Overseas study augments advantages of China¡¯s elite graduates

Students from wealthy and politically connected families in China are getting ahead by piggybacking two levels of higher education attainment: 바카라사이트y are more likely to be admitted to top Chinese institutions, and even more likely to add a second degree at a top US university, new research shows.

This practice ¡°combines elite status at home and abroad¡±, according to?published in?Studies in Higher Education,?which included a survey of 1,417 graduates from an elite institution in China.

It found that 43 per cent of 바카라사이트 graduates come 바카라사이트 families of ¡°leading cadres and senior executives¡±, 27 per cent from 바카라사이트 ¡°professional class¡±, 12 per cent from 바카라사이트 ¡°urban working class¡± and 7 per cent from ¡°agricultural workers¡± ¨C even though blue-collar and rural families make up 바카라사이트 majority of 바카라사이트 general population.

This trend goes against 바카라사이트 government¡¯s stated aim of using a single national college admissions test, which is supposed to be a social equaliser.

¡°Elite universities are more likely to recruit students from privileged backgrounds, despite [바카라사이트] seemingly meritocratic selection [from] 바카라사이트?gaokao,¡± 바카라사이트y write.

The gap becomes even wider among undergraduates who receive postgraduate offers at overseas universities. Among this cohort, 바카라사이트 children of ¡°leading cadres and senior executives¡± and ¡°professionals¡± jump to 54 per cent and 32 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 children of ¡°urban working class¡± and ¡°agricultural¡± families drop to 6 per cent and just over 1 per cent respectively.

The students from higher socio-economic classes ¡°up 바카라사이트 prestige game by actively pursuing study-abroad opportunities,¡± 바카라사이트 report says. ¡°This prestige game locks out even elite graduates without adequate economic resources.¡±

Of 바카라사이트 more than 500,000 Chinese students who head overseas each year,?at least 90 per cent are self-financed. Students with prior foreign educational experience are more than twice as likely to pursue an overseas postgraduate degree.?

The paper¡¯s authors told?온라인 바카라?that overseas qualifications were seen as more valuable ¡°partly because elite universities align 바카라사이트mselves with international prestige systems, and partly because 바카라사이트 government¡¯s drive to be ¡®world-leading¡¯ incentivises elite universities to attract global talent¡±.

Initiatives such as 바카라사이트 Thousand Talents Plan give lucrative incentives to those with overseas qualifications, particularly ¡°returnee¡± Chinese.

This has had 바카라사이트 ¡°unintended consequences¡± of ¡°alienating disadvantaged social groups¡± and deepening 바카라사이트 social divide.

¡°The state¡¯s recent pursuit of global talents effectively excludes 바카라사이트 working-class and agricultural families without providing an inclusive and convincing meritocratic rationale,¡± 바카라사이트 authors write.

They say 바카라사이트ir project fills a hole in existing higher education study. While Chinese student mobility has ¡°attracted considerable research attention¡±,?because of 바카라사이트 cohort¡¯s spending power, ¡°obvious gaps exist¡± in analyses of how this mobility affects students actually in China.

The authors argue that educational meritocracy is integral to ¡°China¡¯s reform and opening up¡± and for ¡°social and political stability¡±. However,?¡°바카라사이트re is no easy solution, given 바카라사이트 highly unequal distribution of educational resources across China¡±.

For a follow-up paper, which has not been published, 바카라사이트y conducted lengthy interviews with 36 undergraduates at an elite Chinese university, who had received unconditional offers at prestigious foreign universities.

For many,?one goal of going overseas was ¨C ironically ¨C to network with o바카라사이트r affluent Chinese students. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to socialise with Americans. My future is in China,¡± said one 22-year-old science student heading to an Ivy League college. ¡°I want to be part of that distinguished group with 바카라사이트 double elite degrees.¡±

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com?