Exploring double reduction policy, social justice, equity-centered pedagogy, and whole person education for school effectiveness and student Outcome in China
Education is to cultivate students for their lifelong learning and whole-person integrated growth through an equity-centered approach, social justice leadership, and educational policy implementation. This descriptive qualitative study explores how principals investigate the double reduction policy, social justice theory, and equity-centered pedagogy for school effectiveness and student outcome in leading China’s educational reform. A total of 24 participants of Chinese principals (N=24) were employed in this study. There are twelve female (N=12) and twelve male (N=12) principals from the five cram schools (N=5), twelve private schools (N=12), and seven public schools (N=7) in China. Finding shows that Chinese principals face three challenges, including (1) difficulty in providing individual learning; (2) deficiency of enough educational resource; and (3) difficulty in cooperation between parents and schools. This study also found that double reduction has three major benefits, including (1) promoting holistic student growth; (2) reducing family and student burden; and (3) a human-oriented approach. This study discovered that Chinese principals have three major strategies, including (1) professional development; (2) collaboration; and (3) rebuilding new college admission criteria and standards. Future studies were recommended.
Keywords: Double reduction, Equity, Holistic Education, Principals, Qualitative, Social Justice
