Through an overview and analysis of the major national education and adult education policies, this paper endeavours to present the driving forces of the development of contemporary Chinese adult education, to identify and examine the highlights of current practices, and to discuss future developments. Questions for exploring and informing the…

In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese "learning initiative" who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why…

Since the founding of the modern Chinese state in 1949 until the end of the century, China has mobilised and experienced several social/political movements and economic transformations. Entering the twenty-first century, China's repositioning within the global context has brought about its new national policy and blueprint to build a socialist…

Soon after remnants of the Long March reached Yan'an, the Communist Party established adult and higher education institutions. K'angta--the anti-Japanese university--was at the centre of attempts to resist foreign invaders and, after October 1, 1949, became a model for the rest of China. K'angta owed much to Mao's essays On Practice and On…

Edgar Snow scored an extraordinary scoop in 1936 when he persuaded Mao Zedong to tell his story. The resulting book--"Red Star Over China"--was a best-seller in the West and translated editions caused a sensation in China. Adult education was the centrepiece of Communist revolution and featured prominently in Red Star. It is now the…

Adult education in China is largely geared to political and economic ends. In accordance with tradition, content is delivered by experts and specialists with a high degree of formal structure and little student participation. A national teacher training system is needed. (SK)

Despite the initiatives from governments and unions alike, the need for worker-centred labour education still exists. Labour educators should have to be more creative in planning and running educational programs to empower workers so that they can be liberated from all forms of exploitation, no matter how such exploitation is disguised or…

In China, older people are very much a part of society, playing a responsible role in planning and fulfilling the aims of the school, factory, commune, or street committee. Retired Workers' Centers and rural communes provide for the social, physical, and educational needs of the elderly. (MW)

Reflecting on a visit to China, the article offers some insights into the workings and values of Chinese society and a glimpse of the part adult education plays in the process. Ideological education is a primary concern and technical and vocational training are emphasized. Politics is clearly in command. (MW)

Learning through practical experience begins in kindergarten and continues through life in the Chinese approach to education. Adult participation in learning is threefold: the opportunity to criticize each other, to parti in decision-making, and to be artistically creative. Learning is an expected, not incidental, outcome of day-to-day experience.…