State Power, Symbolic Capital, and the Hierarchy and Homogeneity of Higher Education in China: In the Example of Three Key Universities Policies After the Founding of New China

Q3 Social Sciences

Chinese Education and Society Pub Date : 2019-07-04 DOI:10.1080/10611932.2019.1667696

L. Xiaohong

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引用次数: 4

Abstract

Abstract The structure of higher education in China is characterized by a high degree of hierarchy as well as strong homogeneity, differing from not only American higher education, which features a high degree of both hierarchy and heterogeneity, but also higher education in continental Europe, which exhibits a low degree of hierarchy. Previous studies have provided analysis of the structural characteristics of higher education in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, as well as their differences, but have been unable to explain the situation in China. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory, this article proposes an explanatory model for the field of higher education as shaped by state power. The state created various forms of symbolic capital linked to economic capital in the field of higher education, and monopolized the quantity in which and means by which these are bestowed, thus causing differentiation in the total amount and composition of symbolic capital and economic capital between different schools, and forming a steeply stratified structure. The bestowal of symbolic capital was not restricted to a particular group of institutions of higher education: instead, the scope of this bestowal was gradually expanded, such that the vast majority of institutions of higher education regard the acquisition of symbolic capital and its attendant economic capital as the objective in their endeavors, resulting in the development of strong homogeneity between institutions. The article applies field theory to three key universities policies after the founding of New China, to describe and analyze the influence of symbolic capital on the field structure of higher education in China.

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国家权力、象征资本与中国高等教育的等级化、同质化——以新中国成立后三大重点大学政策为例

中国高等教育结构既不同于美国高等教育的高度等级化和异质性，也不同于欧洲大陆高等教育的低等级化，具有高度等级化和强同质化的特点。以往的研究已经分析了美国、欧洲和其他地区高等教育的结构特征，以及它们之间的差异，但无法解释中国的情况。本文借鉴布迪厄的场域理论，提出了一个由国家权力塑造的高等教育场域的解释模型。国家在高等教育领域创造了与经济资本相联系的各种形式的象征资本，并垄断了赋予这些资本的数量和方式，从而造成了不同学校之间象征资本和经济资本的总量和构成的分化，形成了急剧分层的结构。符号资本的授予并不局限于特定的高等教育机构群体:相反，这种授予的范围逐渐扩大，以至于绝大多数高等教育机构都将获得符号资本及其伴随的经济资本作为其努力的目标，从而导致了机构之间强同质性的发展。本文运用场域理论分析新中国成立后的三次重点大学政策，描述和分析了象征资本对中国高等教育场域结构的影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Chinese Education and Society Social Sciences-Sociology and Political Science

CiteScore

0.80

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： How is China"s vast population being educated in the home, the school, and the workplace? Chinese Education and Society is essential for insight into the latest Chinese thinking on educational policy and practice, educational reform and development, pedagogical theory and methods, colleges and universities, schools and families, as well as the education for diverse social groups across gender and youth, urban and rural, mainstream and minorities. It features unabridged translations of the most important articles in the field from Chinese sources, including scholarly journals and collections of articles published in book form. It also provides refereed research on specific themes.