Keywords
Equalization of urban and rural public services
Institutional dilemma
Cultural resistance
Solution path
Submitted : 2026-06-16
Accepted : 2026-07-01
Published : 2026-07-16
Abstract
With the promulgation of the Preschool Education Law and the advancement of national preschool education policies during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, preschool education in China has entered a new era of inclusive and high-quality development. Nevertheless, the imbalance of urban and rural public service supply in preschool education remains a prominent issue. Rural regions are plagued by three major problems: difficult access to kindergartens, unaffordable fees, and low education quality. These problems not only violate the principle of educational equity, but also hinder the early cultivation of rural human capital in the context of rural revitalization. Based on the theories of public service equalization and human capital, this paper explores the dilemmas of equalized urban and rural preschool public services from institutional and cultural perspectives. Institutionally, the main problems include unequal financial allocation, ineffective teacher management and mobility mechanisms, and one-size-fits-all policy implementation, which lead to unbalanced resource distribution. Culturally, the development is restricted by urban-oriented social values, low professional identity among rural preschool teachers, and rural parents’ misconception of valuing childcare over education. Corresponding solutions are put forward in this study. In the institutional dimension, governments should optimize fiscal investment mechanisms, reform teacher management systems, and implement differentiated policy arrangements. In the cultural dimension, it is essential to change rural parents’ educational ideas, enhance rural preschool teachers’ professional identity, and foster a social value orientation of urban-rural educational equity. This research can provide theoretical references and practical implications for narrowing the urban-rural gap in preschool education and promoting educational equity nationwide.
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