In place of a distributive justice perspective which focuses simply on equal access to universities, this book presents a broader understanding of the relationship between Chinese higher education and economic and social change. The necessity for research on the place of universities in contemporary Chinese society may be seen from current debates about and policy towards issues of educational inequality at Chinese universities. Many questions arise as a consequence: What are the limitations of neo-liberalism in higher education policy and what are the alternatives? How has the Chinese government met the challenges of educational inequality, and what lessons may be learned from its recent initiatives? How may higher education enhance social justice in Chinese society given economic, social, and cultural inequality? What may be learned from the experience of Macau, Hong Kong, and of Taiwan in terms of achieving social justice in Chinese universities? These questions are considered by a group of leading scholars from both inside and outside China.

In place of a distributive justice perspective which focuses simply on equal access to universities, this book presents a broader understanding of the relationship between Chinese higher education and economic and social change. The necessity for research on the place of universities in contemporary Chinese society may be seen from current debates about and policy towards issues of educational inequality at Chinese universities. Many questions arise as a consequence: What are the limitations of neo-liberalism in higher education policy and what are the alternatives? How has the Chinese government met the challenges of educational inequality, and what lessons may be learned from its recent initiatives? How may higher education enhance social justice in Chinese society given economic, social, and cultural inequality? What may be learned from the experience of Macau, Hong Kong, and of Taiwan in terms of achieving social justice in Chinese universities? These questions are considered by a group of leading scholars from both inside and outside China.

The first comprehensive book to cover the whole sweep of twentieth-century Chinese education.

This open access handbook brings together the latest research from a wide range of internationally influential scholars to analyze educational policy research from international, historical and interdisciplinary perspectives. By effectively breaking through the boundaries between countries and disciplines, it presents new theories, techniques and methods for contemporary education policy, and illustrates the educational policies and educational reform practices that various countries have introduced to meet the challenges of continuous change. Based on an analysis of the nature of education policy and education reform, this volume focuses on education reform and the concept of education quality. Adopting a historical and comparative perspective, it examines the dialectical relationship between education policy and education reform in various countries, assesses theoretical and practical issues in the process of moving from regulation to multiple governance in contemporary education administration, and explores the impact of globalization on national education reform and the interdependence between countries. In addition, it presents studies addressing educational policy research methodology from multiple perspectives. Highlighting the changes in national education macro policies, this volume comprehensively reveals the complex relationship between contemporary education reform and social change, and explores the links between contemporary social, political and economic systems and educational policy research and practice, offering a holistic portrait of macro trends in contemporary education reform.

Actionable Research for Educational Equity and Social Justice advances a unique, engaged approach to promoting educational equity and social justice in higher education across China and beyond. Developed as a joint venture of senior and junior scholars in China and the United States, this book documents Chinese, Latin American, U.S., and European examples of engaged scholarship supporting the development of strategies for expanding educational opportunities for low-income families. Drawing from collaborative research, workshops, and field investigations, chapter authors propose and test new methods and practices for reducing educational inequality and provide examples of successful practices that have improved access for low-income students across the globe.

A major transformation of Chinese higher education (HE) has taken place over the past decade – China has reshaped its higher education sector from elite to mass education with the number of graduates having quadrupled to three million a year over six years. China is exceptional among lower income countries in using tertiary education as a development strategy on such a scale, aiming to improve the quality of its graduates, and make HE available to as many of its citizens as possible. This book provides a critical examination the challenges to the development and sustainability of higher education in China: Can its universities move from quantity to quality? How will so many graduates find jobs in line with their expectations? Can Britain and other western countries continue to benefit from China’s education boom? What are the prospects for collaboration in research? This book evaluates the prospects for Chinese and foreign HE providers, regulators and other stakeholders. It introduces the key changes in China’s HE programme since the Opening-Up policy in 1978 and analyses the achievements and the challenges over the subsequent three decades. Furthermore, it sheds light on new reforms that are likely to take place in the future, particularly as a result of the ongoing international financial crisis.

This book investigates the changing opportunities in higher education for different social groups during China’s transition from the socialist regime to a market economy. The first part of the book provides a historical and comparative analysis of the development of the idea of meritocracy, since its early origins in China, and in more recent western thought. The second part then explores higher education reforms in China, the part played by supposedly meritocratic forms of selection, and the implications of these for social mobility. Based on original empirical data, Ye Liu sheds light on the socio-economic, gender and geographical inequalities behind the meritocratic façade of the Gaokao (高考). Liu argues that the Chinese philosophical belief in education-based meritocracy had a modern makeover in the Gaokao, and that this ideology induces working-class and rural students to believe in upward social mobility through higher education. When the Gaokao broke the promise of status improvement for rural students, they turned to the Chinese Communist Party and sought political connections by actively applying for its membership. This book reveals a bleak picture of visible and invisible inequality in terms of access to and participation in higher education in contemporary China. Written in an accessible style, it offers a valuable resource for researchers and non-specialist readers alike.

This book examines tensions between the Chinese state and Chinese universities. It looks at the state’s demand for political socialization as a restriction on university autonomy and the university’s promotion of academic development through promoting academic freedom and fostering critical thinkers, using Jour University in PRC, as a case study. The book focuses on the dynamics and complexity of the interplay between the state, universities, faculty, staff and students in the process of socialization through political education and academic affairs. Theories on political socialization and higher education guide this study. As universities’ socio-political task of imbuing students with a certain type of ideology coexists with their role of promoting university autonomy, examining China’s higher education system provides important insights as different players’ interaction. These present a dynamic picture of role differentiation as a strategy to cope with a politically restricted autonomy, which challenges some common stereotypes that have been put on Chinese universities within the global community.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of higher education in India and China and the complexity of issues involved. It focuses on gaining understanding of education systems, governance mechanisms, globalisation and emergence of the private sector, action policies of both the countries and their impact on education and society. Offering a comparative perspective, the book discusses why China is ahead of India in Higher Education when both share the similar challenges of burgeoning young population and scarcity of resources. It examines the success in providing equitable access to both country’s marginalised sections. It also discusses the directions of future growth through National Education Policy, 2020 and the 13th Five Year Plan of the Chinese State Council. Combining rich content and a broad scope, the book offers a valuable key to understanding Higher Education system of India and China. It is a useful read for students and researchers in social sciences, education area.

Drawing from original research and recent developments in theory, Researching Social Inequalities in Higher Education brings together insights from multiple national contexts and phases to consider a diverse range of equity issues in higher education. Authored by current and recently graduated PhD students, chapters examine the socioeconomic, ethnic and gender equalities at play within each of the following components: • access to higher education • the student experience • the academic workforce An essential read for anyone researching higher education, or wishing to address social inequalities within higher education, this volume unpacks how higher education is becoming more accessible, inclusive and beneficial to an increasingly diverse population of students and staff.