China's Economy and Education System: A Closer Look - Research Paper

Introduction

China is the world's most populous country with a population of close to two billion people. The considerable population formed precedence for the fastest growing economy in the world. Despite the growth in the country's economy, minimal information is out there about the education system in China (Min, 2001). China's economy moved and developed from the once static and centralized one to a more dynamic with socialist policies influencing the rapid growth. The rapid changes in the economy influenced and affected the education system in the country as well. The most affected was the higher education program (Xie & Zhou, 2014). The multimedia education technology involves a type of teaching using a combination of several media platforms ranging from slides, audiovisuals, and texts, among other forms. The rapid growth of the Republic of China's economy has necessitated the use of these various forms to advance higher education in the country (Wan, 2006). This research proposal will evaluate the development trend of higher education in China under the background of multimedia education technology.

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Research Questions

• What is the status and development level of higher education in China?
• How is the higher education level different from how it was in the past where there was no advanced technology?
• What is multimedia education technology, and what does it entail?
• What is the impact of multimedia education technology on the development trend of higher education in the Republic of China?
• What is the future of higher education in the Republic of China with multimedia education technology?

Research Objectives

• The research aims to evaluate the status of higher education's development trend in the Republic of China.
• The research aims to compare how different higher education was in the past and the present now that technology is involved.
• The research aims to understand multimedia education technology as a teaching platform and how it works.
• The research aims to study the impact of multimedia education technology on higher education in the Republic of China.
• The research aims to establish and foreshadow the future of higher education in the Republic of China with the involvement and use of multimedia education technology.

Statement of Problems

Higher education is a great factor as far as the development of a country is concerned. A country with elaborate and developed higher education system is guaranteed of a quality workforce and productive people. Studies show that states with high economic growth have equally invested in their education systems, especially higher education. This research will delve into the development trend the Republic of China has set for its higher education under multimedia education technology. The study will explore the upsides of the introduction of technology in China and how it has improved its higher education system among world players as compared to economic growth.

Literature Review

Zhao and Jiang (2010) discuss the introduction of e-campus in higher learning institutions in the Republic of China and the possible challenges encountered in the introduction of the system. The paper mainly focuses on the campus network infrastructure and management information systems and the modes of e-learning available for the institutions. Several challenges were encountered during its inception. There were questions about whether teachers were ready to use the new technology in their classrooms or not (Hu & McGrath, 2011). The two authors researched how English teachers had problems using ICT in their teaching and the implementation processes. They needed the training to use the technology introduced as most of them had limited knowledge on the same. The implementation process was influenced by various factors, including teacher quality, which is a severe premise if the reform was to succeed (Zheng & Davison, 2008).

There has been a significant transformation since the introduction of technology in China's teaching spheres of education. The number of graduates has increased since the introduction, as opined by Li et al. (2012). China’s economy has been growing since the introduction, which made learning more accessible, unlike in the past, where education levels were quite low (Whalley & Zhou, 2011). The introduction of technology to the teaching of higher education has positively impacted the republic of China. It has led to improved literacy levels in the country and made sure that the education standards in the state compete with other countries like the United States of America, among others. The economy is the one sector that has benefited the most in the result (Donahoe & Pecht, 2003).

Higher education in the Republic of China is bound to be even better within the coming years because of the integration of multimedia education technology. Learning has been made a lot easier for learners, and therefore the number of graduates is bound to increase further (Fang & Warschauer, 2004). The country's higher education institutions will be ranked among the best because of the provision of quality education to learners.

Significance of the Study

As observed in the introduction of this research proposal paper, the development of higher education in the Republic of China has direct impacts on the country's economy and the economic growth necessitates the need to ensure educational reforms (Hu & Webb, 2009). Higher education in various countries continues to become the backbone of their economy, and the Republic of China is not an exception. A country with quality higher education not only is it promised of quality graduates who can cope with the dynamic technological state of the world for better productivity (Carneiro et al., 2001). There is a need for this study to compare the trend in the implementation process of multimedia education technology with other countries and evaluate what needs to be added to make the quality of learning better. With the implementation's success, the state can consider introducing and implementing the multimedia education technology reforms even in lower levels of education (Merchant et al., 2014).

Research Methodology

The more extensive research will include a survey into higher education reforms that have been made in the Republic of China since the inception of technology. A survey will also be done on how many institutions have implemented the processes fully and to a successful outcome. The data will be collected through qualitative research, where various models of multimedia education technology will be evaluated for their success rates in the Republic of China (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). There will be research on how many teachers have fully acquired the skills to use the said methods of teaching and the challenges they face. The study will compose and analyze the various multimedia education technology techniques and evaluate their productivity on the rate of learning and how learners understand their disciplines' contents. The research that will be written in this paper will scrutinize the methods identified and suggestions on improving them.

In the study, various methods of data collection will be employed. The researchers will conduct interviews with multiple players in the higher education sector in the country. They include multiple heads of institutions and leaders of departments. There will also be library research on the topic; the data found evaluated and analyzed to draw meaningful conclusions. Peer-reviewed sources will be consulted in the preparation of the final study.

References

Carneiro, P., Heckman, J. J., & Vytlacil, E. (2001). Estimating the return to education when it varies among individuals. mimeo. http://legacy.iza.org/en/papers/Vytlacil131101.pdf

Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln, Y.S. ( 2005). Introduction: The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 1-32). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-07735-001

Donahoe, D. N., & Pecht, M. (2003). Are US jobs moving to China?. IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies, 26(3), 682-686. Doi: 10.1109/TCAPT.2003.816655.

Fang, X., & Warschauer, M. (2004). Technology and curricular reform in China: A case study. TESOL Quarterly, 38(2), 301-323. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588382

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Hu, L., & Webb, M. (2009). Integrating ICT to higher education in China: From the perspective of activity theory. Education and Information Technologies, 14(2), 143. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-008-9084-6

Hu, Z., & McGrath, I. (2011). Innovation in higher education in China: Are teachers ready to integrate ICT in English language teaching?. Technology, pedagogy, and education, 20(1), 41-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2011.554014

Li Y.A., Whalley J., Zhang S., Zhao X. (2012) The Higher Educational Transformation of China and Its Global Implications. In: Ennew C.T., Greenaway D. (eds) The Globalization of Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137265050_10

Merchant, Z., Goetz, E. T., Cifuentes, L., Keeney-Kennicutt, W., & Davis, T. J. (2014). Effectiveness of virtual reality-based instruction on students' learning outcomes in K-12 and higher education: A meta-analysis. Computers & Education, 70, 29-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.07.033

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Xie, Y., & Zhou, X. (2014). Income inequality in today’s China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(19), 6928-6933. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1403158111

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Zheng, X. M., & Davison, C. (2008). Changing pedagogy: Analysing ELT teachers in China. A&C Black. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=doLUAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&ots=MlbG5sRwjN&sig=hzkl5uApQ5l-w9nPx5QBfuNpdNw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false