Autonomy and control: The struggle of minban schools in China

• This study examines the process of controlled decentralization in relation to education reform in China.
• This study constructs a typology of minban schools better capture the variety.
• It also provides a systematic understanding of the operation of minban schools by locating the schools in a ‘differential order’, which determines their choice of strategy: international schools choose isolation; privately funded schools, avoidance; affiliated schools, advocacy; and converted schools, capitalization.

Minban (private) secondary schools are a new phenomenon in China, which, theoretically, have greater freedom from government control. In practice, however, their autonomy is still limited, as is shown by this in-depth study of eight minban schools, though they have actively pursued strategies to obtain, defend, and expand their autonomy. Four principal school strategies are identified: isolation, avoidance, advocacy, and capitalization. Choice of strategy depends primarily on school type and its distance from the state. The government has refused to relinquish control by strengthening bureaucratic regulations and institutionalization, which explains the ongoing tension in the schools’ quest for autonomy.