Critical Analysis of 40 Years of Education Reform in Educational Leadership Preparation in China

The success of a principal often depends on the preparation quality. The United States attaches great importance to the cultivation of educational leadership, and has established various professional organizations to study and manage the cultivation of educational leadership, which has promoted the continuous improvement of the cultivation plan of American educational leadership. In the past 40 years of China’s reform and opening up, the preparation level of principals in primary and secondary schools has risen from undergraduate to postgraduate. However, at present, it still shows the importance of on-the-job training of principals in primary and secondary schools, while neglecting the research and reform of pre service education activities of educational leaders, which leads to the standardization and professionalism of preparation methods of educational leaders to be improved. Therefore, we can learn from the preparation experience of American, combine with the actual situation of China, attach great importance to the professional training of education leaders, carry out extensive relevant academic research, enhance the direction leading role of education value and social responsibility, systematically design the preparation program of education leaders, and truly build a diversified social support and promotion network, improve the preparation effect of educational leadership in an all-round way.


Table 1. Policy Documents and Policy Reform Evolution of Chinese Principal Training
Year  guidance mode into the education leadership quality improvement work with clear objectives, clear levels, full participation, institutionalization and systematization, which has promoted the improvement of the knowledge, ability and leadership of principals in primary and secondary schools, as well as the response to the Chinese population more, the demand of education leading cadres is large, and training can improve the quality of school leading cadres in a large scale. However, training is a kind of supplementary and upgrading work, especially during the 12th Five Year Plan period (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) in China, there was quite a number of primary and secondary school principals with secondary or junior college degrees (Li, 2016), this kind of training also emphasizes a kind of compensation, so it is relatively slow to systematically improve the level of school leaders only by on-the-job training. The attention now has payed to the pre service education of education managers, that is, how all kinds of colleges and universities, especially normal schools, carry out education leader preparation. The relevant enrollment system, curriculum content, teaching methods and evaluation standards of these colleges and universities directly determine the basic quality level of the "quasi principals" who are going to take the education leadership post, indirectly affect the follow-up training work, and also determine the leadership level and development range of primary and secondary schools.
This study focuses on the work of education leadership and management related majors in various colleges and universities in preparation school leaders since China's reform and opening up (1978), including the following issues: 1) The course and existing problems of education leadership training in China in the past 40 years 2) The root cause of influencing the current situation of education leaders preparation in Colleges and Universities 3) Suggestions for education leadership preparation improvement

Method
Using the method of historical research, the researchers consulted the policies and research documents related to the education leadership preparation in the past 40 years of China's education reform, including the relevant materials such as various types of college enrollment and education plans, and formed a deep understanding of the research problems through systematic analysis and sorting out.

The Development Course of Education Leadership Training in China in the past 40 Years
After the college entrance examination resumed in 1977, normal universities began to resume the enrollment of undergraduate and junior college students majoring in education management. In 1991, the National Education Management Professional Committee was formally established, which is an academic research institution of education management. Professional educators and researchers in various regions began to hold regular professional conferences on education management, which promoted the rapid development of disciplines. By 1998, more than 400 colleges and universities across the country had set up education management majors and published more than 100 textbooks and monographs, presenting a scene of "a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend" (Tian & Sun, 1998).  which shows that the social demand is very wide.

