Free Teacher Education Policy Implementation in China

Abstract

In 2007 the Chinese central government implemented the Free Teacher Education Policy (FTEP), which offered qualifying students admission to prestigious national universities, four years of free tuition, room and board, and a stipend in exchange for a commitment to teach in their home province for ten years; the first two of those years in a rural area. The policy is being piloted at six national universities under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education. This single-case qualitative study investigated the perceptions of frontline administrators, student service providers, and faculty, who are responsible for implementing the policy or are working directly with FTEP students, on implementing FTEP at their university. After initial challenges with implementing FTEP, results indicate that implementing FTEP has reestablished the university's role as a nationally prominent teacher-training university; has spurned the development of a new student-centered teaching model at university level; and because of FTEP revision by the Ministry of Education has allowed the university to create a new graduate program for FTEP graduates.