This study employs textbooks and legitimacy theories to examine the complexity of legitimizing China's textbook reform, planned since 2012, for three ideologically-laden subjects (Chinese language, History, and Morality and Law). Specifically, it explores why, to whom, and how China's Ministry of Education legitimized this textbook reform, which…

Many scholarly works have examined school leadership, and many others have studied models for teaching citizenship education. Research combining both school leadership and citizenship education, however, is rare. The leadership of China's school party secretaries (SPSs), who are the equivalent of school principals in the Chinese school system and…

China has adopted an unbalanced policy for economic development to improve its domestic economy and international competitiveness for more than three decades. During this process, rural education has undergone a series of reforms. With reference to compulsory education, this article argues that rural education in China is a pragmatic instrument…