A Comparative Analysis Of Educational Equity Between China And United States

Educational equity is the key problem of educational field at home and abroad, the research of the educational equity is the sign of social civilization's advance. In the modern democratic society, the educational equity has already become the basic value in the educational field, and the starting point of educational policy in various countries.Achieving educational equity and equality of educational opportunities is the objective and dream of the government and the people in the United States from foundation, even if in the colonial days. The Americans always stick to the faiths such as justice, equality ,liberty and persevering in seeking the goal"man is born equal"that the founders strengthen the nation. Today,"Assuring educational opportunities equal, improving educational quality"is inlayed in the marbled wall of Ministry of Education, and strike root in the hearts of the people as a educational conception.In China, the conception of educational equity has a long history, as early as over two thousand years ago, Confucius put forward a simple thought:"education without distinction". On the 5th March 2007, Premier Wen Jiabao indicated that"Education is the bedrock of China's development, and educational equity is an important form of social equity. We need to make education a strategic priority and accelerate the development of all types of education at all levels"in the Government Work Report. It is the first time that our national government put"educational equity"in the Government Work Report, and serves to show the determination of our government to make the project well.In recent years, The research on educational equity takes on a situation with multidisciplinary and multiview in recent years, such as law to protect educated rights, sociology analyzing it from social transition angle, economics from distributing educational resources, public finance equal expenditure of educational resources and so on. This text tries to do a comparative analysis of the educational equity status between China and United States from the public policy angle.The text is divided into three parts altogether:The first part is theoretical synthesis, it express the conception and analytical framework of educational equity in the text. Firstly, It presents different understandings of educational equity, proposes the connotation of educational equity of this article. Secondly, explaining the attribute of educational products, the great function of educational equity for social equity and the value of educational policy which need the government; analyzing the social vulnerable groups'necessity for educational equity, which need government involved to has educational equity need as well as when education policy formulation the public participation. Has provided the theoretical basis and the analytical frame for the second part of concrete analysis.The second part analyzes concretely the conditions of educational equity between China and United States. Firstly, make a comparison of the financial investment and distribution to education levels between China and United States. Secondly, it analyzes the policy efforts about education—compensating for social vulnerable groups such as minority groups'education, females'education, special education, rural education, floating children's education, draws out the advantages and disadvantages of the two countries. Last, it analyzes the equity of the educational policy making, take a comparative analysis between public participation in the United States and interests—need absently because of beneficiary—absent in China during the course educational policy making.The third part is conclusion. The author gains some beneficial revelations and advices to nation's educational equity through the comparative analysis of educational equity,as well as advantages and disadvantage between China and United States in two former parts. These are as follow: ensuring educational policy's equity, breaking elite education and city-orientated on the educational policy; Perfecting educational legal system to offering a law guarantee to the educational equity; Increasing input in education especially general education offering the financial support for educational equity; Establishing the compensation mechanism of the social vulnerable groups, presenting the equitable opportunities; Making interest expressing unblocked ect.The educational equity is the important contents of the social equity. It is the extension of the social equity in the realm of education and is also an important way to achieve the social equity. The educational equity is an ideal, and it is a means, expecting the dream of social equity could come true in course of pursuing educational equity.