Ma Ying tutors students in class in Langfang City, Hebei Province (COURTESY PHOTO) 

In her third year as a deputy to the Hebei Provincial People's Congress, a branch of the national legislature, high school history teacher Ma Ying is continuing to channel three decades of classroom experience into education policy proposals. Elected in 2023, the national award-winning educator's suggestions as a deputy have been drawn from her frontline observations of students' needs and parent feedback in middle and high schools in Hebei Province. 

"I've served as a history teacher since the 1990s, and for over half of my teaching career, I've concurrently fulfilled the role of class teacher. By serving as a Provincial People's Congress deputy, I hope to make more contributions to the development of education in Hebei Province," Ma told Beijing Review.

Lifelong pursuit 

"This year, my proposal for the Hebei Provincial People's Congress focuses on two aspects, the first involves fine-tuning and more fully implementing the professional ranking system for middle and high school principals. The second is about improving the structure of professional titles for senior-level teachers with outstanding qualifications," Ma added.

Ma's proposals aim to encourage educators' commitment to teaching, which is the core mission of schools.

The Principal Ranking System reform targets at transforming school principal management. This hierarchical evaluation framework correlates principals' professional ranks—categorized as primary, intermediate, and advanced levels—with their expertise and professional performance. It was introduced to replace the previous ranking system, which was based primarily on administrative ranks. The system emphasizes principals' roles as "education experts" rather than administrative officials. Piloted in selected cities in the 1990s, implementation of this initiative became more widespread after 2020, including its recent adoption in Hebei.

"Before the full implementation of the Principal Ranking System, the evaluation criteria for school principals incorporated an excessive amount of non-teaching administrative tasks, which inadvertently dampened principals' enthusiasm for education-related work. Some of these former criteria remain in the current evaluation system, so if we can further improve it, principals will be able to devote more time and energy to educational and academic endeavors," Ma explained.

Ma's second proposal concerns the professional titles of senior teachers in primary and middle schools. Previously, the professional title system of primary and middle school teachers differed from that of university teachers. In 2009, a reform was piloted in three cities to establish a unified evaluation framework aimed at enhancing primary and middle school teachers' professional status and career development, by introducing the highest-level professional title for them. The core objectives of the change are to emphasize teacher's practical expertise and classroom performance, and optimize the allocation of educational resources. The pilot reform was expanded in 2011 and then rolled out across the country in 2015.

"I hope my proposal on improving the structure of professional titles for primary and middle school teachers will help optimize the professional title system and create a more multi-tiered ranking structure. This will enhance teachers' internal motivation and assist them in achieving their aspirations in teaching. I believe that as teachers, we should pursue lifelong learning," Ma said.

Ma has consistently embodied this principle of lifelong learning. In 2012, she earned her master'degree in education from Beijing Normal University, before enrolling in a doctoral program for Marxist Theory at Beijing Institute of Technology in 2021.

"In the era of rapid economic and technological development, educators must aspire to higher professional standards. The education authorities should give top priority to building a high-quality teaching workforce through systematic measures, including implementing structured growth plans for novice teachers while providing tailored career development guidance for experienced educators. In this way, we can cultivate a group of more competent teachers, which will benefit generations of students," Ma said.

Now, with the arrival of the AI revolution, Ma thinks it is important to equip students with fundamental artificial intelligence knowledge through coursework before they graduate from ninth grade.

"Many primary and secondary schools in Hebei Province are equipped with AI digital facilities, including robot teaching assistants and digital teaching platforms. These systems help students search for appropriate learning materials, track students' performance on after class assignments, and assist teachers in identifying knowledge gaps in different students. Meanwhile, augmented reality facilities are being widely adopted, enabling immersive virtual field trips. By incorporating AI literacy into compulsory education's general curriculum, we can give our students an edge in the competitive world in the future, and arm them with the ability to innovate," Ma said.

Ma Ying (second right) prepares for a lesson together with members of her master teacher studio in Langfang City of Hebei Province on October 29, 2019 (COURTESY PHOTO) 

Hearted devotions 

Aside from fulfilling her duties as a deputy, Ma actively engages in social initiatives. She regularly participates in provincial- and community-level education programs, bridging legislative work with grassroots needs.

In December 2017, the Hebei Provincial Department of Education answered the call of the Ministry of Education's plan on teacher's education revitalization by pioneering the establishment of 120 provincial-level master teacher studios. These studios covered primary, middle and high school education, vocational education, and special education, aiming to leverage the role model effect of master teachers in elevating the overall teaching quality, develop shared platforms with high-quality education resources, and bridge the gap between urban and rural education development. 

In response, Ma established a master teacher studio of history for high school at Sanhe Middle School, one of the first batches of studios in Langfang, Hebei Province. Over the past five years since its operation, the studio has organized more than 20 offline training sessions, conducted monthly online thematic research, and participated in multiple joint teaching and research activities in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, as well as providing rural education assistance at least four times each year.

"So far, I have prepared more than 100 lessons for schools in rural areas in Hebei Province," Ma said. "Some lessons are history classes for students, while some sessions are instructions for teachers on teaching methods and moral ethics. I also offered the recipients of our assistance a 'menu' of my services, allowing them to select the topics they'd like to cover so that I can tailor the sessions to their requirements. I remember giving a detailed lecture on how to write theses and applications for research programs. The session was requested by a group of young teachers who are eager to enhance their research capabilities, and I'm happy to help."

To contribute to the educational balance between different regions, Ma led studio members to launch the online Master Teacher Classroom, covering the key topics of history exams for both junior and senior high school grades. So far, Ma has edited over 300,000 words of teaching materials, and hundreds of pictures and videos. The official WeChat account of Ma's studio has raked in tens of thousands of views and has over 25,000 subscribers.

"History is a discipline that nurtures people and is crucial for cultivating one's worldview and values. By teaching history, I'm actually teaching students to correct their thinking and behavior, and raising their awareness of caring about the past and future of their nation, which is essential for personal growth. This is why I established my studio and undertook those voluntary teaching efforts," Ma said. 

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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