Equity, institutional change and civil society - The student experience in China’s move to mass higher education

Abstract

In China’s rapid move from elite to mass higher education, students have experienced dramatic changes. How have they been affected by the expansion process? How do they view the radical institutional changes? And how are they being nurtured to act as dynamic citizens? In this chapter, we will examine three major aspects of how students have been affected by China’s move to mass higher education, based on an analysis of our survey data: their attitudes towards access, their perceptions of institutional changes, and their experience of civic learning and participation. The first section of the chapter provides a comparative overview of higher education and civil society. A historical review of Western and Eastern traditions shows how different cultures have shaped the values of higher learning differently. The second section introduces two analytical frameworks for the analysis of the student survey. The third section describes how the student survey was carried out in 12 Chinese universities in the summer of 2007, and how the data have been analyzed. The fourth section then details the findings, while the fifth section interprets these findings and reflects on issues of equity of access and success in the expansion, institutional transformations, and the role of universities in nurturing civil society. The final section identifies implications for policy.