Policy Review of Preschool Education Legislation in China

Abstract

Purpose

This study reviews the development of preschool education legislation in China and analyzes its background, fundamental principles, and prospects.

Design/Approach/Methods

Interpretations of the newly published Preschool Education Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft) are highlighted to reveal the recent manifestations of the legislative development of preschool education in China.

Findings

In China, legislation pertaining to preschool education is based on an extensive practical foundation and solid policy basis embodying the fundamental principles of establishing government leadership, ensuring children's right to education, and upholding public welfare and inclusivity. Such legislation is conducive to the further exploration of key issues and significant relationships involved in the development of preschool education and marks a milestone in its modernization with Chinese characteristics.

Originality/Value

This paper's findings indicate that the Preschool Education Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft) demonstrates significant progress in the development of preschool education in China, but there are still key issues that need to be further explored.

For more than a decade, the development of preschool education has been a matter of great significance to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). In 2012, the need to develop quality preschool education was put forward in a report delivered at the CPC's 18th National Congress (Hu, 2012). In 2017, a report at the 19th National Congress introduced “education for all children” as an important aspect of safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods (Xi, 2017). In 2022, a report at the 20th National Congress called for “strengthening preschool education” in terms of its inclusive development and continued efforts to ensure “education for all children” (Xi, 2022). As a result of the Central Committee's steadfast leadership, preschool education in China has made extraordinary developmental leaps and historical achievements (Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022a). To better consolidate these achievements and advance the standardized, methodical, sustained, and high-quality development of preschool education, steady progress is being made in preschool education legislation in China. In a significant move, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress introduced the Preschool Education Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft) (hereinafter, the Draft) in August 2023. In view of these developments, this study elucidates the practical and policy underpinnings, progression, and achievements of the legislation of preschool education in China. In doing so, it summarizes and analyzes the role of such legislation in advancing the development of preschool education in China as well as its future prospects.

Legislative foundation of preschool education in China

In China, legislation pertaining to preschool education is grounded in an extensive practical foundation and solid policy base. Preschool education has made noticeable progress through extensive practice, although it has faced a number of serious challenges. These achievements and issues need to be recognized and addressed by related legislation. That said, before the recent introduction of the Preschool Education Law (Draft), the Chinese government had already issued a variety of normative and guiding policies in relation to the development of preschool education. Local governments had also issued their own regulations governing preschool education. These are crucial references for the legislation of preschool education in China.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, preschool education has undergone three pivotal stages of development, reflecting the country's social, political, and economic advancements as well as changes in people's everyday needs: namely, the stage of recovery (1948–1978), the stage of reform (1988–2009), and the stage of rapid development (2010–present). During the first stage, the stage of recovery (1949–1978), the newly founded nation sought to restore social order and everyday life as quickly as possible. In an effort to facilitate women's entry into production and construction, the government turned to preschool education as a means of promoting social welfare. At the time, preschool educational institutions primarily comprised community-run kindergartens operated by government bodies, enterprises, public institutions, and street committees, among others, with the intention of freeing employed women from childcare concerns (Li & Wang, 2021). During this stage, the development of preschool education progressed gradually, despite some impediments.

The stage of recovery was followed by the stage of reform (1988–2009). Following China's reform and opening-up, the Chinese government, seeking to reform and develop the national market economy, actively promoted the market-oriented reform of preschool education and encouraged the involvement of social capital and private entities in school operations. In 1993, the reform of state-owned enterprises forced kindergartens run by enterprises and public institutions into marketization, leading to a drastic decline in the share of community-run kindergartens. Consequently, private kindergartens gradually gained market dominance (Li & Wang, 2021). While the development of preschool education demonstrated unprecedented vitality during this stage, the lack of effective government guidance and market regulation led to growing issues of unaffordability and inaccessibility.

The third and current stage is characterized by the rapid development (2010–present) of preschool education in China. Since 2010, and particularly after the 18th National Congress, the Central Committee and the Central People's Government have placed heavy emphasis on the profound value and significance of preschool education for children, families, society, and national development. Since 2011, county-level governments across the country have been implementing three-year action plans for preschool education in three phases in accordance with the State Council's unified planning. This has deepened the reform and development of preschool education and brought about substantial progress in this sector. Indeed, in 2022, China had some 245,700 inclusive kindergartens (public and inclusive private kindergartens), accounting for 84.96% of all kindergartens nationwide (Cao, 2023). The significant increase in inclusive preschool education resources had largely mitigated the problems of unaffordability and inaccessibility. However, while China's preschool education has made considerable achievements in terms of universality and inclusivity, issues of fairness and quality have gradually arisen. Chinese scholars widely conceded that the rapid development of China's preschool education was discordant with the institutional construction of its systems, particularly its legal system, and that there was a lack of clear legal regulations governing key deep-seated issues (Pang et al., 2018; Yu, 2018). Although the rapid development of preschool education in China has prompted relevant legislation, the issues emerging from the process of development are in urgent need of resolution based on rule-of-law thinking and methods.

