Chinese Research Perspectives on Educational Development, Volume 3 is an English translation of selected articles from the 2014 Annual Report on Educational Development in China, produced by the 21st Century Education Development Research Academy in China. In this volume, readers are brought up to date on the main educational issues and events of 2013. 2013, the third year since the Outline of China’s National Plan for Medium and Long Term Education Reform and Development 2010-2020 was implemented, witnessed the deepening of education reform in terms of improving education quality. This volume starts with a general report by Yang Dongping that explains the new progress as well as barriers of education reform in 2013. Researchers and practitioners in this volume discuss the college graduates’ employment situation, trends in preschool education, China’s financial investment in education over the past two decades, reform of the national college entrance examination, rural schools, protection of children’s rights and interests, investigation into the nationwide suicide epidemic, among other important topics. Chinese Research Perspectives on Educational Development is a co-publication of Brill and Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

All the articles featured in this volume first appeared in the Chinese-language edition of Blue Book of Chinese Society 2014. They present and analyze developments in 2012-2013 in income and consumption, industrial transformation, employment, social security, healthcare, education, quality of life and public sentiments. Most data come from several large-scale social surveys. There are a number of highlights. An entire chapter is devoted to capturing Chinese people’s outlook on their own future and that of the country. A special report takes the pulse of the Internet, whose social impact has grown rapidly in recent years. And for the first time in this series parenting strategies and styles of people with young children received special attention. Policy suggestions are provided.

This volume is based on Green Book of Population and Labor 2014, originally published in Chinese. Four large topics are covered: current conditions of and outlook for migrant workers, the emergence of the reform dividend, construction of the social security system and labor market development. Chapter One examines the number, employment situation and income among migrant workers. In chapter Two to Four, contributors discuss significance of reforms of the household registration and the education system. The two chapters on social security focus on efforts to build and strengthen the pension and medical insurance systems, basic public services. Some theoretical and practical issues related to labor market development are discussed in the final two chapters. Policy suggestions are provided in this volume. Chinese Research Perspectives on Population and Labor is a co-publication between Brill and Social Sciences Academic Press (China).

This new volume of Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment (formerly the China Environment Yearbook) includes selected articles from the 2013 annual environmental report compiled by Friends of Nature, a leading environmental protection NGO in China, with contributions from academics, environmental protection activists, public service activists, and the media. In this volume, readers are brought up to date on the main environmental issues and events of 2012, including environmental health, dams and cross-border water issues, a rise in environmental awareness and public action in China, sustainable consumption, and heavy metal pollution. Air pollution control has continued to attract attention from the public, media, academics, and government. This volume also discusses the controversy of the revision of the Environmental Protection Law. Like other volumes in the Chinese Research Perspectives on the Environment series, this one aims to record, evaluate, and reflect on China’s current environmental conditions.

This collection of articles selected from Blue Book of Chinese Education 2015, published in Chinese, reviews the condition of China’s education development in 2014. The wide range of topics covered in this volume fall under two major themes: reform and equity. Chapters on reform focus on the college entrance exam (“Gaokao”), secondary vocational education, senior high school education, provincially and locally-funded colleges, private universities and junior high school admissions policies. Chapters in the second half of the book provide readers with an in-depth account of efforts made to improve equity in special and early childhood education, study-abroad preparation classes, and rural education. The appendix includes a report of budgetary expenditure on education and chronology of major events.

This is one of two volumes by the same editors that explore historical, philosophical, and cultural perspectives on literacy in China. This volume focuses on English literacy in China, while the other volume is on Chinese literacy. In modern day China, English has enjoyed an increasingly important status in education, but not without challenges. The essays in this volume provide a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary look at changes in English literacy practices and literacy instruction in China from the first English school in the 19th century to recent curriculum reform efforts to modernize English instruction from basic education through higher education. Together, the essays address a wide array of topics, including early childhood English education, uses of information technology to teach English, and teaching English to Chinese minority students. This work is essential reading for those who want to expand their understanding of English literacy education in China.