China’s preschool teacher workforce development 2010–2020: crossing the river by feeling the stones

Accepting that building a substantial preschool workforce can accelerate a nation’s transition to a knowledge society, China’s policy makers in 2010 announced that the size, qualifications and remuneration of the preschool teacher workforce would increase significantly by 2020. A body of literature has reported that the implementation of this policy has realised significant results. We adapt Marxist transition theory to ask how this success was realised and explain the sequence of steps taken to realise these advances. Data were collected following three timeframes based on national and local policy agenda. The participants included 24 preschool directors in 2012, 42 public servants in charge of local preschool management in 2016, and 7 public servants and 146 directors in 2019. We identify four steps in policy implementation and argue that the progress realised is largely due to the care with which the government has engaged its policy implementation strategy. This strategy has entailed identifying an overarching goal, undertaking a sequence of steps informed by experimentation, facts on the ground, listening to stakeholders and the resolute surmounting of interests that would restrain the reform process.