Research on Government Regulation of Online Education Institutions

Abstract

China's online education sector has expanded rapidly over the past decade, yet this growth has been accompanied by systemic regulatory deficiencies: ambiguous market entry standards, uneven teacher quality, widespread false advertising, and recurrent institutional failures linked to unsecured prepayment models. These dysfunctions not only disrupt market order but also undermine the public welfare foundations of education. This study diagnoses the core deficiencies within China's government regulatory framework for online education and proposes a systematic optimisation pathway. Employing a composite analytical lens integrating government regulation theory, public interest theory, and collaborative governance theory, the research adopts an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design. Quantitative analysis of policy texts and a survey of over 100 institutions clarifies the macro-level relationships between regulatory intensity and compliance outcomes. Qualitative case studies of 6–8 institutions, including in-depth interviews and archival analysis, reveal the micro-level mechanisms of policy distortion and innovation during grassroots implementation. The findings expose a "triple failure"—institutional fragmentation, instrumental obsolescence, and capacity deficits—rooted in the misalignment between traditional command-and-control regulation and the dynamic, cross-domain nature of digital education. The study proposes a collaborative governance ecosystem encompassing institutional consolidation, technological innovation in regulatory tools, and pluralistic participation. This framework offers both theoretical advancement in understanding digital-era regulatory transformation and practical guidance for policymakers seeking to balance market vitality with public interest safeguards.