Existing Problems of Education Leadership Training in China in the past 40 Years
At the postgraduate level, 127 colleges and universities currently offer education economy and management majors, with small total amount and obvious regional distribution differences, most of which are in North China; 21.26% are normal universities, and "985"/"211" colleges and universities account for 48.03%, and the main studying directions include education management research, education economics, education policies and regulations, education and human resource development, etc. (Li & Song, 2016). In terms of enrollment, it has the advantages of interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary students, but there are many problems. The quality of students is not high and a large number of students come from college graduates, lack of practical experience in education. However, due to the tight pace of school work, it is difficult for teaching backbone and management backbone to have the opportunity to study (Chu, 2007). The goal of education and training emphasizes practicality, but the curriculum is not matched, and the curriculum structure is unbalanced (Chu, 2007;Zhao, 2008).
The evaluation mechanism is not scientific, which affects the comprehensive ability of preparation talents (Huang & Sun, 2009); the problem consciousness and practical quality of teachers can not fully meet the students' requirements, and professional teachers and scientific research teams are lacking (Chu, 2007;Yang, 2002). The quality of graduation thesis is not high and it is not closely connected with practice (Zhang, 2004). The cultivation of master level professional degree personnel is insufficient (Li & Song, 2016); the social recognition is not high and the employment is difficult (Guo & Ren, 2011 In China, the enrollment time of doctoral degree students is still relatively short, and they are still in the stage of accumulating experience. The survey of the first batch of students in the pilot universities shows that the comprehensive evaluation of students in preparation objectives, tutor level, teaching resources and conditions is relatively high, with an average satisfaction of 78.38%, but the satisfaction in the aspects of on-the-job learning costs (

The Root Cause of Influencing Education Leaders Preparation in Colleges and Universities
Throughout the preparation process of education leadership in the past 40 years, the professional cultivation level of principals in primary and secondary schools in China has risen from undergraduate level to graduate level, and the quality of education has been greatly improved. However, we need to think deeply about the standardization and specialization of preparation plan.

First of all, there is no clear distinction between academic and professional degree education in China.
Especially at the level of master's degree, no matter the academic graduate students of education economy and management or the master's degree students of education management, they can apply for the academic doctoral education of education leadership and management after graduation, and they can also work in primary and secondary schools through recruitment. It is only required to have 3 years (Master's degree) and 5 years (doctor's degree) working experience when recruiting professional master's degree or doctor's degree. This shows that the educational objectives of academic or professional degree postgraduates are actually mixed. This causes a series of problems in the process of learning and teaching.
The interdisciplinary nature of enrollment affects the quality of preparation. The master of education management requires a certain amount of working experience, that is, the experience of "education and related fields", but the screening is not strict when applying online, and some people who are not engaged in education are also involved in it, resulting in the failure of cross professional students in the learning process. And the learning time of master degree of education management is two years, of which half a year to one year is internship in school. The time of theoretical study is not enough, which affects the cultivation of professional quality.
There is no significant difference between academic graduate students and professional degree students.
The teaching process is mainly theoretical learning, and the content of theoretical learning is basically the same. Only the professional degree students increase the case teaching course, and the practice time is extended. In contrast, professional degree doctoral students usually come from primary and secondary schools, with certain education and management experience, and internship problems can also be solved in the process of work; while a considerable part of professional degree master's learning effect depends on the level of guidance teachers. cooperation . It can be seen that the quality requirements of national policies for primary and secondary school principals are very comprehensive, and they pay attention to the leadership ability of principals formed on the basis of knowledge and skills. However, the education curriculum in colleges and universities usually accounts for more than half of the education courses, while the management courses are few, the elective courses are single, the practical courses are lack of continuity and excessive concentration, and the teaching materials are not standardized, which can not reflect the professional needs (Zhao, 2008). In 2018, the Ministry of Education issued a document to entrust the Education Steering Committee to compile the Graduate Core Curriculum Guide, which is used to guide the colleges and universities to compile the core curriculum for postgraduates in education. Thirdly, the management organization of education leadership culvition is mainly the administrative department, and the relevant reform activities are mainly subject to the administrative instructions, which is easy to lead to the lack of academic, and does not match the needs of improving the quality of primary and secondary school leaders. At present, a large number of primary and secondary school principals working in the front line are with secondary technical school and college degree. They are faced with intergenerational replacement, that is, graduates with master's degree will go to leadership positions and become a new generation of expert headmasters. At present, the China's reform is focused on the setting of doctoral degree, and the master's education is not very concerned. Therefore, if only the Ministry of Education, the Higher Education Department of the regional education department, the Discipline Degree Office and other relevant administrative departments manage affairs, or temporarily set up a expert group to evaluate, it is difficult to provide direct and in-depth professional guidance for complex discipline and professional issues. But to establish a fixed and professional organization of discipline experts, it is necessary for science and research institutions to  education leadership cultivation has been captured due to practical needs, the overall research content in this field is lack of comprehensiveness and systematicness. And the relevant empirical research is lack, which makes the school leaders preparation work and its development in China lack of extensive academic support. It's easy to get lost and hit a wall in the chaos. As a necessary cycle, research, reform and effect improvement can help us to identify the direction and clear the goal.

