ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on China's formal education systems of schooling and higher education, and in particular, educational development and reform of education policy and practice. Education continues to be held up as the engine of national growth and prosperity and even as the nation's 'moral compass', as can be seen in the revival of interest in Confucianism and Confucian education and the introduction of 'moral education' classes in schools. The perfectibility of the individual and educability of all and the value of self-cultivation and self-reflection are also central Confucian educational tenets. Although the chapter focuses on the formal education system and specific contexts within it, much learning of course also takes place in more informal settings such as families, workplaces, temples, workshops and within ethnic minority communities, as well as in the growing adult education sector. The impact of Confucius's moral teachings can be seen in education policy and practice in many ways.
