Editor’s Note

Guidelines of Curriculum Reform for Basic Education (Trial) issued in 2001 marks the beginning of curriculum reform of Chinese basic education in the 21^st century. To commemorate this important historical event, Global Education established a special column entitled “The Two Decades of Curriculum Reform”. In order to better meet the strategic needs of our nation, and provide better educational impetus for realizing national rejuvenation and promoting the development of each student. Experts comprehensively sorted out and explored the theoretical progress, practical experience and future challenges of China’s basic education curriculum reform in the past two decades. They also conducted discussion on the topics of curriculum policy, curriculum standards, curriculum theory, teaching material research, teaching design, school-based research, school-based curriculum development, comprehensive practical activity curriculum, cases of school curriculum development, etc.

Carry out Indigenous Scientific Research in Accordance with National Curriculum Reform

Prof. Cui Yunhuo

Director of ICI

In the 21st century, a great change of far-reaching significance has taken place in Chinese curriculum of basic education. Mr. Gu Mingyuan, former president of the Chinese Education Society, once said: “The new curriculum reform not only inherits China’s excellent educational tradition, but also absorbs advanced educational ideas in the world, it emphasizes teaching students in accordance with their aptitude and promoting students’ all-round development and personality development.” Mr. Andreas Schleicher, Minister of Education and Skills of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), also known as the “father of PISA”, said: “We should never underestimate the achievements of China’s curriculum reform……we have conducted PISA tests in 12 provinces in China, and even in some less developed areas, the results are close to the average level of OECD.”

The implementation of the new curriculum reform has gone through more than two decades. As soon as the establishment of the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction (ICI) of East China Normal University, it deeply involved in China’s “eighth curriculum reform for basic education” under the leadership of Professor Zhong Qiquan, director of ICI. It has made important contributions to serve the top-level design of curriculum reform, theoretical guidance, professional communication, practical innovation, cultural reconstruction and so on.