Promoting Equality, Pursuing Excellence

As a pluralistic country mainly composed of immigrants, it is an essential task to face seeking after equality of education opportunity when America develops its basic education. Since the entry into the 20th century, especially after the World War II, faced with the dramatic changes of both domestic and overseas economic situations, pushed by the Civil Rights Movement in particular, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter Government after the War all paid close attention to the basic education reforms aiming at pursuing quality of education opportunity .While eliminating racial segregation in the field of basic education, they took a series of measures to promote the development of basic education. Since the 80s of the 20th century, with the rapid development of technology-based knowledge-driven economy and sharpening of international competition of overall national strength, American federal government has shifted from pursuing equality in education to emphasizing both equality and high quality in reforming basic education. Reagan, George Bush and Clinton Government all regarded improving quality as their important goal of basic education reforms and further promoted the reforms by taking such strategies as working out a variety of acts, schemes and introducing market mechanism, etc. Since the 21st century, in order to meet the challenges of new era and all kinds of educational requirements of different social classes, helping American juveniles fully prepared for stronger international competition, George Bush and Obama Government started on their road to new basic education reforms, devoting to excellent quality of basic education.Through analyzing basic education policies and reform practice of the former American presidents and federal governments ever since World War II, it can be inferred that although they belong to different parties with different political beliefs, they hold the same attitude towards giving an impulse to equality of education opportunity in basic education and realizing high quality development of baisc education. They focus their attention on the public's right of education as well as the improvement of basic education quality, making opportunity equality and excellent quality the major goals of basic education reforms and development after the War. The basic education reforms and relevant policies are affected by the American political system, i.e. the separation of the executive, legislative and judicial powers. The President, Congress and Supreme Court all take part in the practice of basic education reforms and policy making in different ways. The President is the core of American federal government and plays critical role in putting forward basic education reform strategies. The Congress provides legal protection for the development of basic education by carrying out legislative authority. The Supreme Court guides and standardizes the implementation of basic education policies via court judge on sensitive cases and related judicial interpretation. Despite the fact that American political system of separation of the executive, legislative and judicial powers may unavoidably lead to mutual weaseling and impeding, as far as basic education is concerned, it ensures the stability of basic education reforms to the largest extent. Standing on the new historical starting point, looking back the developmental process, the success and failure of American basic education reforms make us contemplate and at the same time its future advancement is well worth further exploring. Basic education reform is a systematic project with heavy responsibilities and a long way to go for both America and other countries and areas. It is endless to pursue opportunity equality and improve the quality in basic education. As a rapidly developing country, Chinese basic education development and reform is also faced with hard tasks and various challenges. The historical experience of American federal government's basic education reforms after the War is worth our studying and borrowing from in establishing Chinese basic education system, which should be fit for our circumstances with the developing ways of basic education.