The Evolution of the Policy on Cultivation of “High-Quality and Professional” Teaching Personnel in Ethnic Minority Areas: Retrospect and Prospect

Chen Ting,Xie Shengmei

DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1674-9391.2021.07.005

Abstract：This paper thoroughly analyses education policy and its evolution， based on quality requirements for teachers， the education of normal college students， the training of active teachers， teacher incentives， and inland support. This study attempts to explore the evolutionary logic of the policy on cultivation of “high-quality and professional” teaching staff in ethnic minority areas and looks into relevant future trends， hoping to provide suggestions to further improve this cultivation of qualified teachers for ethnic minority areas in China.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China， the national policy on cultivation of“high-quality and professional” teaching personnel in ethnic minority areas has gone through six phases：1） The initial stage（1949-1955） ： focusing on solving the shortage of teachers in ethnic minority areas; 2） Scale expansion stage（1956-1977） ： the number of teachers in ethnic minority areas was greatly expanded; 3） Restoration and exploration stage（1978-1991） ： the focus on raising up a teaching faculty changed from “scale expansion” to “quality improvement”; 4） Consolidation and improvement stage（1992-2001） ： comprehensively improving the quality of teachers in ethnic minority areas; 5） Stage of deepening reform（2002 to 2014） ： vigorously develop a “bilingual” teaching faculty mainly from local ethnic groups; 6） Sustainable development stage（after 2015） ： establish and improve the long-term mechanism for cultivating a “high-quality and professional” teaching staff  in ethnic minority areas.

The policy on cultivation of “high-quality and professional” teaching personnel in ethnic minority areas of China has experienced a process of gradual development starting from scratch. Based on a longitudinal analysis of the policy core content， it can be found that the policy shows an evolution in quality requirements， training and development， incentives， and inland support. Looking forward to the future， the cultivation of “high-quality and professional” teaching staff in indigenous areas should take the following measures： First of all， breaking up homogeneous thinking， and strengthening the foundation and understanding of the quality policy for teachers in ethnic minority areas; secondly， improving the funding mechanism as to guarantee accurate implementation of teacher training policies in ethnic minority areas; thirdly， targeting teachers to correct blind spots of teachers' incentive policies in ethnic minority areas; and fourthly， strengthening the effectiveness of inland support policies.

Key Words： ethnic minority areas; cultivation of “high-quality and professional” teaching personnel; evolution of policies