Curriculum and Ideology

We study the causal effect of school curricula on students' stated
beliefs and attitudes. We exploit a major textbook reform in China
that was rolled out between 2004 and 2010 with the explicit
intention of shaping youths' ideology. To measure its effect, we
present evidence from a novel survey we conducted among 2000
students at Peking University. The sharp, staggered introduction of
the new curriculum across provinces allows us to identify the
effects of the new educational content in a generalized difference
in differences framework. We examine government documents
articulating desired consequences of the reform, and identify
changes in textbook content and college entrance exams that reflect
the government's aims. These changes were often effective: study
under the new curriculum is robustly associated with changed views
on political participation and democracy in China, increased trust
in government officials, and a more skeptical view of free markets.