The post-Mao period has witnessed rapid social and economic transformation in all walks of Chinese life – much of it fuelled by, or reflected in, changes to education. In this book, Vickers and Zeng analyse the development of the education system since the abandonment of radical Maoism and the inauguration of ‘Reform and Opening’ in the late 1970s.

Introduction: Education, development and social change in post-Mao China – framing the debate Comparative and historical perspectives on education and development in contemporary China The politics of education in Post-Mao China: An overview Early childhood education and care The funding and administration of basic education The school curriculum: Ideology and control The teaching profession: Training, retention and professional development Evaluation, assessment and the senior high school Marketisation, competition and schooling Vocational and technical education Higher education from 1977 to the mid-1990s Higher education since 1998: Expansion, stratification and control The international dimension Conclusion

'Perhaps no subject excites as much attention in China as the future of education. Vickers and Zeng have crafted a comprehensive, thoughtful and highly readable analysis of how - and why - China's education system works as it does. Combining attention to issues of ideology, finance, and the place of education within an emerging middle-class society, their book will surely become a standard account for years to come.'Rana Mitter, University of Oxford China Centre'We have long been in need of a well-researched and up-to-date overview of how the world’s largest education system has evolved over time, what it looks like today, and the implications of this transformation. Now such a book is finally available! Vickers and Zeng’s study is a pleasure to read, and will be an essential reference for courses on comparative and East Asian education, and for all scholars researching contemporary Chinese society.'Mette Halskov Hansen, University of Oslo 'Vickers and Zeng provide a thorough and well-researched overview of the post-Mao education system and its relationship with Chinese society and politics, analyzing the changes of the past four decades. With its impressive breadth and depth, this book will be invaluable for anyone who wants to understand how education works in China.'Vanessa Fong, Amherst College Kahn and Zheng highlight that Chinese media have started devoting much greater attention to environmental issues,... [K]ahn and Zheng’s book is an essential read for students of economics, political science and environment studies.Rajiv Ranjan, Shanghai University College of Liberal Arts, ChinaEdward Vickers and Zeng Xiaodong dig beneath the surface of these issues, describing and evaluating education in China since 1978. Success, of course, ‘depends on what one thinks education is ultimately for’ (p. 328) and, in attempting to respond to this question, the volume identifies the mainstream ideology on the purpose of education in China and the debates and tensions centred on policy-making Tim Summers, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Chatham House, Hong Kong