Gültigkeit und Reichweite der chinesischen Bildungsstatistik

Abstract Dealing with developments in the People’s Republic of China’s education system from a scientific point of view has always been a question of relevant and appropriate sources. Different sources seem to be valueloaded to different degrees so a careful choice of materials is necessary for a balanced statement. It was only at the end of 1970s that discussions on how to improve Chinese statistics started and that internal Chinese judgement on the reliability of statistics became available. Based on various sources this article offers a critical overview of all major sources of educational statistics in China and presents comparative data from different sources on different Chinese regions and different subject areas. As a number of examples show there are hardly any parts of the education system which are more accurately documented than others. Mistakes run through the whole system (although in some cases vocational education seems to be a special area of statistical misreporting), depending on the time of reporting, the kind of source and the region. In general terms, progress in statistical reporting is visible since about 1978/79, although we never know whether high consistency in the data presented in different sources also means that these data give a true picture of reality.