Two Decades of Basic Education in Rural China : Transitions and Challenges for Development

Wang Lu is Professor at the School of International and Comparative Education, the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, the People’s Republic of China. She obtained her PhD in Education at Sussex University and subsequently worked as research officer at the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK. She has been leading various research projects funded by the British Academy, British Council, Save the Children, as well as key research projects funded by the Chinese national level organizations. She has been working as international and national consultant for the World Bank, UNESCO and DFID on basic education projects in China. She has published widely on equity issues in basic education, access of migrant children, minority children and girls to compulsory education, inspection and evaluation, policy and reform of British education. She has won first class reward on research on school inspection system from national research society.

Professor Keith Lewin is the Director for International Education at the University of Sussex and of CREATE, as well as former president of British Association for Comparative and International Education (BAICE). He is academician of the Academy of the Social Sciences, United Kingdom, Joyce Cain Award of the Comparative and International Education Society of the USA for the best journal article on Africa (2013), Honorary Professor Beijing Normal University. He has extensive experience in China, Africa, South and South East Asia. He has published 18 books and over 100 scholarly articles and chapters. He has worked extensively with the World Bank, DFID, DSE/GTZ, UNICEF and UNESCO. He presented at the world educational conference at Jomtien and Dakar, and contributed to development planning in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Africa, and in India, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. His research interests include the economics of education, educational financing, educational policy and planning, teacher education, science education policy , assessment and aid to education.