system was largely dominated by State-Owned Enterprises until the late 1980s. Local governments funded the schools by charging lots of fees, which discouraged many children from attending school. In fact, the education system in the People's Republic of Xiamen was marginal at best. However, the new socialist government also imposed the Cultural Revolution, which shut down many universities in the country.

In the beginning, the Chinese education system was similar to the Western model. The Chinese government made sure to include the Chinese language and arithmetic in the education system. But in the end, the school system would also include science and other Western-style topics, including physical and mental health.

 By the end of the century, the Communist Party of China began implementing reforms in the education system. Its first reforms included dismantling the iron rice bowl system and instituting a modern-style schooling system with primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of education.

The Chinese Communist Party leadership views education as the foundation of the Four Modernizations. It prioritized science and technology education, and in the late 1980s, the emphasis shifted from vocational education to further training.

 The Chinese educational system became more focused on the development of science and technology, and the emphasis on technological knowledge and skilled workers began to shift from general education to specialized training. The Chinese people are increasingly educated in the United States, but the educational standards in the country are below the average in many Western countries.

The study of the Chinese education system also influences the design of American schools. The Chinese educational system is more traditional than the current one. As an example, the country's teachers are not required to undergo any special training.

 The students in American public schools are taught by rote-education methods. Aside from this, Chinese teachers also attend a lot of public events and study foreign languages. Similarly, they can study other aspects of education in different countries.