The Restriction on Educational Quality in Rural Schools

Abstract In order to understand the educational quality in rural schools， I went deep into Huangjia Middle School( situated in Northern China) to make the research. In this article， I focus on the restrictions on educational qualitys， which is one of the main themes about rural education. The factors influencing quality in rural schools are analyzed in this article .It is concluded that educational quality depends on the relationship of teaching and learning and its supporting context.

Key words restriction parental involvement family environment morale curriculum

中圖分類號：G424 文獻標識碼：A

‘Educational quality’ is an abstract concept， so there is not a unified criterion to evaluate it. From the research， I find different stakeholders hold different criteria from their perspectives to examine it. Teachers， pupils and parents in HMS (Huangjia Middle School) discuss the educational quality. They concur that the educational quality in rural schools is poor， but they hold different opinions about the factors resulting in the poor quality. I went deep into the issue， concluding that educational quality depends on the relationship of teaching and learning and its supporting context.

The factors influencing quality in rural schools

Firstly， the curriculum issues are most prominent in efforts to improve educational quality. There is a gap between the National Curriculum and the daily life of rural children. Pupils cannot understand curriculum contents， but they have to memorize them mechanically under the examination-oriented education. In this circumstance， teachers are required to relate academic knowledge with pupil’s rural life in order to achieve good results. Taylor and Mulhall (2001) argue that rural-oriented teaching methods have to be introduced into rural schools. They provide a new method: linking the formal school curriculum with the life experience of pupils.

Secondly， students having no interest in study are a bottleneck in improving educational quality. All the interviewed teachers complained that some students have no interest in study， which demoralizes the teachers. This conclusion is identical with what I observed in the classroom. There were 31 students in my observation class. When the teacher asked a question， only seven or eight students responded. The majority were sleeping， talking each other or playing among themselves. Teaching and learning were separated. Aiming at investigating this lifeless classroom environment， I talked with pupils. They gave me the concurrence: ‘we are not interested in what teachers taught’.

Thirdly， teachers’ morale influences students’ interests. When asked what is different about being a teacher in a rural school and an urban school， the teachers replied that there is no pressure for a rural teacher. They face the children of peasants， who never participate in school， and never inquire into children’s study processes. Furthermore， the salaries and other welfares are very low. Some teachers told me the salary is only for supporting their families. No matter how hard teachers work， they cannot get extra rewards. Some rural teachers transfer to schools in suburbs by the backdoor. Chapman and Adams (1998) argue: ‘the prospect of identifying series of low-cost incentives to motivate teachers to perform in new or better ways has a powerful appeal to countries caught in the squeeze of simultaneous decline in educational quality and resources’ (Chapman et al.， 1993 cited in Chapman and Adams， 1998， p655). All above factors demoralize rural teachers. They are not satisfied with the spiritual and material wealth. Gradually the teachers lose interest， which leads directly to negative influences on pupils.

Finally， there is the issue of rural traditional culture and family environment. The majority of teachers mentioned that rural social environment and family influences are the origins of demotivation and poor educational quality. Some teachers argue that rural culture influences rural education in a great extent.

Peasants are the backbone of rural areas. They live on land. Most rural areas are remote and economic backward areas in China， which leads to conservative views. They have resisted new issues over several thousand years， and their way of life is little changed. Each year， peasants are engaged in farming for only two months， so they are idle for long periods. Occasionally they do casual or part-time jobs. This kind of cultural atmosphere in rural areas influences the children’s thoughts. Under the influence of rural culture， it is difficult to motivate pupils to study hard.

There is no doubt that families influence pupils directly. Most of the parents in rural areas received a five-year schooling under the restriction of various conditions. During their lives， they gradually feel the importance of knowledge. Therefore all the parents expect their children to learn much knowledge. It seems there is a strong belief towards pursuing knowledge in their minds， but they have no activities to support the belief. Most parents have never been to school or spoken to teachers to inquire into their children’s study. Similarly teachers rarely go to visit families or call parents (the telephone fee is paid by teachers). The majority of parents are illiterate， so they do not know how to educate children. They are not willing to co-operate with teachers.

Parental involvement in schooling has become an emerging research agenda. It has been defined as ‘any interaction between a parent and child that may contribute to the child’s development or direct parent participation with a child’s school in the interest of the child’s’ (Reynolds， 1992 cited in Dimmock and O’Donoghue， 1996， p5). Parental involvement stems from the 1960s in some developed countries， such as England and Wales， United States， Australia and New Zealand. Some governments fund programs to encourage parents to become involved in schooling.

In China， parental involvement is not a popular research topic. Parents are not given the right to be involved in daily issues in schools. The educational system in China is different from that in other countries， such as the United Kingdom or United States. The school management is centralized， and the headteacher is in charge of a school. Especially， since the decentralization policy in the 1980s， the responsibilities and rights are shifted from central to local schools. The headteacher takes responsibilities for all the issues in the school. Therefore parents are not strong enough to form a force to be involved in school. Moreover， rural parents have no awareness of how to participate in school activities; they think it is the responsibility of school to educate their children. In rural areas， lack of transfer of information between school and home is an important reason leading to demotivation and poor student achievements.

Conclusion

The discussion articulates that educational quality is the result of the relationship of teaching and learning and the relevant supporting context. The factors influencing quality in rural schools are analyzed in this article. From the education itself， the curriculum and examination separate from reality， which leads students to lose interest in study. Some other external factors， such as the low salaries of teachers， the drain on excellent students and teachers， rural social and family environment， also hinder educational development in rural schools.

References:

[1] Chapman， D. W. and Adams， D. (1998) The quality of education in Asia: the perennial priority， International Journal of Educational Research， 29(1998)， 643-665.

[2] Dimmock， C.， O’ Donoghue， T. A. and Robb， A. S. (1996) Parental Involvement in Schooling: an emerging research agenda， Compare， 26(1)， 5-20.

[3] Taylor， P. and Mulhall， A. (2001) Linking learning environments through agricultural experience， International Journal of Educational Development， 21(2001)， 135-148.