FROM TRADITIONAL GROWTH TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: 20 YEARS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN CHINA (1999–2019)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the characteristics and trends in China’s higher education development from traditional growth and expansion to sustainable development from 1999 to 2019. Sustainable development of higher education is a realistic and rational choice in China’s future. China’s higher education has experienced traditional development from extension to integration, which provides the foundation for sustainable development of China’s higher education. After 20 years of development, China’s higher education has gained remarkable achievements in scale expansion and program construction. The process of sustainable development of higher education in China shows the need to adapt to the necessities of society and the masses, which serve as the driving force of the government. In effect, the process optimises the allocation of educational resources, meets the needs of people and society, and adheres to the standards of program development and quality improvement and drawing upon the lessons from the development of higher education in other countries.

 Keywords: higher education; historical change; traditional growth; sustainable development