The Storybook Project: Education in Rural China (2009)
Undergraduates: Merrybelle Guo, Diane Geng
Faculty Advisor: Robin Visser
Department: International & Area Studies
Education in rural China faces difficulties from many sides: there is a lack of material resources, a lack of human resources, difficulties in educational continuity for children in rural areas and schools in rural areas, funding issues, differing ideas of quality, and stifling of creativity. Of course, many of these issues contribute to the others and all are aggravated by traditional methods of education and a cultural emphasis on the Chinese urban. This shows that an improvement in Chinese rural education must be a holistic effort that at its very base encourages creative energy, pride in the rural, invests resources and includes the family. The Storybook Project is an attempt to address some of these issues in a way that allows the children to take an active effort in shaping their understandings of the people and community around them.