Balanced development of compulsory education is not only the cornerstone of education equity, but also the fundamental part for realizing a harmonious society. There have been several achievements in balancing the development of compulsory education in China, such as narrowing the gaps in compulsory education between rural, urban, and other areas. However, the development of compulsory education is still confronted with several issues, including the gaps between rural and urban schools, the gaps between teacher’s situations in rural and urban area, higher drop-out rates of rural compulsory education than that of the national average level, etc. Based on the analysis of these issues and reasons, the suggestions for the policy-makers are as follows: (1) it must be further clarified that governments at all levels must take all responsibilities for the balanced development of compulsory education so as to integrate local authorities’ input and the central government’s subsidies; (2) the allocation mechanism of resources for compulsory education should be set up with qualitative and fair growth  as its aim; (3) The quality standard for compulsory education based on the national curriculum standard should be worked out for playing the role of quality inspection in the fair development of compulsory education, and a relevant system of responsibility should also be established; (4) A national unified card for compulsory education should be adopted, which would help abolish extra fees for non-permanent-resident students receiving compulsory education in other places and (5) civilian-sponsored schools should be encouraged to offer compulsory education.

Educational balance refers to the ideal that educational organizations and people who receive education enjoy equal treatment in educational activities under the thought of fair education and principle of educational equity, and the educational policy as well as legal system that guarantee its actual operations. The essence of balanced education development is to pursue educational equity and realize fair education. In terms of macroanalysis, it is the balance of educational supply and demand. In terms of mesoanalysis, it is the balance of educational resource disposition. In terms of microanalysis, it is the balance of school teaching processes, including the balance of the internal curriculum teaching resource disposition, and the balance of educational results as well as educational evaluation. Balanced education development is a historical category, which can be divided into four stages according to its achievement level. It is of great actual significance to establish the balancing index of fundamental educational development, especially the compulsory educational development, which is suitable for our national conditions and realities, to scientifically select the elements and to clarify the target of fundamental balanced education development. The data analysis indicates that the balancing index of our fundamental education in China is approaching this balance.

A comparative analysis of the statistics of the two population censuses conducted in 1990 and 2000 showed that with the development of ethnic education, average years of school attainment have been increased for all ethnic nationalities, and education has been more equalized within different ethnic nationalities. However, educational inequality among different nationalities has been widened. Although the extent of the widening is limited, sufficient attention should be paid by policy-makers.

By using the education Gini coefficient (EGC), as the indicator of education equity, this paper will calculate the degree of education equity in China during 1978–2004. Results show that although education equity as a whole has improved significantly since 1978, it is rather at a low level compared with the international average. Due to the great inequality among regions and the rural-urban disparity in education, the positive influence of education on social development and economic growth has been limited.

Based on the analyses on the quality of educational periodicals and the number of publications and citations in Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (CSSCI), this paper intends to make an analysis and introduction of the general situation of Chinese educational journals and publications during 2000–2004. Results show that the quantity of educational periodicals and papers published in China, their influence, impact factor  and the quantity of language varieties and quotation types are not completely compatible.

To achieve the overall goals and purposes of education is closely related to the living environments of students. Different family backgrounds will put children into a situation where they face unfair competition. According to a survey conducted in China’s Urumqi and Changchun about parents’ awareness of educating their children, this paper will suggest that families with different backgrounds have different expectations for their children’s education. Moreover, it suggests that parents’ social status is related to their children’s education expectations. Therefore, we can find that parents’ social status influences their children’s education, and their positions in social class are related to education.

This paper presents systematically China’s New National Curriculum Reform (CNNCR). It covers the background, origin, essence, goals, features, evolvement, schedule, implementation, the alignment in primary, secondary and middle schools’ curricula and inter-subjects, the outcomes and the challenges and strategies of CNNCR.

The quality of principals is pivotal for quality education. It is only through continuing professional development (CPD) that principals can further enhance professionalism. In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the responses of 194 principals and vice-principals. The research findings show that Hong Kong principals are facing challenges posed by ever-changing school environments of the 21st century and educational reforms. Based on this study, implications for future continuing professional development of principals in Hong Kong are speculated.

By sending out questionnaires to 106 counselors of 98 colleges and universities, panel discussion and interviewing, the authors implement a fairly comprehensive survey on the development of the financial aid system of assisting impoverished students in higher education institutes (HEIs) in China, including national student loans, award fund supported by government, on campus work-study and subsidy, etc. This paper aims at probing into some major problems that exist in this system and offer some suggestions and countermeasures on how to improve and develop the system.

In order to evaluate the present state of teachers’ professional identity (TPI), 177 teachers in primary and secondary schools in Zibo of Shandong Province of China were surveyed by a questionnaire designed by the authors. The results reveals: (1) high professional identity for the overall level of teachers; (2) significant difference in genders and titles of professional positions; (3) significant difference between primary and secondary school teachers; (4) significant difference in professional motivations and satisfaction degrees of salaries among teachers.