To thoroughly implement the guiding principles of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourse on the significance of family ties, values, and traditions, and to give play the vital role of family education in fostering virtue and educating people and in school-family-society collaboration in education, the School of Education at the Open University of China (OUC) held the inaugural exchange and exhibition activity of outstanding family education cases in the new era and the award ceremony on 22 November 2024.
Liu Xuanxuan, deputy secretary of Party Committee and secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the OUC, attended the event. Professor Lei Li from Renmin University of China, Associate Researcher Shan Zhiyan from China National Institute of Education Sciences, Associate Professor Luo Shuang from the School of Education at Capital Normal University, and Associate Researcher Li Yifan from Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences commented on the cases.
Liu Xuanxuan stated that the Party and the state place great importance on fostering stronger family ties, values, and traditions. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC highlighted the need to "improve mechanisms for school-family-society collaboration in education, carry forward traditional Chinese virtues, and foster stronger family ties, values, and traditions." The collection and presentation of outstanding family education cases serve as a powerful tool to advance the specialised educational reform and innovation in family education. Teachers within the open university system should embody the spirit of educators, earnestly study and implement the guiding principles of the National Conference on Education, strengthen the development of family education as a disciplinary major, and embrace the mission of providing family education guidance. They should also disseminate scientific family education concepts, expand the reach of high-quality resources, and contribute to building a society and country of learning.
Fourteen award-winning teachers and students from various OUC branches and the headquarters presented and exchanged ideas on four themes, including "school-family-society collaboration in education”, "all-round development and parent-child communication", "fostering of strong family ties and inheritance of family traditions", and "parenting guidance." Tao Jun, a student from Anhui Branch; Xiao Cuixia, a student from Qingdao Branch; Huang Dan, a teacher from Tianjin Branch; and Chen Xuying, a teacher from Shenzhen Branch, shared exemplary cases on topics such as "caring for left-behind children and family guidance," "school-family collaboration in education", "project-driven guidance services for school-family collaboration in education", and " school-family-society collaboration in education between open universities and local communities". Huang Guan, a teacher from Liaoning Branch; Yang Zaiying, a teacher from Changchun Branch; and Dai Xiaojing, a student from Zhejiang Branch, shared cases focused on "promoting children's all-round development", "intergenerational inclusion", and "non-violent parent-child communication”. Zhang Hongdi, a teacher from Dalian Branch; Xia Jie, a teacher from the School of Education at the OUC headquarters; and Qiu Aijun, a student from Qingdao Branch, presented cases on the inheritance of family traditions and the fostering of strong family ties. Finally, Deng Honghong, a teacher from Heilongjiang Branch; Zhang Wenxian, a teacher from Chongqing Branch; Gao Ye, a teacher from Inner Mongolia Branch, and Wang Lei, a student from Dalian Branch shared exemplary cases on parenting guidance for children of different age groups.
The attending experts noted that the collected and exhibited cases were distinct in theme, rich in content, sincere in emotion, and skilful in crafting. They reflected a multidisciplinary theoretical perspective on family education and were of significant practical guidance. These cases contribute to addressing the current challenges of school-family-society collaboration in education in China and offer valuable insights into parent-child communication, the inheritance of fine family traditions, and guidance on family education for children and adolescents. The experts expressed hope that future case collection activities will feature more examples highlighting fathers' perspectives and family education related to youth parental roles.
Representatives of the winners received awards from officials of relevant departments at the OUC. Zhang Xia, dean of the OUC School of Education, delivered a summary of the event.
Forty award-winning teachers and students from relevant branches participated in the event.
Written by Cheng Fengying, OUC
Photo by the OUC Publishing and Media Group