Looking forward to a special issue on educational innovations in China

Abstract

Purpose

In recent years, innovative and entrepreneurial efforts have flourished in China's education sector to meet the rising demand of an increasingly wealthier population and a nation determined to transform from a labor‐intensive economy into one powered by knowledge and innovations. Issue 4 of this volume of On the Horizon will present a collection of articles that document and analyze some of the most influential innovations and entrepreneurial activities in China's education sector. As an introductory piece to the themed issue, this article aims to provide some context information of educational innovations in China.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a commentary on educational innovations in China. By reviewing the literature on comparative education and analyzing real cases, this article analyzes two factors that may easily lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretation of education in China: contradictions and egocentrism.

Findings

Questions that are addressed include why education in China gets more and more attention nowadays from educators around the world and what problems those educational innovations attempt to solve.

Originality/value

This article provides insight into educational innovations in China in two ways. First, it presents an overview of recent educational innovations in China. Second, it provides two important strategies to help readers better understand educational innovations in China – how to understand contradictions and how to increase the awareness of egocentrism.

Citation

Zhang, G., Zhao, Y. and Lei, J. (2012), "Looking forward to a special issue on educational innovations in China", On the Horizon, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 104-109. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748121211235750