Transformation of Shadow Education and Restructuring of Educational Ecology under the "Double Reduction" Policy: A Systematic Literature Review of Multi-Stakeholder Impacts

Authors

  • Yinfan Zhang Shantou Polytechnic Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71204/ddfgb111

Keywords:

Double Reduction Policy, Shadow Education, Educational Ecology, Multi-Stakeholder Impacts, Educational Equity

Abstract

Since the implementation of the "Double Reduction" Policy, its impacts on the basic education ecology have sparked extensive academic discussions. However, existing studies have mostly focused on the perspective of a single stakeholder and failed to form a systematic integration. To sort out the evolution of the policy's impacts and clarify the multi-stakeholder mechanism of action, this study adopted the method of systematic literature review, followed the PRISMA 2020 framework, screened relevant peer-reviewed literatures published from July 2021 to January 2026, and conducted a qualitative comprehensive analysis. The study found that the "Double Reduction" Policy has driven the redistribution of educational responsibilities and ecological adjustment through the regulation of shadow education. The policy has compressed the explicit space of shadow education, yet the logic of academic competition for further education remains unchanged. Parental anxiety over their children's academic performance has intensified, and parents have shifted to various forms of implicit compensatory educational investment. This not only weakens the effect of burden reduction at the family level but also transmits pressure to teachers, who are confronted with increased workload and occupational burnout. Although students' physical and mental health has improved due to the reduction in homework burden, they face the challenges of intensified parent-child conflicts and the differentiation of academic gaps under the influences of strengthened family supervision and implicit shadow education. Based on these findings, this study puts forward optimization suggestions, including defining teachers' rights and responsibilities and establishing a compensation mechanism for their remuneration, constructing a home-school collaborative guidance system for family education, and strengthening the supervision of off-campus training while guiding the characteristic development of non-academic training institutions. From the multi-stakeholder perspective, this study systematically integrates the logic of the policy's impacts, and provides theoretical reference and practical support for further deepening the effect evaluation and long-term implementation of the "Double Reduction" Policy.

References

Chen, J. (2024). The impact of the double reduction policy on China's education and training market. SHS Web of Conferences, 207, 04027.

Chen, M. X., & Zhou, M. Y. (2024). Study on the change of family education demand and countermeasures under the background of “double reduction.” Journal of Moral Education for Primary and Secondary School, 4, 44–47.

Chen, X. (2022). The impact of Chinese “double reduction” policy on listed educational tutoring institutions: Taking New Oriental Study Group as an example. Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development, 1986–1991. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.220307.326

Ding, B., Wang, Y., & Li, F. (2025). Job stress, coping resources and teacher career satisfaction: A questionnaire survey based on China's “double reduction” policy. BMC Psychology, 14, 57

Fu, W. D., & Zhang, S. (2023). Can after-school services improve students' physical and mental health development in the context of “double reduction”? An empirical study based on more than 30 counties in six provinces in Eastern, Central and Western China. Educational Science Research, 1, 14–21.

General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party & General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. (2021, July 25). Opinions on further reducing the burden on students in the compulsory education state from homework and extracurricular training. People's Daily, 1. https://doi.org/10.28655/n.cnki.nrmrb.2021.007688

Ji, G. X., Chan, P. W. K., & Kalogeropoulos, P. (2024). Teacher workload and intensifying demands: Lessons from the Chinese double reduction policy. International Education Journal: Comparative Perspective, 23(2), 77–92.

Jin Y. L., & Zhang M. K. (2022). The strategic significance, implementation challenges and route choices of the “double reduction” policy. Education Science, 38(6), 15–20.

Li, J., Li, X., Shi, A., & Yang, Q. (2022). The impact of the double reduction policy. Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Education, Language and Art, 713–720. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220131.131

Luo, Y., & Liu, Y. H. (2022). Parental education anxiety in “double reduction”: Characterization, causes and responses. Education & Economy, 38(5), 67–73.

Niu, J., Fang, J., & Qi, Z. (2025). Family socio-economic status and parental education anxiety: The mediating role of perception of the “double reduction” policy and the moderating role of parental education expectations. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1525651.

Pearlin, L. I., Aneshensel, C. S., & Leblanc, A. J. (1997). The forms and mechanisms of stress proliferation: The case of AIDS caregivers. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 38(3), 223–236.

Pearlin, L. I., Menaghan, E. G., Lieberman, M. A., & Mullan, J. T. (1981). The stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22(4), 337–356.

Qi, L. (2023). Research on the status quo and characteristic transformation of county off-campus training institutions under the background of “double reduction.” Frontiers in Educational Research, 6(12), 33–37.

Shen, K., & Zhang, H. Q. (2024). Does the “double reduction” policy affect students' academic performance?——Tukey's multiple comparison test from the sociological institutionalism perspective. Journal of Jishou University(Social Sciences), 45(5), 122–130.

