Impact of the cultural revolution on rural education and economic development -: The case of Jimo County

This article joins the debate about the impact of the Cultural Revolution on education reform and rural development by examining the experience of one rural area, Jimo County, Shandong Province. It finds both rapid educational expansion and considerable economic development in this period and, moreover, reveals that the two phenomena are linked significantly. Earlier studies have overlooked this link. Thus, Unger, Pepper, and others examine education without considering its impact on economic development, while Zhou and Huang study rural development without considering educational reforms. This article examines both factors, demonstrating that school expansion and curriculum reform in rural areas during the Cultural Revolution served these areas well, for the reforms not only expanded educational opportunities for local children, they also promoted rural economic development. The introduction into the countryside of large numbers of educated local and urban youth, which was a prominent component of the education reforms, proved critical to the success of the rural mechanization, agricultural experimentation, and rural industrialization processes that were unfolding during the period.