China, People's Republic of : Jiangxi Shangrao Early Childhood Education Demonstration Program

Education / Pre-primary and primary

Information and communication technology / ICT industries and ICT-enabled services

Shangrao is one of the 11 prefecture-level municipalities comprising Jiangxi Province which forms part of the central region prioritized by the Government of the PRC for coordinated regional development. The province lags in urbanization (54.6% in 2017, below the national average of 59.4%). Of its 64 counties, 25 are classified as national poverty-stricken counties, of which, four are in Shangrao municipality. Among the 11 municipalities, Shangrao ranked the second lowest in gross domestic product per capita (CNY26,996) in 2016, and remains largely rural, with the urbanization rate at 48.9%. Poverty persists particularly in rural areas where the per capita household income is equal to only about one-third of that in urban areas. Income poverty is further compounded by lack of access to basic infrastructure and public services in rural areas, including basic education. To address the challenge, the Jiangxi Provincial Government issued the guidelines in February 2018 for implementing the rural vitalization strategy based on the national guidelines, seeking to coordinate government interventions High-quality ECE brings social and economic benefits especially to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, boosts female employment, and reduces intergenerational inequality and poverty. Yet, access to ECE has been severely constrained in Shangrao because no kindergartens exist in proximity to children's homes, particularly in rural areas. Although gross enrollment ratio (GER) has significantly improved through the implementation of the first (2010-2013), second (2014-2016), and third (2017-2020) action plans for ECE development from 78% for one-year ECE; 70% for two-year ECE; and 60% for three-year ECE in 2010 to 93%, 81%, and 66% respectively in 2017, there remain townships and villages without any kindergarten. Even if there are kindergartens nearby, receiving quality three-year ECE is a challenge due to lack of spaces, teachers, or affordability.

By filling the gap in ECE provision, private kindergartens have proliferated in Shangrao, accounting for 66% (1,751) of all the kindergartens (2,653) in 2017. Private kindergartens are dominant particularly in urban areas (81% of kindergartens in urban areas), though they still operate in rural areas (55% of kindergartens in rural areas). Quality and affordability of private kindergartens vary considerably, with high standard private kindergartens in urban areas charging more than four times higher than public kindergartens, while substandard private kindergartens charging marginally higher. Out of growing concern over the accessibility, affordability, and quality of ECE, local governments started subsidizing private kindergartens which meet the national construction standards for kindergartens under the second action plan.

As the rural vitalization strategy came into force, new targets have been included in the third action plan to construct at least one public kindergarten in each township by 2018, and in each administrative village resided by more than 2,000 people by 2020. As of July 2018, 65 out of 188 townships in Shangrao have no public kindergarten. The number of administrative villages with a population of 2,000 and above having no public kindergarten remains considerable. With the expansion of urban areas, moreover, places at existing kindergartens have increasingly become unavailable in urban areas. The need to construct new kindergartens poses yet another challenge - staffing newly constructed kindergartens by qualified staff, especially qualified ECE teachers and principals. Coordination between pre-service teacher education institutions, local governments, and kindergartens has been insufficient to meet the need for teachers and principals on time. Consequently, qualified ECE teachers in Shangrao account for 43% of all ECE teachers (10,304 in 2017). Furthermore, due to lack of quotas for "public employee" teachers (only about 10% of all the positions, mostly allocated to public kindergartens in urban areas), many ECE teachers work on contractual basis without the benefits enjoyed by "public employee" teachers and prospects of career progression. Rural kindergartens, therefore, face difficulties in attracting qualified ECE teachers.

Research suggests that benefits of ECE are contingent on quality and that low quality ECE is even detrimental to child development. The key to the quality of ECE is knowledge and skills of ECE teachers to understand the needs of each child and effectively interact with them. To maintain and upgrade knowledge and skills, teachers, including those who fulfill the qualification requirements, need to be engaged regularly in continuous professional development. Equally important is the management and pedagogical leadership of kindergarten principals. As part of its efforts to improve the quality of ECE, Shangrao started supporting, under the third action plan, ECE teachers and principals to receive further education and training and to get certified within the national ECE teacher certification system. It also plans to strengthen pre- and in-service training systems for ECE teachers and principals in collaboration with the Shangrao ECE Normal College, the major pre-service ECE teacher education institution in Shangrao. It is further planned to pilot a township-centered village kindergarten network model, where a township center kindergarten equipped with quality ECE resources and qualified teachers and principal is expected to provide ECE resources and support for village kindergartens in the network. Such township-village kindergarten networks would be essential to implement national curriculum guidelines for ECE, which most teachers, especially in rural areas, find difficult to implement.

Children in rural areas are more disadvantaged than those in urban areas because they are often left behind by their parents who migrate to work elsewhere and are taken care of by their grandparents or other care givers. Although parental engagement in ECE proves crucial in child development and learning, children left behind in rural areas lack such parental care and support. Given the circumstances, community integration and engagement in ECE has come to be considered as an alternative, especially in conjunction with the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy.

In March 2018, Shangrao entered into a partnership agreement with Shanghai to receive support for ECE development. ECE teachers and principals in Shangrao are provided opportunities to conduct observations and receive training at high-quality kindergartens in Shanghai. The agreement includes the secondment of professors from the East China Normal University in Shanghai, one of several leading ECE research institutions in the PRC, to the Shangrao Municipal Bureau of Education to provide technical and academic support. Some innovative ideas to improve access to quality three-year ECE in Shangrao, especially in rural areas, are proposed, which, however, require further elaboration, planning, and implementation.

Universal coverage of quality 3-year ECE achieved

Children receiving quality 3-year ECE increased

Provision of affordable 3-year ECE increased

Systems for preparation and professional development of ECE teachers, principals, and childcare staff established

Models and mechanisms for improving the quality of ECE developed

Systems for assessing, monitoring, and ensuring the quality of ECE strengthened