Song, M. (2022). Under the implementation of double reduction policy: Relationships between teachers and parents. Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Education, Language and Art, 800–804. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220131.146

Sun, Y. (2024). Analyzing the impact of the “double reduction” policy on student well-being and academic performance in urban China. Research and Advances in Education, 3(9), 71–79.

Wang, D., Chen, X.-Y., Ma, Z., Liu, X., & Fan, F. (2022). Has the “double reduction” policy relieved stress? A follow-up study on Chinese adolescents. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 16(1), 91.

Wang, X. D. (2022). The confusion, clarification and routes of practice on the cooperative education of compulsory education under the background of “double reduction” policy. Journal of the Chinese Society of Education, 2, 28–33.

Wu, B. (2021). Research on the impact of China's “double reduction” policy on out-of-school remedial classes. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry, 548–552. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.211209.091

Wu, J. H., & Wu, Y. Q. (2023). Obstacles and resolution strategies for the governance of shadow education in China under the background of “double reduction” policy. Teacher Education Forum, 36(6), 9–12.

Xie, R., Wang, X., Ding, Y., Chen, Y., & Ding, W. (2024). The impact of parental autonomy support on family adaptation in the context of “double reduction”: The mediating role of parent–child communication and cohesion. Behavioral Sciences, 14(7), 534.

Xie, Z. E. (2025). Exploration on the policy evolution, development dilemmas and potential countermeasures of shadow education in China under the background of the “double reduction” policy. Journal of Yan'an University (Social Sciences Edition). https://link.cnki.net/urlid/61.1015.C.20250917.1445.004

Yue, W., Yu, L., & Yang, Y. (2023). The occupational anxiety of teachers caused by China's ‘double reduction' policy—A study based on the grounded theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1144565.

Zeng, Y. (2025). A review of empirical studies of the effects of double reduction policy. Science Insights Education Frontiers, 27(2), 4517–4531.

Zhang, S., Binti Che Hassan, N., & Manisah Binti Sulong, R. (2023). Whether the double reduction policy reduces parents anxiety over their kids future: A qualitative research from China. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 12(1), 1241–1249.

Zhang, S., Sulong, R. M., & Hassan, N. C. (2025). The impact of parents' perceptions of the double reduction policy on educational anxiety: Parental involvement as a mediator and gender as a moderator. Cogent Education, 12(1), 2444803.

Zhang, X. F., Zhang, S. P., Wang, M. W., Xu, Z. X., & Zhou, M. (2023). Demand and turn of family education under the “double reduction” policy: Based on a survey of 3563 families in Shanghai. Research in Educational Development, 43(20), 67–76.

Zhang, Y. (2025). Less is more? Unpacking China's double reduction policy [M.A. thesis, Simon Fraser University]. https://summit.sfu.ca/item/39768

Zhao, A. (2023). Parents' attitudes toward the Chinese “double-reduction” policy [M.Ed. thesis, University of Windsor]. https://uwindsor.scholaris.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/911b829a-e766-4ac3-9d3e-383845c1d9ec/content

Zhao, N., Shi, C., & Wang, C. (2024). Effects of the “double reduction” policy on the commercial tutoring sector in China. International Journal of Educational Development, 105, 102989.

Zhao, P., & Hu, Y. M. (2023). Reducing the burden of primary and secondary school teachers against the background of “double reduction”: Problems, causes and stra. Journal of Capital Normal University(Social Sciences Edition), 5, 151–161.

Zhong, Y., Lai, S., Li, Y., Yang, K., Tang, H., & Zhang, X. (2025). Burnout and its relationship with depressive symptoms in primary school teachers under the “double reduction” policy in China. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1420452.

Zhou, C. C., Zhu, J. H., Tao, A. H., & Liao, D. (2024). Empirical research on the pressure of teachers in county primary and secondary schools from the perspective of “double reduction”——Based on a survey of 6 schools in S County. Journal of Jilin Provincial Institute of Education, 40(3), 166–175.

Zhou, H. (2022). Countermeasures for resolving parent-child conflicts among junior middle school students under the background of “double reduction.” Mental Health Education in Primary and Secondary School, 9, 69–72.

Zhou, H. Y., & Qi, Y. L. (2022). Implementation of the “double reduction” policy: Focus, difficulties and suggestions. Journal of Xinjiang Normal University(Edition of Philosophy and Social Sciences), 43(1), 69–78.

Zhou, J., & Fan, A. (2025). The impact of China's “double reduction” policy on primary school students' subjective well-being and academic achievement. International Journal of Educational Development, 117, 103321.

Downloads

Published

2026-04-24

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Transformation of Shadow Education and Restructuring of Educational Ecology under the "Double Reduction" Policy: A Systematic Literature Review of Multi-Stakeholder Impacts. (2026). IEducation, 2(1), 50-68. https://doi.org/10.71204/ddfgb111

Similar Articles

11-20 of 20

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.