Abstract
This article provides an overview of the evolution map of China’s academic burden reduction strategy by conducting a new institutional analysis. Our analysis includes various adoptions of features and configurations introduced during the 1978–2021 period, which are inherently embedded in the wide context of political economy. By using archival documents and conducting an in-depth content analysis of 68 policy documents (see Appendix), this study argues that the evolution of China’s student burden policy trajectory may have undergone a path-dependent process, which anchors ‘sunk cost’ consideration. In this respect, sunk cost consideration is found affecting policymakers to subordinate the giant off-campus tutoring business, thereby inclined to produce piecemeal development and maximum policy outcomes. This article is distinguished by its analysis which emphasises that policies are not only effects or outcomes but also causes of other potential policy alternatives being introduced, reinforcing the main goals of policies. Overall, this analysis adds value to the limited research currently available on historical institutionalism in social policy evolution in China and to Global South in general.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arthur, W. B. (1994). Increasing returns and path dependency in the economy. University of Michigan Press.
Ayinuer. (2012, March 04). 新疆全面“叫停”面向义务教育阶段的学科类竞赛. Retrieved 17 Jan 2022, from http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2012-03/03/content_2082157.htm
Bank, S. I., & Yeulet, C. (2014). Education at a Glance 2014 OECD indicators. Education, 1(A2), A3.
Béland, D. (2016). Ideas and Institutions in Social Policy Research. Social Policy and Administration, 50(6), 734. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12258
Béland, D., Campbell, A. L & Weaver, R. K (2022). Policy Feedback: How Policies Shape Politics, in Elements in Public Policy
Capoccia, G. (2015). Critical junctures and institutional change. In J. Mahoney & K. Thelen (Eds.), Advances in comparative historical analysis in the social sciences (pp. 147–179). Cambridge University Press.
Capoccia, G. (2016a). Critical junctures. In O. Fioretos, T. G. Falleti, & A. Sheingate (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of historical institutionalism (pp. 89–106). Oxford University Press.
Capoccia, G. (2016b). When do institutions ‘bite’? Historical institutionalism and the politics of institutional change. Comparative Political Studies, 49(8), 1095–1127.
Capoccia, G., & Kelemen, R. D. (2007). The study of critical junctures. Theory, narrative, and counterfactuals in historical institutionalism. World Politics, 59(3), 341–369.
Chen, X. (2013, October 19). 2014年起广东高考加分项目从23个减至6个. Retrieved 17 Jan 2022, from https://edu.qq.com/a/20131019/004355.htm
Chen, H.-H., & Shi, S. J. (2021). Changing dynamics of social policy in democracy: Comparing pension and health reforms in Taiwan. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 14(1), 30–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2020.1839001
Cheng, J. (2014). Institutions, perceptions and social policy-making of Chinese local governments: A case study of medical insurance policy reforms in Dongguan. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 7(1), 58–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2013.878973
Collier, R. B., & Collier, D. (1991). Sha** the political Arena: Critical junctures, the labor movement, and regime dynamics in Latin America. Princeton University Press.
Cox, R. H. (2004). The path-dependency of an idea: Why Scandinavian welfare states remain distinct. Social Policy and Administration, 38(2), 204. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2004.00386.x
Detrick, S. (1999). A commentary on the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Fang, C. (2020). Perceiving truth and ceasing doubts: What can we learn from 40 Years of China’s reform and opening-up? Routledge.
Garud, R., & Karnøe, P. (2001). Path creation as a process of mindful deviation. In R. Garud & P. Karnøe (Eds.), Path Dependence and Creation. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Greener, I. (2005). The potential of path dependence in political studies. Politics, 25(1), 62–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9256.2005.00230.x
Guo, H., Liu, X. M., & Zhao, J. P. (2006). 国内四省区普通中小学作业情况调查研究 a survey on students' homework in common elementary and secondary schools of four areas of China. 教育学报
Hacker, J. S. (2002). The divided welfare state. The Divided Welfare State. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511817298
Haifeng, M., & Juan, L. (2006, November 8). 陕西严控学生考试次数 叫停奥林匹克竞赛活动. Retrieved 17 Jan 2022, from https://news.sina.com.cn/c/2006-11-08/142010445776s.shtml
Hall, P. A. (1993). Policy paradigms, social learning, and the state: The case of economic policymaking in Britain. Comparative Politics, 25(3), 275. https://doi.org/10.2307/422246
Han, S., & Ye, F. (2017). China’s education policy-making: A policy network perspective. Journal of Education Policy, 32(4), 389–413.
Hao, P. (2013). Peking University and the origins of higher education in China. Bridge21 Publications LLC.
Ji, X. Y., & Han, Z. X. (2015). 青少年**视眼**十年变化趋势分析, 健康大视野, 21(1) 451–451.
Kay, A. (2005). A critique of the use of path dependency in policy studies. Public Administration, 83(3), 553.
Law, W. W. (1999). compulsory education law of the people’s republic of China. Chinese Education and Society, 32(3), 14–18.
Lei, S. Q. (2020). 社会建构视角下小学生 “减负” 政策执行的主体因素研究 (Master's thesis, 河南大学).
Li, W. (2008). Education inequality in China: Problems of policies on access to higher education. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 1(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516230801900444
Liu, C. S. (1997). 国家教委、全国妇联颁发《家长教育行为规范》, 北京教育, (06)4.
Liu, J. (2018). Review of regulatory policies on private supplementary tutoring in China. ECNU Review of Education, 1(3), 143–153.
