The development of basic education in Shanghai, China and its challenges ahead

Since the 1990s, many reform measures have been initiated to improve the quality ofbasic education in Shanghai. The major ones include restructuring of the school system,reformation of the school curriculum and of evaluation methods for students'development, upgrading of teachers' professional qualifications, and expansion of private sector education. The rationale behind these reforms is that quality rather than quantity is the key concern; that students' all-round development is the priority; and that education must be regarded as a vehicle to facilitate the social and economic development of Shanghai. Although there have been remarkable achievements in the reform and development of basic education in Shanghai, there are still a few challenges that will determine its further development and over-all success in the near future. These include the difficulty of putting reform beliefs and ideas into practice; unclear roles and responsibilities of the governments and schools, a great difference in quality among schools; and an ever-increasing demand for quality education.