Professor Zhang Minxuan and His Delegation Visit Hanshan Normal University to Jointly Explore High-Quality Development of Teacher Education

On March 17, 2025, a delegation led by Zhang Minxuan, Director of the UNESCO Teacher Education Centre (TEC), visited the School of Educational Sciences at Hanshan Normal University. The two sides exchanged views on issues such as discipline development, talent cultivation, and innovation in teacher education, jointly exploring paths for high-quality development of teacher education in the new era.

During the visit, a symposium was held between Qiu Xiaohong, Party Secretary of the School of Education, Xue Shenglan, Dean of the School of Educational Sciences, heads of relevant disciplines, and Zhang Minxuan's delegation. The two sides focused on discussions regarding the optimization of pre-service teacher training models, enhancement of the school's research capabilities, and development of discipline-specific characteristics. Dean Xue Shenglan introduced the school's educational practices rooted in local needs, emphasizing the cultivation of application-oriented teachers through strengthening practical teaching and interdisciplinary integration. Zhang Minxuan fully affirmed the school's positioning of being rooted in regional development, shared cutting-edge international experiences in teacher education, and suggested exploring pilot programs for training primary school teachers with separate liberal arts and science tracks. He proposed integrating digital technologies with the rural revitalization strategy to build a distinctive development model for local normal universities. The two sides also exchanged opinions on topics including research project applications, transformation of academic achievements, and development of preschool education.

In the afternoon of the same day, Liu Haichun, President of Hanshan Normal University, met with Professor Zhang Minxuan and his delegation. President Liu systematically introduced the university's heritage of educational philosophy from its thousand-year-old academy and century-old normal education, as well as its achievements in serving local development. Zhang Minxuan highly praised the university's philosophy and characteristics of being rooted in eastern Guangdong. The two sides reached a consensus to deepen collaboration and exchanges in the future, focusing on teacher training and digital teaching reform.

【Background Link】

Hanshan Normal University is located in Chaozhou, a national historical and cultural city. Its predecessor can be traced back to Hanshan Academy, built in 1090 (the 5th year of the Yuanyou era in the Song Dynasty) to commemorate Han Yu, the leader of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is one of China's earliest normal schools for cultivating teachers.

In 1903 (the 29th year of the Guangxu era in the Qing Dynasty), Hanshan Academy was renamed Huizhou-Chaozhou-Jiaying Normal School, becoming one of China's first and Guangdong's earliest schools dedicated to teacher training. Adhering to the school motto Diligent in teaching, earnest in learning; be a model for others, the university has been rooted in eastern Guangdong for over a century. As a provincial undergraduate normal university in Guangdong, it is known as the cradle of teacher education in eastern Guangdong.