Education and Change in Rich, Poor and National Minority Areas in China: Two Decades of Transition

This study traces education and change over two decades in three areas, Tongzhou on the periphery of Beijing chosen as one of the richest 300 counties in 1990; Ansai in Yan'an which was one of the poorest 300 counties and a famous base for the 8th Route Army at the end of the Long March, and Zhaojue a poor Yi national minority area in the Liangshan mountains in southwest of Sichuan. Two of the case study areas have developed beyond recognition, whilst the third has improved but still lags behind. Many issues are highlighted by the rapid transformations including the impact of large scale demographic change and migration, which has seen falling numbers enrolled and increasing numbers of left behind children in sending areas and inbound migrants in receiving areas; large scale boarding of children from grade 4 and below in rural areas; recentralisation of responsibilities for school financing and teachers salaries; and growing concerns for horizontal and vertical inequalities in access and participation between regions, urban and rural areas, and different types of schools.