China Rolls Out Hands-On Science Education Nationwide

China’s Ministry of Education has issued new guidelines requiring all primary and junior secondary schools to implement hands-on, inquiry-based science education starting this September, marking a significant shift from knowledge memorization toward practical exploration. The Ministry of Education announced the “Learning by Doing” Leading Action on August 4, following a national deployment meeting in Beijing on July 29 attended by Vice Minister of Education Wang Jiayi.

A Shift from Rote Learning to Real-World Inquiry

The guidelines, formally issued on July 29 under document number 教监管厅〔2026〕1号, aim to transform science education from knowledge transmission to hands-on practice, stimulating students’ curiosity, imagination, and desire for exploration. The policy directly addresses long-standing criticisms that Chinese science education prioritizes memorization and standardized test-taking over creativity and critical thinking.

According to People’s Daily, the action will be implemented nationwide in all primary and junior secondary schools from the fall semester of 2026. The initiative builds on the earlier “Science Education Work Guide for Primary and Secondary Schools” issued in January 2025, continuing the “science education plus” policy direction under the “double reduction” framework.

Curriculum Requirements and Six Core Themes

The guidelines require students in grades 4-9 to complete at least one inquiry task per semester with no fewer than four class hours, using coordinated time from cross-disciplinary theme learning, comprehensive practical activities, local courses, and school-based courses. For grades 1-3, only the existing inquiry practice activities specified in the science curriculum are required, with no additional requirements.

The official document provides six major themes for schools to reference: Life and Health, Ecological Environment, Earth’s Mysteries, Aerospace, Emerging Industries, and Artificial Intelligence. These themes are designed to connect classroom learning with real-world challenges, from understanding microorganisms through daily hand-washing to designing “Mars farming” projects that integrate biology, physics, and engineering concepts.

Assessment Reform: No New Exams

A key feature of the reform is its assessment approach. No new paper-and-pencil exams will be added. Instead, students’ performance in inquiry practice will be recorded in their comprehensive quality evaluation archives, focusing on problem awareness, inquiry practice ability, reflection and improvement ability, and cooperation and communication ability.

Beijing Normal University Party Secretary Cheng Jianping noted that for a long time, science education in primary and secondary schools has had biases: “emphasizing knowledge conclusions over inquiry processes; emphasizing classroom lectures over hands-on practice; emphasizing paper-and-pencil problem-solving over innovation and creation.” He described the new evaluation design as having strong corrective significance, helping schools focus on students’ authentic growth and comprehensive development.

Experts Welcome the “Deep Transformation”

Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Fang Yu, former president of Shaanxi Normal University, said the reform addresses a fundamental flaw in current science education. “The normal state of scientific research is approaching truth through trial and error, and seeking opportunities in anomalies,” he said. “Current science education simplifies this generative, reflective exploration process into ‘following a prescription’ where results are judged by ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ What students learn is only the ability to reproduce definite answers, not the problem awareness and adaptability to face an uncertain world.”

Fang emphasized that this is “not just an adjustment of teaching methods, but a deep transformation of the educational logic.” He noted that in the age of artificial intelligence, where knowledge is easily accessible and standard answers can be generated instantly, science education must shift from knowledge transmission to cultivating problem discovery, failure reconstruction, and exploration of the unknown.

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Director Ni Minjing praised the guidelines for not narrowing “learning by doing” to simply adding more experiment classes. Instead, the guidelines require students to propose driving questions from real-life problems and experience the complete loop of “proposing questions, making hypotheses, designing plans, collecting evidence, drawing conclusions, making improvements, and exchanging and reflecting.” He said this guides students to “think like scientists and practice like engineers.”

Local Innovation and Real-World Connections

The reform encourages schools to leverage local resources and regional characteristics. The China Education Daily reported on the national deployment meeting where representatives from Jiangsu, Beijing’s Xicheng District, Shanghai University, Ordos’ Kangbashi District, and Chizhou’s Chengguan Primary School shared their experiences.

Liu Liuyan, Party Secretary of Chengguan Primary School in Chizhou, Anhui, described how students investigated traditional sweet wine-making by visiting local artisans, designing comparison experiments, and replicating the fermentation process over a week. “The cultivation and improvement of scientific literacy is not only in books, but also in every inquiry practice,” she said. “We must deeply cultivate local resources, create more real-scenario classrooms, let children ask questions, do hands-on work, make mistakes, and try again, so that science education truly takes root.”

Li Meirong, Director of Kangbashi District Education and Sports Bureau in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, echoed this sentiment: “We don’t want ‘armchair’ top students, but ‘feet-on-the-ground’ explorers.” The district has developed more than 150 localized courses, including desert governance projects where elementary students observe desert flora and fauna, middle school students conduct controlled experiments on sandy soil water retention, and junior high students design water quality monitoring and desertification control plans.

What to Watch For

As the “Learning by Doing” Leading Action begins nationwide implementation in September 2026, key questions remain about how schools will adapt. The guidelines emphasize strengthening teacher training, with resources and funding directed toward underdeveloped regions. Schools are encouraged to build partnerships with universities, research institutes, science museums, and technology enterprises to provide students with real-world exploration opportunities.

Li Qinglin, Principal of Qujing No. 2 Primary School in Yunnan, noted that the guidelines help schools shift evaluation from knowledge reproduction in paper-and-pencil tests to literacy performance in problem-solving processes. The success of this ambitious reform will ultimately depend on whether teachers embrace the new approach and whether schools can effectively integrate inquiry-based learning into their existing curricula without adding burden to students or educators.

Ni Minjing captured the spirit of the reform: “Innovation is not afraid of stupidity, but of sameness. Diverse thinking, a culture that tolerates mistakes, opportunities for hands-on and brain-on work, and connections with the real world - these are the true core of the science education plus.”