On Case Studies Of Education Policy In Tianjin Tanggu District

As a powerful tool to intervene education development, educational policy plays a more and more important role for education development in modern society. Although the research of education policy started late in China, the speed of its development is fast. However, current education policy research pays little attention to districts and counties, which is unmatched with its role and status in our national education development. Districts and counties are the basic administrative units of administrative division in China, and they're also the basic autonomous system of national economy and social development. China's education management system bases on the principle of "local governments taking charge of foundation education and different levels holding different responsibilities". Meanwhile, compulsory education system is under the leadership of State Council, but responsible by local government. It is a level-by-level responsibility system, with the country authority as the main player. According to these principles, the development mission of the whole foundation education, most of the secondary vocational education and part of higher vocational education falls to districts and counties. Therefore, the implementation of national macro and provincial medium education policy falls to districts and counties either. As a result, the quality and level of both national and provincial education are determined by the education policy execution of districts and counties.This dissertation chooses Tanggu District of Tianjin as a sample. Among all education policies in Tanggu District, three typical cases will be picked up. These are regional teachers'bounty and subsidy policy, regional school layout adjustment policy and regional school bus and lunch policy. Through my observation and participation of these three cases, I will show the development of these policies over the past decade (2000-2009), which started from scratch, proceeded from the elementary to the profound, from being relatively imperfect to fairly perfect. These cases will be presented in details so as to show the dynamic operation scene on district level and to depict the education policy activities as real as possible.This dissertation uses qualitative method. Taking advantage of some convenient conditions, I get a great mass of first-hand material and on-site experience. Under the background of whole Tanggu District, these three policies reflect the essential characteristics of area education policy. The narration of each policy's origin, development, alteration and consequence reflects different contradictious operation rules during the process of policy making and policy implement. Teachers' bounty and subsidy policy in Tanggu District is a regional policy which is under the guidance of national and superior policy and conducted by local government. The policy was adjusted constantly and developed gradually. During the process of executing superior policy, Tanggu regional school layout adjustment policy is guided by the idea of "how to maximize regional education benefit" with the consideration of the local condition. Tanggu regional school bus and lunch policy execution is an outcome of social and economic strength, and it is a process of local government concerning and solving teachers and students'livelihood problems. This policy is also a reflection of profit gambling among district policy executors and receivers.From the study of these three regional education policy cases, the regional policy shows up its essential characteristics:independence, relevance, autonomy. Meanwhile, this dissertation analyzes contradiction movement rules about gradually adjustment, profit maximization and department interest game in the process of policy making and implement. Furthermore, the dissertation analyses and reveals the function and effect of key figures, such as the leadership of education administrative department and the person in charge of execution, in regional policy making and executing. Finally, it summed up the successful experience of reginonal educational policy operating in Tanggu from the aspects of the policy issues and confirmation, the formulation of policy program,policy implement,feedback and adjustment,as wella as the relevant suggestions are referred in the dissertation.