Publication: China Early Child Development : Early Childhood Education in Yunnan
Date
2013-11-18
ISSN
Published
2013-11-18
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Yunnan is a medium-sized and relatively
poor Chinese province on the southwestern border of China.
In 2012, the Yunnan department of education formally
requested Bank support in conducting a review of early
childhood education policies and programs in order to gain
an in-depth and evidence-based understanding of the
challenges the province faces in expanding early childhood
education-in particular to rural and mountainous regions.
The Bank's China education team embarked on raising
funds, designing and implementing a rather elaborate
research agenda around early childhood education. The goal
was to investigate key challenges, and to propose policy
interventions for expanding the Early Child Development
(ECD) coverage in rural Yunnan. This report presents the
findings from the background studies, and draws potential
policy implications for improving the access to and quality
of preschool education in Yunnan province. China has now
almost achieved universal 9-year basic education. Over the
last decade, the country has devoted increasing attention to
policy development in early childhood education. Even though
China does not yet have a specific early childhood education
law, it has established a rather elaborate set of guidelines
and regulations pertaining to early childhood education.
Early childhood education has expanded significantly within
the last few years. There are two main types of preschool
programs for 3-6 year olds including: a regular 3-year
program which is called kindergarten, and a one-year program
attached usually to primary schools. The rapid growth of
preschool teacher supply has contributed to the drop in
pupil-teacher ratios across the nation. In Yunnan in
particular, the ratio has decreased from approximately 30 to
20 in recent years. However, urban areas still enjoy a more
favorable pupil-teacher ratio, as well as a higher
proportion of qualified teachers compared to rural areas.
Rural areas account for 50 percent of total preschool
enrollment, but only 22 percent of all trained teachers
serve in rural areas.
Citation
“World Bank. 2013. China Early Child Development : Early Childhood Education in Yunnan. © Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/17004 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”