With the emancipation of the mind in China following the implementation of reform and open policies, the study of educational theories has entered an unprecedented era of development. Pure scholastic studies of the past that covered but a limited number of traditional disciplines and involved just a few scholars have now entered the great realm of educational practices. Rich and vivid practices of educational reform have promoted the updating of educational theories and broadened the scope of study. Maturing theories in turn have guided and promoted educational reforms. The study of education as a science has become an important branch of learning in China.

Educational Research in China

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, education authorities at or above the county-level and normal colleges and universities established institutes to study education as a science. After the mid-1950s, a number of institutions specializing in educational research were established, and plans for educational research began to be drawn up. In January 1957, the Central Institute for Educational Research was established. Studies of the institute focused on education-related practical issues in China and covered the theories, history and current condition of education abroad, in an effort to explore laws governing the development of education and establish an educational research system in China to provide guidance over educational practices in the country. Before the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, 15 educational research institutes had been established throughout China. About 300 people worked in them and achieved progress in the study of education, educational psychology and educational history.

In 1978 the Central Institute for Educational Research was reestablished. This was followed by the establishment of educational research institutes by institutions of higher learning as well as provinces, autonomous regions and centrally-administered municipalities. In 1983, the study of education was listed as a social science and included in a general plan for national economic and social development. In 1986, with approval of the State Council, the Ministry of Education established a State Educational Development Research Center, whose work is to provide advice and suggestions for major education-related decisions and study major issues affecting national and regional educational reform and development.

In recent years, researchers have achieved remarkable results in reestablishing and developing educational theories, and in studying educational development strategies, educational planning, educational and teaching reforms, and educational reform and development in ethnic minority areas. Their researches have provided a theoretical basis for educational reforms.

Research Institutes and Researchers

China has an educational research network that operates at the state, provincial, municipal and school levels. And doing research is a contingent of full-time and part-time researchers.

Within the Ministry of Education is a National Educational Science Leading Group. Under the group is a Discipline Planning Team, which is responsible for drawing up a national plan for educational research, evaluating and identifying key research projects, and providing guidance and examining the execution of such research projects. Educational research institutes operating directly under the Ministry of Education are the Central Institute for Educational Research, the State Educational Development Research Center and Institute of the Vocational Technical Educational Center. Provinces, autonomous regions and centrally- administered municipalities have established their own educational research institutes, and more than 700 institutions of higher learning have established higher education research institutes (offices). There are four national academic societies with active members: China Education Society, China Higher Education Society, China Adult Education Society and China Vocational Technical Education Society. In addition, there are numerous industry- and trade-affiliated educational research bodies.

More than 10,000 full-time researchers study education-related issues in the country's educational research system. Doing active research are also numerous teachers and school principals.

Establishment of Disciplines, Research Results

Since the 1980s, a number of new and cross disciplines have been established in the field of educational research in China. These include educational economics, educational management, educational sociology, branch of learning-specific educational psychology, educational technology, educational statistics, higher education science, vocational technical education science, adult education science and educational laws. Treatises such as Educational Economics, Higher Education Science, Educational Sociology, Educational Statistics and Comparative Education have been published.

Research projects cover elementary educational research, macro research and applied research as well as major theoretical and practical issues that are encountered in educational development and reform at home and abroad. People specializing in educational psychology, on the basis of assimilating the latest results of research on educational psychology abroad, have established a fairly complete Chinese educational psychology system. Research on educational history covering general history, periodic history and special-topic history has achieved a series of results. Comparative education in the last two decades has developed from scratch into a fairly mature branch of learning. Researches on higher education, vocational education and adult education have all developed from almost nothing. In the field of elementary education, an increasing number of education administrators, and teachers and principals of primary and secondary schools have done research consciously and produced a great number of influential results. A good many provinces, autonomous regions and centrally-administered municipalities have also launched and completed a great number of local-interest research projects.