Liu, J. (2020). 新** 70 年中小学减负政策的历史变迁与反思 (Master's thesis, 天津师范大学).
Mahoney, J. (2017). Shift Happens: The Historical Institutionalism of Kathleen Thelen. PS - Political Science and Politics, 50(4), 1115. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096517001494
Mahoney, J., & Thelen, K. (2009). Explaining institutional change: Ambiguity, agency, and power. Explaining institutional change: Ambiguity, agency, and power. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511806414
Murphy, J. (2010). Path dependence and the stagnation of Australian social policy between the wars. Journal of Policy History, 22(4), 450. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0898030610000229
Ning, J. Z. (2021) China Statistical Year Book, Bureau of Statistics of China, Bei**g, viewed December 2018, <http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2021/indexch.htm>
North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance. Cambridge University Press.
O’Connor, J., & Pierson, P. (1995). Dismantling the welfare state? reagan, thatcher, and the politics of retrenchment. Contemporary Sociology, 24(5), 635. https://doi.org/10.2307/2077364
IT Orange (2021). "ShuangJian" published by 50 days, have an education company declared bankruptcy, viewed 30 September, 2021, <https://m.thepaper.cn/baijiahao_14719153>.
Pais, M. S., & Bissell, S. (2006). Overview and implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Lancet, 367(9511), 689.
Pierson, P. (2000). Increasing returns, path dependence, and the study of politics. American Political Science Review, 94(2), 251–267.
Silverman, D. (2020). Qualitative research. SAGE.
Song, N. Q., & Yang, X. (2014). 中小学生课业负担过重的定量分析. 教育研究, 35(3), 6.
Stieglitz, N., & Heine, K. (2007). Innovations and the role of complementarities in a strategic theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 28(3), 1.
Streeck, W., & Thelen, K. (2005). Introduction: Institutional change in advanced political economies. Beyond continuity: Institutional change in advanced political economies. Oxford University Press.
Sydow, J., Schreyögg, G., & Koch, J. (2009). Organisational path dependence: Opening the black box. Academy of Management Review, 34(4), 689.
Tao, H., & Liu, Y. C. (2020). Analysis of three significant sustainable development goals (SDGs) in China. In 2020 5th International Conference on Humanities Science and Society Development (ICHSSD 2020), (pp. 536–539) https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200727.168
Wang, J. Y. (2009, January 23). 江苏严禁非学历教育机构举办中小学生竞赛和培训班. Retrieved 17 Jan 2022, from http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2009-01/23/content_1214025.htm
Wang, R. (2017). **教育新业态发展报告(2017), Social sciences academic press (CHINA)
Wang, S. (2019). "减负"背景下小学生家长家教观念研究. (Master’s dissertation, 安徽师范大学).
Wang, T. (2019b). Competence for students’ future: Curriculum change and policy redesign in China. ECNU Review of Education, 2(2), 234–245. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531119850905
Wang, J. (2021). The impact of education costs on family fertility rate in China. In Proceedings of the 2021 6th International Conference on Social Sciences and Economic Development (ICSSED 2021), vol. 20, no. 10. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210407.042
Wei, Y. (2019). **教育财政家庭调查报告(2019), Social sciences academic press (CHINA)
**ang, X. M. (2019). A historical perspective on the two education initiatives of alleviating academic burden in China since 1949. Journal of East China Normal University (educational Sciences), 37(5), 67.
Xue, E., & Li, J. (2021). Standardizing the development of off-campus Training Institutions in China. Creating a high-quality education policy system (pp. 177–189). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3276-1_13
Yang, L., & Zhang, X. (2019). 新**成立以来我国 “减负” 政策的历史回溯与反思. 教育科学研究, 2, 13–21.
Yang, N., & Kühner, S. (2020). Beyond the limits of the productivist regime: Capturing three decades of East Asian welfare development with fuzzy sets. Social Policy & Society, 19(4), 613–627. https://doi.org/10.1017/S147474641900054X
Yao, Q. H. (1996). A difficult choice: Breaking away from Soviet educational patterns. East–West dialogue in knowledge and higher education (p. 245). Routledge.
Yuda, T. K. (2019). Welfare regime and the patrimonial state in contemporary Asia: Visiting Indonesian Cases. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 12(3), 351. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2018.1462685
Yuda, T. K. (2020). Reappraisal of the political approach on East Asian welfare state development: the case of childcare expansion in South Korea. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 40(7/8), 677. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2020-0056
Yuda, T. K. (2021a). The evolving Korean childcare regime. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 41(9/10), 1089. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-09-2020-0438
Yuda, T. K. (2021b). The complementary roles between clientelism and familism in social policy development. Social Policy & Administration, 55(7), 1370. https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.127381392
Yuda, T. K., Pratiyudha, P. P., & Kafaa, A. K. (2021). Managing social policy in the emerging welfare regime of governance: What Indonesia can learn from South Korea’s experience. International Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728211011634
Zhao, X. (2020). 中小学家校共育中的家长观念问题与对策研究-以济南市Q学校为例. (Doctoral dissertation, 山东师范大学).
Zou, Y. (2018). Educational opportunity between meritocracy and equity: A review of the National College Entrance Examination in China since 1977. Testing and Inclusive Schooling (pp. 34–46). Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Tao, C.HY., Yuda, T.K. Unpacking the path-dependent process of academic burden reduction policy in China (1978–2021). Educ Res Policy Prac (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-024-09377-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10671-024-09377-4