The Lower Secondary Education Policies in China of the 21st Century: The “Double Reduction” and Vocational General Streaming (GVS) Policy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61173/4bfjxk21Keywords:
Double Reduction Policy, Vocational Streaming, Social Inequality, Educational Reform, Mental HealthAbstract
This literature review analyses two significant education policies in China at the beginning of the 21st century: the “double reduction” and the vocational general streaming (GVS) policy. It uses Bourdieu’s sociological model to analyze its impact on social class equality and empirical evidence to support whether students’ mental health improves due to the policies. The study suggests that the “double reduction” policy while reducing students’ psychological stress, has somewhat increased social inequality, and it is argued that the GVS policy has not been reformed on a large scale, taking into account the current situation of vocational education in China.
References
Bourdieu, P. (2005). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Journal of Economic Sociology, 6(3), 25– 48. https://doi.org/10.17323/1726-3247-2005-3-25-48 Chen, X. (2022, March 26). The Impact of Chinese “Double Reduction” Policy on Listed Educational Tutoring Institutions. Www.atlantis-Press.com; Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/ aebmr.k.220307.326
Coghlan, E. (2023). How an increased awareness of the Chinese education system can improve online student engagement when teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP). International Journal of English for Academic Purposes Research and Practice, 3(2), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.3828/ijeap.2023.12
Jenkins, R. (1982). Pierre Bourdieu and the Reproduction of Determinism. Sociology, 16(2), 270–281. https://doi. org/10.1177/0038038582016002008 Lai, F. (2021, October 11). The Dilemma of Chinese Vocational School Students: A Choice of Last Resort, “Muddling Through” Learning, and Unable to See a Way Forward. Initium Media. https://theinitium.com/article/20211011-mainland-vocationalstudents
Lewin, K., & Hui, X. (1989). Rethinking Revolution; Reflections on China’s 1985 Educational Reforms. Comparative Education, 25(1), 7–17. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3098999
Li, J. (2016). Quest for World-Class Teacher Education? In Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981- 10-0837-5
Li, J., & Li, J. (2019). Educational Policy Development in China in the 21st Century: A Multi-Flows Approach. Beijing International Review of Education, 1(1), 196–220. https://doi. org/10.1163/25902547-00101014
Ling, M. (2015). “Bad Students Go to Vocational Schools!”: Education, Social Reproduction and Migrant Youth in Urban China. The China Journal, 73(73), 108–131. https://doi. org/10.1086/679271
Liu, D. (2015). Parental involvement and university graduate employment in China. Journal of Education and Work, 29(1), 98–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2015.1049029 Ministry of Education. (2021, August 3). Number of Students of Formal Education by Type and Level. Www.moe.gov.cn. http:// www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_sjzl/moe_560/2020/quanguo/202108/ t20210831_556364.html Ministry of Education. (2022, December 30). Number of Students of Formal Education by Type and Level. Www.moe.gov.cn. http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_sjzl/moe_560/2021/quanguo/202301/ t20230104_1038061.html Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2021, July 24). Opinions on Further Reducing the Homework Burden and Off-Campus Training Burden of Students in Compulsory Educatio. Www.moe.gov.cn. http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xxgk/ moe_1777/moe_1778/202107/t20210724_546576.html
Mutch, A. (2003). Communities of Practice and Habitus: A Critique. Organization Studies, 24(3), 383–401. https://doi. org/10.1177/0170840603024003909
Pun, N., & Koo, A. (2018). Double contradiction of schooling: class reproduction and working-class agency at vocational schools in China. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(1), 50–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2018.1507818 Qiu, H. (2022, May 24). County’s population set for new growth. People.cn. http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2022/0524/c1004- 32429437.html
Reay, D. (2015). Habitus and the psychosocial: Bourdieu with feelings. Cambridge Journal of Education, 45(1), 9–23. https:// doi.org/10.1080/0305764x.2014.990420
Rogelio, R. A., Lobo, J. G., Rose, A., & Chavez, J. V. (2023). Difficulties of parents with low educational attainment in Dean&Francis Hongtao Yin assisting their children in modular distance learning during pandemic. Environment Social Psychology, 9(1). https://doi. org/10.54517/esp.v9i1.1957
Ruyi, Y. (2023). Implementation Status and Influence of After- School Services under the Background of “Double Reduction.” Curriculum and Teaching Methodology, 6(15). https://doi. org/10.23977/curtm.2023.061519
Schneider, S. L. (2013). The International Standard
Classification of Education 2011. Comparative Social Research, 365–379. https://doi.org/10.1108/s0195-6310(2013)0000030017 Shan, G. C. (2023, May 9). The Dilemma of Vocational Education in China: Mandatory Streaming Arrangements and Stigmatised Vocational Students. Initium Media. https:// theinitium.com/article/20230509-opinion-china-vocationalschool-students-dilemma
Tang, J. (2023). Reduction or Restrain? Social Reproduction in Chinas Compulsory Education under the Double Reduction Policy. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media, 19(1), 133–138. https://doi.org/10.54254/2753- 7048/19/20231405
United Nations. (2024). The Sustainable Development Goals
Report 2024. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2024/The- Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2024.pdf
Wang, D., Chen, X.-Y., Ma, Z., Liu, X., & Fan, F. (2022). Has the “Double Reduction” policy relieved stress? A follow-up study on Chinese adolescents. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry & Mental Health, 16(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-022-00530- Wu, Y. (2024, February 15). China’s Education Sector: Latest Trends and Policies. China Briefing News. https://www.chinabriefing.com/news/chinas-education-sector-latest-trends-andpolicies/ Yi, H., Li, G., Li, L., Loyalka, P., Zhang, L., Xu, J., Kardanova,
E., Shi, H., & Chu, J. (2018). Assessing the Quality of Upper- Secondary Vocational Education and Training: Evidence from China. Comparative Education Review, 62(2), 199–230. https:// doi.org/10.1086/696920
Zhang, D., Li, X., & Xue, J. (2015). Education Inequality between Rural and Urban Areas of the People’s Republic of China, Migrants’ Children Education, and Some Implications. Asian Development Review, 32(1), 196–224.
Zhang, X., Zhao, W., & Zhou, K. (2022). An empirical analysis of double reduction education policy based on public psychology. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpsyg.2022.952719
Zhang, Y. (2017). Secondary education. Handbook o f E d u c a t i o n i n C h i n a , 11 8 – 1 3 9 . h t t p s : / / d o i . org/10.4337/9781783470662.00016
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
