Teacher-state relations in China: An exploration of class teachers’ experiences

With the relaxation of the command system in the public schooling sector and the decline of ideological coercion in the post-Mao era, the Chinese State has reshaped its control over individual teachers. Much effort has been made to analyse the State’s influence on teachers’ academic activities at school, but little attention is given to another facet of teachers’ work: undertaking the socialisation of students. This presentation is on a study that sought to explore teachers’ perceptions of their relationship with the State in China through focusing on the group of home-room teachers, who are responsible for both teaching and managing all student affairs within a class. Using a multi-method approach, the findings reveal that teachers have a complicated understanding of their roles and status as decided by the State. The evolving trend of teaching as a profession, schools and the market economy play a mediating role in re-shaping China’s teacher–state relations.