The Research On The Textbook System Of People’s Republic Of China

Textbooks for primary and secondary education lie in the centre of a nation’s overall school education. Textbooks reflect a nation’s educational orientation and principles, present the most basic and important knowledge of school education, provide support for pedagogical implementation, and serve as the primary source for students’learning.According to system-changing theories and system-innovating theories, a textbook system refers to a series of regulations made by a country or a region at a particular historical period with the goals of improving textbook qualities by regulating and coordinating stake-holders involved. A well-established textbook system can effectively guarantee the quality of textbooks. It consists of eight sub-systems, which are the compiling system, the authorizing system, the publishing system, the distribution system, the provision system, the selection system, the evaluation system, and the supervision system. Through systematic intervention into these eight areas, the government assures satisfactory quality of textbooks for primary and secondary education so as to guarantee an equal opportunity for its citizens to receive a basic education. The operational ization of a textbook system is constrained by four types of context, which are the political context, the economic context, the educational context and the cultural context. Therefore, government policies, human resources in the society, financial support from the government, the development of science and technology, the educational system, and curriculum principles all have an impact on the operationalization of the textbook system. There exist five types of textbook systems:the state-appointment system, the state-authorization system, the cognizance system, the eclectic system, and the free-adoption system. Since New China was founded in1949, the textbook system for primary and secondary education had been of the state-appointment type for a long time, which means the educational administrative of the government was fully responsible for all textbook-related matters, such as compilation, authorization, publication, distribution and provision. After the open-up policy, China’s social development has been quickened and its economy has been growing fast, which made it no longer for the state-appointment to be contextually appropriate. Since the1990s, the government has strongly promoted policies to widen the variety of textbooks, and the textbook system has become a mixture of regulations of different types, such as the state-authorization system in the area of textbook compilation, the state-appointment system in the area of printing and pricing, the state-provision system in the area of distribution and provision, the free textbook policy and the recycling system. A total of84publishing organizations have been involved in the compilation and publication of textbooks for primary and secondary education, which has produced236sets of textbooks for9-year compulsory education and732textbooks for senior secondary education. Despite the improved quality of textbooks, the textbook system has gradually deviated from its original goals and many problems have arisen, such as homogeneity, frequent errors and improper conduct in selection and distribution. These problems, with a negative social impact, have often become targets of criticism on the new curriculum reform.Adopting management and system perspectives, the present study examines the content, component factors and functions of the eight sub-systems (the compiling system, the authorizing system, the publishing system, the distribution system, the provision system, the selection system, the evaluation system, and the supervision system), reviews the evolving route of the textbook system since the foundation of New China to present, analyses factors that influence the system, explores its basic functions and operational mechanism. Based on pathological analyses of the textbook system and reflections on post-implementation effects, the author suggests the current textbook system be improved in the following ways:First, the principles for constructing the textbook system for primary and secondary education should be shifted from an administrative orientation to a legal one. Legal solutions should be sought after to safeguard the operationalization of the textbook system in all the textbook-related matters. Specifying in law the responsibilities and rights of all stake-holders can help restrict their improper conduct, diminish factors that have a negative impact, and guarantee the normal operationalization of the textbook system.Secondly, theoretical research on textbooks and textbook systems should be received more attention. It is suggested that the government allocate special research fund for this project and seeks professional advice from scholars of various disciplines, such as politics, education, management, history, sociology, and system study. It is believed that different perspectives will offer more insights and theoretical support to the improvement of textbooks and textbook systems.Finally, there should be continuous efforts to maintain a sound textbook system for primary and secondary education. The government should fully understand the important role that the eight sub-systems play in guaranteeing the quality of textbooks, become well-informed of the merits and demerits of the current textbook system, and establish a long-effective system for textbooks through trialanderror.