About Faculty of Education
History
The Faculty of Education (Tian Jiabing College of Education) at Shaanxi Normal University began in 1945 as the Education Department in the Faculty of Liberal Arts of National Northwestern University. Over the years, the department went through several stages, including the Department of Education Administration at Xi’an Normal College, and the Department of Education, the School of Educational Sciences, and the School of Education at Shaanxi Normal University. In February 2021, the Faculty of Education was established through the amalgamation of the School of Education, the Institute of Educational Experiment Economic, and the Center for Higher Education Research and Evaluation. This new faculty is the university’s first to combine teaching and scientific research, and it is also considered a key research-oriented faculty that is currently under construction.
Academics
Over the course of nearly 80 years of development, the Faculty of Education has created a comprehensive and integrated talent cultivation system, covering undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, through the efforts of multiple generations of scholars such as Ma Shiru, Hao Yaodong, Liu Zeru, Zhu Bo, Wu Yuanxun, Zhang Anmin, etc. Currently, the Faculty has an enrollment of over 1,600 full-time students, comprising around 700 undergraduates, over 300 academic master’s students, more than 200 full-time professional master’s students, over 400 doctoral students, and over 30 international students. The Faculty has made significant strides in talent development, scientific research, social services, international exchanges, and cultural inheritance and innovation. Its efforts have produced numerous exceptional teachers, educational management officials, and specialists in educational science research for the nation and contributed immensely to promoting and carrying forward the “Western Red Candle” spirit.
Faculty
Currently, the Faculty has over 100 full-time faculty members, including more than 40 professors, nearly 100 teachers holding doctoral degrees. Among them, more than 50 teachers have overseas study experience. Among the faculty, there are chief experts of the “Marxist Theoretical Research and Construction Project”, leading and exceptional national-level talents in philosophy and social sciences, national-level teaching masters, specially-appointed professors by the Ministry of Education, national-level cultural celebrities and talents of “Four Batches Project”, candidates for the “New Century Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand Talent Project”, candidates for the “New Century Excellent Talent Support Project” initiated by the Ministry of Education, national-level outstanding teachers, recipients of special allowances from the State Council, recipients of Baosteel Excellent Teacher Award, and other provincial and ministerial-level talents, totaling 28 individuals. Professors such as Hao Wenwu, Fu Gangshan, Li Hongwu, Chen Xiaoduan, Si Xiaohong, Chen Peng, Li Sen, etc. hold important academic positions in various organizations, including the Chinese Society of Education, the China Association of Higher Education, the Chinese Society for the History of Education in Local Areas, the Higher Education Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, and the Professional Steering Committee for Basic Education and Teaching of the Ministry of Education.
Programs
The Faculty has made significant achievements in the development of academic disciplines and majors, with authorization to award master’s and doctoral degrees in the first-level discipline of Education, as well as professional doctoral degrees in Education. Moreover, it hosts a post-doctoral research station in Education. The Faculty offers four undergraduate majors, including Education, Preschool Education, Educational Technology, and Special Education. Among them, there is one national-level featured major, three national-level first-class undergraduate major construction sites, one provincial-level first-class undergraduate major construction site, and three provincial-level famous and featured majors. The Preschool Education major also takes charge of the “Excellent Teacher Education Program Reform Project” initiated by the Ministry of Education. The Faculty has been approved for five national-level fine resource sharing courses, one national-level fine online open course, four national-level first-class undergraduate courses, and six provincial-level first-class undergraduate courses. It has received five national-level teaching achievement awards and 20 provincial-level teaching achievement awards. It has been granted two national-level virtual simulation experimental teaching projects and one new liberal arts project of the first batch approved by the Ministry of Education. Additionally, the Faculty has published two nation-level planned textbooks.
Research
The Faculty currently has 10 provincial and ministerial-level research institutions, including the discipline innovation and talents introduction base for “Intellectual Capital Cultivation and Think Tank Construction in Improvised Rural Areas in Western China” funded by the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, the Basic Education Curriculum Research Center of Shaanxi Normal University of the Ministry of Education, the Education Legislation Research Base of the Ministry of Education, and the Northwest Basic Education and Teacher Education Research Center. Anchored in cutting-edge academic research and guided by significant national theoretical and practical issues, the Faculty has focused on refining its research directions, resulting in distinct research areas and directions with the main characteristics and strengths being “Research on Rural Education based on Educational Equity”, “Research on Education Governance and Policy Supply”, “Research on Teacher Education and Professional Development”, “Research on Deep Integration of Information Technology and Teaching”, and “Research on Education in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region” .
Partnership
The Faculty places great emphasis on international exchange and cooperation. Through academic exchanges, international conferences, enrollment of international students, and exchange programs, it has established cooperative relationships with prestigious foreign universities such as Stanford University, Columbia University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Wisconsin, Indiana University in the United States, University of London, University of Leicester in the United Kingdom, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia in Canada, and Monash University in Australia. These collaborations have greatly enhanced the international profile of the education discipline.
Mission
In this new era, the Faculty of Education is dedicated to “creating a highland for educational research in the west, joining the world-class rank in the education discipline, nurturing top-tier education talents, and contributing to the development of national and regional education.” Driven by the construction of first-class disciplines, the Faculty is anchored in the west, serving the entire country, and embracing the global stage. The Faculty will consistently enhance its influence and outreach in western education and endeavor to become a stronghold of educational research in western China and a cradle of nurturing exceptional teachers.