Although the development of preschool education in China has long been regulated and guided by policies and legal regulations, these provisions were only recently elevated to the legislative level. An example of such regulations is the preschool education policies promulgated by the Central Committee, State Council, Ministry of Education (MOE), and other government departments. According to a recent statistical analysis, between 1978 and 2018, the Chinese government issued a total of 43 policy documents regarding the development of preschool education (Xue et al., 2019). In terms of focus, these policy documents primarily covered issues pertaining to the administrative system, content and requirements, strategic planning, overall institutional design, standardization system, and supervision and evaluation of preschool education. Another example is the legal regulations pertaining to preschool education issued by local people's congresses. A statistical study found that as of the end of 2018, China had enacted 16 local statutes and regulations at the provincial level and 15 local statutes and regulations at the municipal district level (Du, 2019). The majority of these local educational regulations comprised sections on general principles, the planning and construction of preschool educational institutions, teachers and other staff, childcare and education, safeguards and supervision, legal responsibilities, and supplementary provisions.

These policies and legal regulations responded to fundamental issues in the national and local development of preschool education and facilitated the standardized and methodical functioning of preschool education to some extent. However, they were unable to meet practical needs because they lacked the specificity, accountability, and stability offered by laws (Zhan & Li, 2019). On the one hand, the legislation of preschool education must be based on existing policies and legal regulations. On the other hand, it must further establish clear stipulations on fundamental and key issues to provide powerful legislative safeguards for the development of preschool education.

Content of the legislation on preschool education in China

As early as 2010, the “Outline of China's National Plan for Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010–2020)” called for the optimization of education laws and legal regulations and the formulation of laws on areas such as preschool education in accordance with China's socioeconomic development and education reform needs. In response, the National People's Congress, the MOE, and other relevant departments expedited their research on the legislation of preschool education. After a prolonged period of meticulous research and argumentation, in September 2020, the MOE published the Preschool Education Law of the People's Republic of China (Draft for Comments) and launched a call for opinions from all sectors of the public. The Draft for Comments stirred heated debate in Chinese society. Finally, in August 2023, the 14th Standing Committee of the National People's Congress discussed and reviewed the Draft during its 15th Session and once again made the Draft publicly available and solicited extensive opinions from all sectors of society. With the Draft still undergoing amendments and refinement, the Preschool Education Law has yet to be formally enacted.

The main content of the legislation on preschool education in China

The Preschool Education Law (Draft), as published on the official website of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, comprises 74 articles grouped into eight sections. Section 1 details the General Principles and consists of 14 articles covering the objectives and rationale for legislation; the scope of applicability; the concepts, nature, development approaches, and principles of preschool education; and the responsibilities of the government, families, and society in its development. In particular, it clarifies the duties of the people's governments and relevant departments at various levels. Section 2 concerns planning and organization and comprises nine articles addressing China's kindergarten management system, the planning and layout of preschool education, the construction of supporting facilities, and the basic criteria, procedures, and restrictions on the governance of the profit-seeking and organization of kindergartens. It specifically highlights the development mechanisms for rural and special-needs preschool education. Section 3 covers childcare and education, with 13 articles spanning a variety of issues, including safeguards to ensure children's preschool admissions; the basic principles, content, and methods of childcare; education measures; curriculum resources; kindergarten–family partnership in education; and transitioning from kindergartens to elementary schools. It not only places a heavy emphasis on preschool children's safety, mental and physical health, and development, but also clearly stipulates provisions regarding the internal administration, pricing system, and relevant prohibited acts for kindergartens. Section 4 pertains to teachers and other staff and comprises 13 articles covering the qualifications, professional appraisal and recruitment, standards of appointment, professional code of practice, employment contracts, prohibited employment, remuneration, welfare and other benefits, and development and in-service training for kindergarten teachers and other staff. Section 5 focuses on investments and safeguards, with six articles concerning the investment structure of preschool education, coordinated arrangement of financial subsidies for preschool education, definition of the cost-sharing ratio, support for private inclusive kindergartens, establishment of a subsidy system for preschool education, and incentivization for public donations. Section 6 details administration and supervision in eight articles covering the administration of safety, fees and charges, finances, and expenses as well as information disclosure, inspection and accountability, and quality monitoring. Section 7 concerns legal responsibilities, with eight articles outlining the legal responsibilities of the local people's governments at various levels; relevant departments responsible for managing, constructing, and organizing kindergartens; the kindergartens themselves; and relevant staff. Finally, Section 8 contains the supplementary provisions in three articles regarding the scope of applicability, dates of implementation, and supplementary descriptions of childcare services.

