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hers with 65% of them in countryside (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2007). The qualification
and professionalism of this huge group will directly influence the overall quality of Chinese fundamental education as well as the future national quality.
1.3 Statement of the problem
Among the most pressing problems facing education reformers is the scarcity of qualified teachers, which has led to a serious stunting of educational development. In 1986 there were about 8 million primary- and middle-school teachers in China, but many lacked professional training. Estimates indicated that in order to meet the goals of the Seventh Five-Year Plan (Five-Year Plan is made by the government to establish the foundations and principles of Chinese communism, map strategies for economic development, set growth targets, and launch reforms), and realized compulsory 9-year education, the system needed one million new teachers for primary schools, 750,000 new teachers for junior middle schools, and 300,000 new teachers for senior middle schools. Estimates predicted, however, that the demand for teachers would drop in the late 1990s because of an anticipated decrease in primary-school enrollments.
It did happen, however, the demand for the high-quality of the teachers has increased in the beginning of 21st century. Only a small part of teachers in China get higher educational background such as master degree and better trainings and usually they work in urban primary schools. So China still needs more high-professional primary teachers throughout the country, including urban and rural area..
In addition, urban teachers seem more professional comparing to the rural ones. They continue to earn more than their rural counterparts and because academic standards in the countryside have dropped, it remains difficult to recruit teachers for rural areas. Even in the western part of China, teachers in rural areas also have production responsibilities for their plots of land, which take time from their teaching. Rural primary teachers need to supplement their pay by farming because most are paid by the relatively poor local communities rather than by the state.

1.4 Objectives of the study and research questions
The main purposes of this study are to obtain a clear understanding of the characteristics of primary teaching occupation in China and to examine the development of this occupational group. Accordingly, the overall general objective of this study is:
— to examine the actors and factors that promote or inhibit professionalization of government primary-school teachers in China.
In order to achieve the stated objective of the study and also to arrive at a clear understanding of the problem, the overall research question is: what actors and factors are involved and how they impact on the professionalization of primary teaching as an occupation in China? The specific research questions are:
1. How has the primary teaching,as an occupation, taken shape historically?
2. What is the role of the state – how it influences vocational activities of primary-school teachers, especially in terms of controlling over recruitment, certification and standard of practice.
3. What is the role of primary teachers themselves, in terms of their capacity to take collective action, the development of union and the extent to which they are organized?
4. What is the role of training ins本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。