Who is teaching in Chinese primary schools? A profile of the primary education workforce in Chinese county areas
Open Access
- 19 January 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 16 (1), e0245549
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245549
Abstract
A teaching workforce with good quality is a key factor in the process of China’s rapid development. Although 76% of Chinese pupils are studying at schools within county areas, a general portray of the corresponding teaching workforce is still not clear. This study presents data from a nationally representative survey of primary education teachers in 35 counties of 18 provinces in China. Findings presented include demographic and professional characteristics, living conditions as well as attitudes towards work. Besides, variations among school locations and geographical regions are also examined. The key findings are the followings: 1) Quality of primary school teachers in county areas has been improved regarding education background; 2) Teaching force in village primary schools has an unbalanced age and gender composition; 3) Out-of-field teaching practice is widespread, especially for minor subjects. 4) Primary school teachers perceived relative low salary and low social status.Funding Information
- National Education Science Planning (BHA200149)
This publication has 44 references indexed in Scilit:
- Making sense of Cronbach's alphaInternational Journal of Medical Education, 2011
- The year that went byInternational Journal of Medical Education, 2011
- Reform of teacher education in ChinaJournal of Education for Teaching, 2008
- Teachers' Perceptions of School ClimateEducational and Psychological Measurement, 2007
- Chinese government documents on teacher education since the 1980sJournal of Education for Teaching, 2005
- Keeping Teachers Happy: Job Satisfaction among Primary School Teachers in Rural Northwest ChinaComparative Education Review, 2005
- Rejoinder: Misunderstanding the Problem of Out-of-Field TeachingEducational Researcher, 2001
- Sources of economic growthCarnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, 1994
- A Contribution to the Empirics of Economic GrowthThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1992
- Economic Growth in a Cross Section of CountriesThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1991