Compared with the Preschool Education Law (Draft for Comments) in 2020, the Preschool Education Law (Draft) in 2023 has significant changes in terms of six aspects. First, it divides the responsibilities of governments at all levels in the development of preschool education in more detail. The second is to further modify the relevant provisions on restricting the profit-seeking and listing of kindergartens. The third is to put more emphasis on protecting the personal safety of preschool children. Fourth, it is clearly stated that kindergartens should be prevented from “schoolification” (xiaoxuehua) tendencies. The fifth is to further clarify the qualifications of kindergarten teachers and other staff. Sixth, the relevant provisions on the formal establishment (bianzhi) of kindergarten staff have been deleted, emphasizing “equal pay for equal work” (tonggong tongchou).

Fundamental principles underlying the legislation of preschool education in China

Although China's Preschool Education Law is still undergoing in-depth discussion, amendment, and refinement and has yet to be formally enacted, its legislative process reflects several fundamental principles that have achieved universal consensus. These fundamental principles have guided the legislation of preschool education in China by defining its objectives, directions, and content.

The developmental principle of establishing government leadership

Although China's preschool education strayed into the territory of marketization at one point, it was eventually put back on the path of government-led development. Government leadership does not equate to government ownership. Extending beyond financial investments and concerns, government leadership involves identifying and executing the government's responsibilities in leading the development of preschool education (Pang et al., 2018). The Preschool Education Law (Draft) divides the government's leadership responsibilities into four categories: organization, investment, regulation, and welfare.

First, in regard to organization, the Draft clearly defines the responsibilities of the local people's governments at various levels in terms of organizing public kindergartens in accordance with the law and proposes the building of a public service system for rural preschool education focused on public kindergartens.

Second, in terms of the government's responsibilities as investors, the Draft specifies that preschool education should adopt an investment structure that involves a diverse array of financing channels. The focus should mainly be on government investments, ensuring that childcare and education costs are reasonably affordable for families. It also calls for the people's governments at various levels to optimize their public education investment and expenditure structures and increase their investments in preschool education to secure its effective development.

Third, to strengthen the responsibilities of each department in respect to regulation, the Draft explicitly states that preschool education should adhere to a governance system led by the State Council, be coordinated by the people's governments at the provincial and municipal levels in terms of planning and implementation, and be administered primarily by the people's governments at the county level. The people's governments above the county level and their relevant departments are also directed to take on increased responsibilities for overseeing the safety, fees and charges, expenses, and childcare and education quality of kindergartens.

Finally, the fourth category concerns the government's welfare responsibilities, specifically in terms of supporting the needy. Supporting the development of preschool education in poverty-stricken areas and ensuring access to preschool education among disadvantaged children are fundamental duties of all levels of government. The Preschool Education Law (Draft) clearly stipulates that the State shall adopt preferential supportive measures that target poverty-stricken areas and disadvantaged children, including coordinating and arranging funds to provide targeted support for the development of preschool education in rural, old revolutionary base, ethnic minority, border, and underdeveloped areas; raising the per-student fiscal appropriation and public spending levels for preschool children with disabilities as necessary; and constructing a subsidy system to finance inclusive preschool education among preschool-aged children from economically disadvantaged families and other children in need.

The principle of ensuring children's right to education

The primary objective of the legislation on preschool education in China is to ensure the right of preschool-aged children to preschool education (Yu, 2021), which constitutes the main content of Article 1 of Section 1 of the Preschool Education Law (Draft). The right to education is one of the basic rights of citizenship. During the new era of development of China's preschool education, preschool children's right to education entails both the right to fair education and the right to quality education (Gong, 2021). At the core of the right to fair education is equal access for all and equality. The Preschool Education Law (Draft) clearly stipulates that the purpose of the State's efforts in promoting universal preschool education is to ensure that all preschool-aged children enjoy the opportunity to receive preschool education. In the Draft, equal access to education includes the provision of financial and other forms of support for the preschool education of children from poverty-stricken areas and disadvantaged backgrounds.

