This study of experiments with a new type of educational institution in Communist China is based upon an analysis of materials from Chinese Communist newspapers and periodicals. Reliance upon a discriminating use of such materials is necessitated by the lack of impartial first hand evaluations of these new institutions by qualified outside observers. In preparing this study, general claims have been measured against the details in specific reports in an effort to piece together, from scattered accounts of varying comprehensiveness which are often vague and sometime contradictory, an intelligible record of the course of experimentation with new institutional forms. The Introduction defines the magnitude of the problem of educational development in mainland China. The first section, The Agricultural Middle Schools, explains the reasons for their establishment and describes their development from 1959 to 1962. The second section, The Half-Work, Half-Study Universities, describes their establishment and basic characteristics, identifies problems and criticisms encountered, and discusses the significance of this educational experiment. It is hoped that this study will help to clarify the Chinese Communist regime's approach to education, and some of the problems encountered in its attempt to mold an educational system suited to its economic and political needs and purposes. (Contains 73 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]