Unit 4: How successful were the changes made to education and health provisions? Flashcards
What was Mao’s view on education?
Mao thought traditional Chinese education was influenced by Western culture.
Education did not serve the needs of the peasants and the population needed to be literate in order for economic and political growth.
Between 1949 and 65, what did education policy focus on?
The introduction of reforms, with a focus on economic production and following the Soviet model.
What was Mao’s aim for education?
To increase access to education.
What were the problems in education?
Not enough schools and universities.
Low literacy rates.
Old fashioned education implemented elite attitudes.
What percentage of peasants were literate?
30% of males, 1% of females over the age of seven.
What type of education was taught?
Traditional style education based on Confucian concepts that were designed for students that will become bureaucrats for Imperial dynasties.
Out of the 2.1% of females that attended primary school, how many completed?
38% in 1949.
Describe the policies for improving literacy.
A national system of primary education was set up.
Key schools introduced where students had to pass entrance exams.
The greater concentration on science and technology
What was the impact of the policies to improve literacy?
Although the government spent more on the war in Korea than on primary education, the literacy level rose from 20% in 1949 to 70% in 1976.
large number of students went to study at Russian universities.
Elitist attitudes remained.
Describe the policies for higher education.
Ministry of Education set up in 1952 to coordinate teaching plans and textbooks.
Students were trained to so they could undertake specialised technical jobs to run a modern economy.
What was the impact of the higher education policies?
University enrollment from 117,000 to 441,000.
By 1953, 63 percent of students in engineering Medicine and agriculture.
Some change but policies favoured the children of the government so access to education was imbalanced.
A new communist elite replaced the Imperial one.
Describe Pinyin.
A form of phonetic Mandarin in 1956 to provide a standardised form of language that everyone could understand because Mandarin had different pronunciations depending on regions.
It enabled literacy to spread faster and allowed for better communication with other countries.
Allowed for education to be more widely accessed.
What are the features of the “directive on education work”?
Education should be both for learning and manual instruction.
Teachers should be employed based on their political commitments as well as their academic qualifications.
Why was manual labour introduced to the curriculum?
To provide experience for students who will play a major role in meeting industrial and agricultural targets during the revolution.
New agricultural schools introduced to focus on vocational study
What was Mao’s slogan for education?
Half work, half study.