The right to quality education is intended to improve the quality of preschool education received by preschool-aged children. The Preschool Education Law (Draft) specifies that kindergartens shall implement childcare and education activities in a scientific manner to prevent “schoolification” (xiaoxuehua) tendencies and equip themselves with teachers and staff who possess professional qualifications and adhere to professional codes of practice. It also provides stipulations regarding aspects such as inspection, accountability, and quality monitoring. Overall, the Draft ensures that preschool-aged children in China enjoy the right to fair and quality preschool education.

The directional principle of upholding public welfare and inclusivity

In a document published in 2010, entitled “Several Opinions on the Current Development of Preschool Education,” the State Council stated that “the development of preschool education must uphold public welfare (gongyi) and inclusivity (puhui)” (State Council of the People's Republic of China, 2010). Article 8 of Section 1 of the Preschool Education Law (Draft) emphasizes this in asserting that “the State shall promote universal preschool education and build a reasonably distributed, public welfare-oriented, and inclusive system of public services for preschool education that covers both urban and rural areas.” To develop preschool education, it is important to first determine whether it is public welfare-oriented in nature. Being public welfare-oriented is an essential attribute of preschool education, particularly insofar as it concerns the vital interest and fundamental wellbeing of general society (Luo & Gao, 2019). Preschool education is the foundation of basic education and a key component of the national education system. It is a crucial social welfare undertaking related to children's health and growth, families’ happiness, the harmony and stability of society as a whole, improvements in the overall quality of society, and, most importantly, the long-term peace and stability of a country.

The development of preschool education must also uphold the principle of inclusivity (puhui). To be inclusive means that preschool education should benefit all preschool-aged children and be generalized, non-discriminatory, and non-reciprocal (Yang, 2019). First, it should be universalized to guarantee that all preschool-aged children have the opportunity to receive preschool education. Universalization has always been an important goal of the development of preschool education in China. In 2018, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council identified two development targets in “Several Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Deepening Reform and Regulating the Development of Preschool Education,” namely, that the national gross enrollment rate of three-year preschool education would reach 85% by 2020 and that three-year preschool education would be universalized across the country by 2035. In 2022, the gross enrollment rate of preschool education reached 89.7% (Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2023), marking a significant achievement for the country. Second, preschool education should be equalized to ensure that all preschool-aged children are equally educated regardless of geographic location, ethnicity, family background, and health status. The Preschool Education Law (Draft) articulates this proposition by advocating the need to narrow urban–rural and inter-regional disparities in the development of preschool education; provide preferential support for the development of preschool education in rural, old revolutionary base, ethnic minority, border, and underdeveloped areas; and ensure access to inclusive preschool education among preschool-aged children from economically disadvantaged families, orphans, and children with disabilities. Third, it is important to limit the profit-seeking nature of preschool education to ensure that it is affordable to the families of all preschool-aged children. In addition to establishing the importance of building a public service system for rural preschool education focused on public kindergartens and supporting the development of inclusive private kindergartens, the Preschool Education Law (Draft) sets forth explicit restrictions regarding the organization of inclusive private kindergartens and profit-seeking through social capital.

Prospects of preschool education legislation in China

Key issues in the development of preschool education

The process of legislation has sparked extensive discussions across all sectors of Chinese society with regard to the provisions of the Preschool Education Law. These ongoing and in-depth discussions have helped the public better understand and untangle the key issues affecting the development of preschool education in China. These issues are primarily concerned with—but not limited to—areas such as the scope of the applicability of the Preschool Education Law and the remuneration and benefits of kindergarten teachers.

First, regarding discussions surrounding the scope of applicability, the Preschool Education Law (Draft) defines preschool education as “childcare and education practices implemented by preschool educational institutions including kindergartens for children aged three years to primary school age (hereinafter referred to as ‘preschool children’).” This stipulation limits the scope of applicability of the legislation to preschool children aged three years or older. However, some experts and scholars argue that the scope of applicability should include children aged 0–6 years to achieve preschool education that integrates nurseries with kindergartens. In this respect, some developed cities in China have led the way by introducing local regulations relating to the integration of nurseries and kindergartens. For instance, in 2022, the municipal government of Shanghai launched the Regulations on Preschool Education and Childcare Services in Shanghai (Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, 2022), calling for efforts to achieve the “integrated planning, implementation, and protection of access to preschool education and childcare services.” To fulfill the need for the legislation of childcare services, the Chinese government will draw on the promulgation of the Preschool Education Law as a basis for the research and formulation of the Childcare Act, which will cater to infants and toddlers aged 0–3.