Implications and Suggestions for Education Leadership Preparation Improvement
Comparatively speaking, the problems of education leaders preparation in China and the United States are all related to education objectives, enrollment, teaching and practice. However, as China's education leaders preparation is in the transition from a standardized period to a specialized one, it is very important for the state to regulate and guide this work as a whole. Therefore, we can learn from the development experience of the United States, and combined with the actual situation of China.
First, we need to carry out extensive research on the cultivation of educational leaders. Academic research has been accompanied by the reform of American educational leaders preparation program.
The theoretical research from the first half of the 20th century to a large number of empirical research in the period of dialectical development provide an important basis for the scientific process of education leaders preparation programs.
Second, attach great importance to the professional cultivation of educational leaders. Although the United States continues to explore a multi-channel and multi-mode education leadership cultivation model, but the university and college are the main body of education leadership preparation, and the education reform of graduate students majoring in education leadership is the core of the discussion. preparation of education leaders ensures the quality of education, it greatly reduces the post training The difficulty and cost of the training period improve the overall efficiency of the training of education leaders.
The third is to lead the development direction with education value and social responsibility.
Educational value and social responsibility have always been embodied in the mission of American educational leadership. The goal of American education leaders preparation is to take the development of students as its mission. In the framework of the ISLLC license, the ability of school leaders to "promote the learning and development of all students" is also the basic standard. The purpose of public schools is to promote democracy, equality and common interests. The enrollment brochures of some universities clearly state that the mission of education leaders cultivation is to "recognize the interrelationship of education issues in the state, country, region and global scope…" to contribute to public welfare and a more just world. When entering a university, it is necessary to examine the "changes brought about by the applicants in primary or secondary education" and their "potential as initiators and implementers of educational reform" (UMass of Boston, 2019). China is a post developing country with rapid development. Education is not only an important social system for social innovation and talent cultivation, but also the best way to spread excellent culture and promote social democracy and development. Therefore, the work of preparation education leaders should not be limited to improving their own professional ability and quality, but should be guided by social responsibility and scientific education concept, to enhance their sense and level of leadership, in order to create excellent education effect and social influence.
The fourth is to systematically design education leaders preparation programs. In the process of early education leaders preparation in the United States, the elements of education leaders preparation system are not enough and the cooperation is not matched. The following three aspects should be considered in the systematic design of education leaders preparation program. First of all, according to the changes of the national, social and school environment, as well as the needs of learners to determine the education objectives. Secondly, education objectives, personnel selection standards and methods, education institutions and personnel, curriculum content, teaching methods, specific training plans and evaluation standards are all indispensable elements in the education leaders preparation system. If any aspect is ignored, it will affect other links and overall training quality due to local problems. Finally, ensure the internal consistency of all elements of the education leaders preparation system, and reduce the conflict and internal friction in the specific preparation process.
Fifth, build a diversified social support and promotion network. After the Second World War, various administrative management and research institutions, including some social organizations, established in the United States explored the education leaders preparation plan from different perspectives, explored the direction and measures of reform, formed an atmosphere of common concern and www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr collective supervision of the social welfare fed back by the education leadership, and greatly promoted the rapid optimization of the education leaders preparation program. At present, educational institutions and administrative departments of education have always been the main body of China's education leadership training. The State supports all sectors of society to participate in the preparation of education leadership, but it has not yet established such a diversified system network, and lacks in-depth academic participation and guidance from academic organizations, experts and research institutions, reflecting the characteristics of administrative management. It is not only beneficial to share the cost and responsibility, but also to gather the wisdom and strength of the whole society, form a support and supervision mechanism, and improve the quality and social benefits of education leaders preparation.