ACWF VP Proposes Law to Promote Healthy Family Education

Legislation on the promotion of family education should be on the agenda of China's top lawmakers, said Meng Xiaosi, vice-president of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), at the on-going 12th session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

As a member of the CPPCC, China's top advisory body, Meng urged the National People's Congress to make a special law to promote family education, which facilitates government in providing necessary public service and in giving healthy, reasonable and all-around guidance on family education.

"Family education is the first, all-around and most important education an individual can get," said Meng, adding that it is an issue relating to individuals' interests, family happiness and a country's competitiveness.

Family education comprises both personal and public aspects, and requires investment from families and the country's support and guidance, especially in the case of family education for minors, Meng says.

However, Meng points out that the role the country in family education is not to replace parents as children's mentors or intervene in parents' freedom to provide their own viewpoint, but to bring necessary public services and put relative regulations for family education in place.

A survey by ACWF found that 90 percent of those polled agreed on the important role of family education in personal growth. 74 percent said that it is necessary to regulate services and management of family education.

According to Meng, a number of regions, including southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and Guizhou Province, have studied the issue or made relative laws, which lay the foundations of a national law.

In 2011, ACWF and the China's Ministry of Education studied this issue and compiled a proposal for a law to promote education.

Meng believes that in such education, families should play managing roles while the country should play a supportive one. That is why, Meng said, that the law should be named the "Family Education Promotion Law."

"The core function of the Family Education Promotion Law is for promotion and regulation," added Meng.

The country should establish private and charitable organizations to guide and serve family education, Meng said.

At the same time, the country needs a supportive system backed by policies, funds and organizations.

She believes the law should regulate the behaviors of all these organizations

Meng said that the key areas of the law should be about definition, basic principles and working systems of family education, special measures for the family education of "left-behind," relocated, poverty-stricken and street children, and legal responsibilities.

"It urgent and inevitable to start making family education law," said Meng.

The following is excerpts from Meng's proposal:

Family education, school education and social education together constitute a complete education system that shapes personalities, they are the top three education pillars of the national education system. Family education covers the whole process of growth and is the initial and most important education. It relates to individual interests, family well-being and national competitiveness, and is an independent domain needing support, guidance, management, and study for a modern education. To define the constitutional position of family education would help to promote this important institution.

At present, many problems exist in Chinese family education. The development of laws for family promotion in response to these outstanding problems is required to meet the development needs for family education normalization and professionalization. Starting family education legislation is imperative and imminent, especially putting forward legislative proposals.

Family education and legislative analysis of the status quo

Outstanding problems of Chinese family education

Family education continues to use traditional modes even in the face of changes in the external environment of society, the family and education. The disadvantages are prominent: family education is often carried out blindly and disorderly, many children are untaught and mis-taught – even the "wolf dad" and "tiger mom" are becoming reckless – and malignant cases occur frequently. The guidance and service markets of family education are in chaos, and access mechanisms and professional norms are insufficient in various family education organizations. The problems above urgently need to be reexamined and responded to.

China's current legislation situation of family education

Compared with school education and social education, we lack perfect and systematic laws and policies to promote and support family education. The legal status of family education cannot be confirmed, and the guidance, management and support systems for family education services are neither complete nor normative. Thus, legislative responses are urgently needed.

The feasibility analysis for laws regarding the promotion of family education

High public identification with family education legislation

The ACWF carried out a survey on family education, and the data shows that most of the public pays attention to family education, 90% of the respondents think that family education plays an important role in the growth of the individual. Public identification with family education legislation is high, 74.3% think that it is necessary or very necessary to regulate family education services and administration by law, including increased recognition of underdeveloped areas. There are urgent demands for family education services, 78.1% of the people surveyed think that the government should play an important role in family education services, and 64.4% think the government should supervise family education work.

Some places that have started family education legislation and gained some experience

At present, Chongqing, Guizhou, Tianjin, Jilin, Jiangxi, Anshan in Liaoning, Qingdao in Shandong, and other places have carried out relevant legislative or survey work on family education, which lays the foundation for national legislation.

To carry out "the compendium of national medium and long-term education reform and development planning (2010-2020)", the ACWF and the Ministry of Education started the family education legislation investigation and suggestion manuscript in 2011, and have created a research report and expert proposal manuscript.

Proposals for the promotion and establishment of Family Education Laws

Name: Family Education Promotion Law

The division of labor between the family and the nation is clear in family education. Families are responsible for family education and the nation helps them to manage it. The nation is the main body responsible for providing public service, and its role is to promote and regulate family education. Based on this, the name of family education legislation should be the "Family Education Promotion Law ".

Purpose and function of legislation: to promote and standardize family education

The core function of the law is to "promote" and "standardize", embodied in the following three aspects:

Guidance and service: The nation will establish instructional and service organizations for marketization and welfare, provide systematic, scientific and professional guidance for family education, and provide multiple, adequate, comprehensive services to better serve family education.

Security: Establish security systems supported by policies, funds and institutions, and define all kinds of responsibilities to guarantee children's right to education and their all-round healthy development.

Standards: The nation should not only guide family education, it should also standardize it with legislation, especially in regards to the behavior of directive institutions, service institutions and other relevant institutions.

Main contents of the legislation

The definition of family education (define main body and contents of family education)

The basic principles of family education (define the core values of family education)

The working mechanisms of family education (define the central, directive and service institutions, etc.)

Special measures for family education (for those left behind, street children, disabled children and children with economic difficulties)

Legal responsibility (define legal responsibilities for violation of relevant legal norms)

For this purpose, our nation should promote the Family Education Promotion Law in the NPC's legislative planning, and prepare to make special laws for family education.

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)