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As one of the important reforms on the college admission, the Independent Freshman Admission Program (IFAP) has received wide attention since its implementation. Although there has been much discussion that IFAP has excerbated inequity in allocating educational opportunities, there is still a lack of empirical evidence as to whether or not such ine...
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Context 1
... important characteristic of the IFAP is that students who pass the screening must also take the gaokao and meet the minimum requirements, typically the threshold for first-tier universities in their provinces of residence. Therefore, based on whether or not the students have reached the admission threshold of the university and whether or not they have received special treatment from the IFAP, we classify students into four groups as shown in Figure 1. Group 1 are the essential IFAP beneficiaries whose gaokao scores were below the university's average, but who were admitted through the IFAP. ...
Context 2
... four groups of students were based on whether or not they had reached their university's admission threshold and whether or not they benefited from the IFAP. They formed the essential IFAP beneficiaries group who scored lower than their university's average in the college entrance examination and thus would not have been admitted without the IFAP; nominal IFAP beneficiaries who scored above the university's average and thus would still have been admitted even without the IFAP; students who scored lower than the university average on the gaokao; and outstanding students who scored above their university's average in the entrance examination (see Figure 1). 8 ...
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In 1982, the “one-child policy” was implemented by China’s Constitution, which led to the majority of post-1990s college students in China being the only child in their family. Unique characteristics have been demonstrated in psychological development of post-1990s Chinese college students due to the lack of sibling companionship, and the relations...
Citations
... Thirdly, although the gaokao follows standardized procedures, the equity of results has been problematic. Chinese students from privileged family backgrounds have greater opportunities to enter top-tier universities compared to their less privileged peers [32]. ...
Although increased research has focused on promoting awareness and practices of diversity and inclusion in higher engineering and computing education, existing studies tend to approach the problems through a narrow perspective, such as gender and race. Also, there has been a shortage of concerted efforts concerning a systematic educational model to broaden the accessibility for diverse populations, and to promote high-quality participation in learning processes. Contextualizing in China with a stratified higher education system, this article discusses how an OOICCI model (Open enrollment, Outcome-oriented procedures, Individualized phases, Coherent practices, Cascaded learning community, Inductive trainings) provides diverse and inclusive mechanisms, from accessibility to participation, to engage students from lower-tier colleges and universities with a wide range of experiences, interests, and skill levels in computer architecture. The OOICCI model consists of the Open enrollment, the Outcome-oriented procedure, the Individualized phase, the Coherent practices, the Cascaded learning community, and the Inductive trainings. Preliminary evaluations through semi-structured interviews and participatory observation illustrate students' positive learning experiences and improvements in self-regulated learning capabilities.
... Social stratification in China centers on various disparities between the urban and rural status, such as regarding children's education (Wu et al. 2019). This has been fundamentally influenced by a legal institutionthe hukou system (the Household Registration System). ...
... These studies highlight the complexities of parent-teacher relations regarding children's education in Chinese rural communities. It is particularly important to emphasize such nuances in terms of Chinese rural students' access to elite universities, where Chinese rural parents are often regarded as the less privileged with limited resources to provide good education to their children (Kong 2016), and rural students are continuously underrepresented in Chinese elite universities (Wu et al. 2019). ...
Research from various national contexts has shown that less privileged parents face various barriers when developing relationships with teachers compared to their more privileged counterparts. Chinese rural citizens have been disadvantaged within the hukou system, where existing studies have shown various and complex inequalities as regards rural parent–teacher relations. Such complexities, this article argues, might contribute to the ongoing discussions on the integration of Bourdieu's and Coleman's approaches to social capital. Informed by Bourdieu's three moments of field analysis, this study presents three core themes as regards Chinese rural parent–teacher relations: physical separation, social distance, and kinship sentiments. Through qualitatively exploring the life stories of a group of Chinese rural students before their entry to elite universities, this article bridges Bourdieu's social reproduction stance and Coleman's productive view in relation to social capital.
... The IFA of colleges and universities has become an important measure to change the disadvantages of the system of "one exam determines one's life" and reflected the innovation and exploration of education and the requirements of quality education (Hu, 2020). IFA is only limited to a small number of elite universities, combining the independent admission program in selected universities with the NCEE (Wu et al., 2019). Students who have passed the IFA examination (including written test and interview) can enjoy special preferential treatment such as lower scores of the unified NCEE or preferential choice of major in enrollment (Wu et al., 2019). ...
... IFA is only limited to a small number of elite universities, combining the independent admission program in selected universities with the NCEE (Wu et al., 2019). Students who have passed the IFA examination (including written test and interview) can enjoy special preferential treatment such as lower scores of the unified NCEE or preferential choice of major in enrollment (Wu et al., 2019). In addition to providing an alternative path toward higher education nationwide, the purpose of IFA is to recruit outstanding students with academic specialization and innovative potential who could be missed in the NCEE (Ministry of Education, 2012;Wu et al., 2019). ...