Second, the remuneration and benefits of kindergarten teachers are under discussion. Securing and gradually improving the remuneration and benefits of kindergarten teachers is a cause consistently championed by Chinese policy and a fervent desire of the wider kindergarten teacher community. However, the means of improving the remuneration and benefits of kindergarten teachers remains contested. Some experts and scholars posit that kindergarten teachers’ remuneration and benefits should be improved and secured by granting them “formally established” (bianzhi) status, thereby increasing the number of teachers within the formal establishment (Liu & Yao, 2021). As some have noted, kindergarten teachers in formally established positions account for an insignificant percentage of kindergarten teachers in China. According to the 2021 education statistics published on the MOE's website, just 20.66% of all full-time kindergarten teachers nationwide were in formally established positions (Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022b). Compared to kindergarten teachers in formally established positions, non-established teachers are offered poorer remuneration and benefits and lack social security. As such, achieving “equal pay for equal work” (tonggong tongchou) across kindergarten teachers both within and beyond the establishment is the fundamental panacea for this problem. Drawing on the previous Draft for Comments, the Preschool Education Law (Draft) removed provisions relating to the “formal establishment” of teachers and stipulates that “kindergartens and their organizers shall, in accordance with national regulations, guarantee the remuneration and benefits of teachers and other staff, pay social insurance premiums as stipulated by the law, improve the working and living environments of employees, and ensure ‘equal pay for equal work’.”

Clarification of key relationships in the development of preschool education

A Chinese scholar organized and identified 10 relationships that should be addressed in the legislation of preschool education: namely, the relationships between speed and quality, demand and supply, the central and local governments, education departments and other departments, public and private ownership, “de-schoolification” and transitioning from kindergartens to elementary schools, formal establishment and employee benefits, parents and kindergartens, facilitation and regulation, and Han Chinese and ethnic minorities (Guan, 2019). Unraveling these relationships will help further crystallize the basic system and development mechanism underpinning the progress of preschool education in China. At present, discussions on the legislation of preschool education in China are largely concentrated on two key relationships.

The first is the relationship among governments, families, and society in terms of their responsibilities in the development of preschool education. The Preschool Education Law (Draft) clearly defines central and local government responsibilities in leadership, parents’ responsibilities in child-rearing and education, and society's supporting responsibilities. Significantly, in terms of the system administering the development of preschool education, the Draft delineates among various levels of the people's governments, including provincial, municipal, county-level, township-level, and town-level governments. In response to the poorer coordinating and administrative capabilities and insufficient financial resources of county-level governments, the Draft sets out a clearly defined administrative system for preschool education coordinated by provincial and municipal governments and managed primarily by county-level governments (Pang et al., 2018). The Preschool Education Law (Draft) effectively strengthens the roles and responsibilities of the provincial and municipal governments in leading coordination, planning, and fiscal investments; identifies county-level governments as the primary actors in the development of preschool education within counties; and elucidates township- and town-level governments’ supporting responsibilities. This “double upward delegation of authority” of the administrative and fiscal systems allows governments to fulfill their responsibilities as leaders of the development of preschool education.

The second key relationship is among public, inclusive private, and for-profit private kindergartens in terms of their development orientations. China has long maintained a system of joint kindergarten management involving multiple entities. Across different points in history, kindergartens run by different entities have differed in terms of their scale, orientation, and role. The Preschool Education Law (Draft) advances a kindergarten management structure that supports the development of both public and inclusive private kindergartens (i.e., non-profit private kindergartens supported by the government and charging government-guided prices) and explicitly stipulates that “a public service system for rural preschool education focused on public kindergartens” should be built. Therefore, areas in China will adopt one of two different kindergarten management systems depending on whether they are rural or urban. More specifically, rural areas will adopt a management system focusing on public kindergartens and encapsulating the State's responsibilities to meet basic needs, support the disadvantaged, and improve the quality of education. Moreover, urban areas will adopt an administrative system focusing on public and inclusive private kindergartens and embodying the principles of universal, inclusive, flexible, and diverse development. At the same time, the Preschool Education Law (Draft) explicitly identifies a number of restrictions on organizing and investing in for-profit private kindergartens to prevent excessive profit-seeking. This ensures that preschool education in China adheres to the fundamental principle of a public welfare orientation and inclusive development.

After a long period of preparation, the highly anticipated legislation on preschool education in China is finally nearing completion. The ratification of the Preschool Education Law will mark a significant milestone in the modernization of preschool education with Chinese characteristics. Such legislation will not only help advance the development of preschool education on the path to socialism with Chinese characteristics but will facilitate exchanges and mutual learning between China and other countries in respect to the legislation of preschool education.