Refreshing China’s Labor Education in the New Era - Policy Review on Education Through Physical Labor

Oct 15, 2026

Reviews China’s labor education theories and policies to clarify the core objectives, contents, and methods of labor education in the new era. Examines relevant theories alongside historical documents and current policy texts, using Marxist and traditional educational perspectives and China’s education development as analytical context. Concludes that policy elevates labor education alongside morality, intellect, sports, and aesthetics, and expands its goals toward skills, technology, creativity, habits, and emotional development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Objectives: Education “for the workers”

Refreshing China’s Labor Education in the New Era: Policy Review on Education Through Physical Labor ECNU Review of Education 2020, Vol. 3(1) 169–178 ª The Author(s) 2020 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531120903878](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120903878)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531120903878)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Guorui Fan Institute of Schooling Reform and Development & Institute of Education Governance, East China Normal University Jiaxin Zou Department of Education, Faculty of Education, East China Normal University Abstract Purpose: This study reviews China’s labor education theories and policies to reveal the main objectives, contents, and methods of the new era, as well as analyzes future development in labor education. Design/Approach/Methods: In addition to reviewing the relevant labor education theories, this study examines China’s labor education policies using historical documents and current policy texts. Marxist and traditional approaches to labor education, as well as the historical development of education in China, provide the macroscopic backdrop of this study’s analysis of the persistence and innovativeness of China’s labor education policies. Findings: China’s labor education policy has placed labor education on the same level as that in morality, intellect, sports, and aesthetics, thereby endowing labor education with new meaning. Labor education seeks to cultivate workers with all-round physical and mental development. Becoming more varied over time, labor education now involves the cultivation of skills, technological capacities, creative thinking, labor habits, and emotional development. Approaches and Corresponding author: Guorui Fan, Institute of Schooling Reform and Development & Institute of Education Governance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China. Email: [grfan@ecnu.edu.cn](grfan@ecnu.edu.cn) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). methods include formal programs and teaching, education in daily life at home and school, as well as practical activities outside of school. Originality/Value: This study identifies the meaning of labor education in different eras and analyzes the objectives, contents, and methods of China’s current policies on labor education, as well as its future developmental trends. In doing so, this study provides a useful reference for the implementation of labor education in elementary and middle schools. Keywords Combination of education and productive labor, comprehensive human development, labor education, Marxist thought in education Date received: 17 July 2019; accepted: 22 December 2019 Introduction Labor education has long been an important component of the Chinese education system—especially basic education—since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 . This type of education serves to enhance human development while promoting productive labor and social development. Labor education has accrued various connotations over time. In the initial stage of the country’s founding, education was intended “to serve the workers and peasants, and for production and construction”(Qian, 1950) . During 1966–1976, education was combined with productive labor in service to proletarian politics (Lu, 1958; The Central Committee ofCPC & The State Council of PRC, 19

FAQs

What is the study’s main purpose regarding labor education?

The study reviews labor education theories and policies to identify the main objectives, contents, and methods in the new era and to analyze future development.

How does the paper examine labor education policies?

It reviews relevant labor education theories and examines policies using historical documents and current policy texts, with a backdrop drawn from Marxist and traditional approaches.

What key changes does the study find in China’s labor education policy?

The policy places labor education alongside morality, intellect, sports, and aesthetics, and broadens its focus over time to include skills, technological capacity, creative thinking, labor habits, and emotional development.

Oct 15, 2026

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