... Students who have passed the IFA examination (including written test and interview) can enjoy special preferential treatment such as lower scores of the unified NCEE or preferential choice of major in enrollment (Wu et al., 2019). In addition to providing an alternative path toward higher education nationwide, the purpose of IFA is to recruit outstanding students with academic specialization and innovative potential who could be missed in the NCEE (Ministry of Education, 2012;Wu et al., 2019). The problem of inequality is equally present in the IFA process (Bao, 2012;Ma and Bu, 2019). ...
China is experiencing high social inequality accompanying influential education reforms. The Independent Freshmen Admission (IFA) policy was one of the multiple strategies in higher education reforms in China against the social context of high social inequality and the expansion of higher education. By comparing students admitted through IFA with those admitted by the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), we examined how family advantages contributed to higher education inequality in terms of educational opportunity, process, and results. Using data from an elite university in Beijing, we found that: (1) Family advantages improved a student’s likelihood of being admitted through IFA, exhibiting opportunity inequality. (2) No significant difference in academic grades existed between the students admitted through IFA and NCEE. In comprehensive quality, however, those recruited through IFA performed significantly better than those admitted through NCEE. (3) Family social capital not only increased the likelihood of students being admitted through IFA but also, through direct and indirect effects, increased their comprehensive quality performance in terms of receiving student association and social practice awards.
... In a study on the IFA of Peking University, Liu et al. (2014) report that the interview assessment in IFA favours those from high SES families among students with similar Gaokao scores. Wu et al. (2019) analyse subsample data from three national elite universities (Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Renmin University of China) from the BCSPS to examine the consequences of the IFA programme for educational equity and outcomes. However, it is not only elite universities that take IFA students; 90 universities in the country are eligible for IFA recruitment, and their recruitment patterns and student body characteristics may be different from those of the elite universities. ...
The sociological study of inequalities has long been concerned with questions concerning the role of education in creating a fairer society and whether it just serves as a means for the advantaged to consolidate pre-existing privileges. This thesis adds to the existing literature by addressing the questions of how family background, types of high school, college entrance scores, and participation in the alternative admissions scheme – Independent Freshman’s Admission (IFA) – help structure access to tertiary education in Beijing, China. I examine tertiary education in terms of both university prestige and choice of university major. Using a mixed-methods study, I draw on qualitative data from my fieldwork in Beijing where I interviewed 60 first-year students and 2 admissions tutors, drawn from across seven universities of different levels of prestige, with both STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and non-STEM subject majors. I also analyse quantitative data from the 2009 Beijing College Student Panel Study (BCSPS) consisting of 4771 students from 15 universities (3 elite, 6 selective and 6 less-selective universities). First, my qualitative analysis reveals the important role of residential background and hukou status, as well as key- point school attendance in university admission of students both through Gaokao route and IFA participation. I also explored some of the reasons behind female students’ uptake of a STEM degree. Second, using multinomial logit models for analysing BCSPS data, I confirmed the importance of family background, residence of origin and school attendance for access to universities of different levels of prestige. Further, using logistic regression, I showed gender differences in personal attributes relevant to the pursuit of STEM fields, but no associations between different beliefs about marriage and family and educational choices. Taken, together, these findings uncover the ongoing importance of institutional barriers in accessing elite and selective tertiary education in China and illustrate how the meritocratic policy objectives of IFA were undermined in practice. In moving forwards, now that IFA has been scrapped, my study suggests that, without a marked change of direction, the conflict will continue between meritocratic principles and elitist goals, and the quest to improve equality in region, class and gender will remain elusive.
... These policies aim to give extra scores to students who display great performance in a branch of sports or a subject area. Such policies are criticized; however, on the basis that acceptance is highly related to a student's socio-economic background (Wang, 2011b;Wu et al., 2019). Due to these criticisms, since 2018 the central ministry has cancelled most of these policies (Li & Wu, 2020). ...
Despite the potential of tertiary education to generate higher incomes and close the poverty gap within and between countries, it is still a challenge for many countries to ensure equity and quality in their higher education admissions. Compared to the more privileged, students from marginalized backgrounds face inequitable inputs that restrict their academic and personal growth. This comparative analysis used a capabilities approach-based model to examine the personal, discriminatory, institutional, and geographical barriers many students face in the higher education admission processes in Turkey and China. As long as student stratification persists, equity in education cannot be attained; therefore, several gender equality, equity, diversity, and quality-based policy alternatives are presented that focused on grading systems, curriculum and instruction, and quota system changes. Further recommendations are also given for the development of courses and regional development programmes that can assist disadvantaged students convert functionings into capabilities from an early age.
... You and Hu (2013) also note that the gaokao is seen as a fair method of competition in China since the decision is based on nationally-comparable scores. Wu et al. (2019) note that although this method is seen as relatively fair and equitable, it has far-reaching consequences for primary and secondary education, leading to an exam-oriented teaching method. Many respondents' perceptions of the gaokao may have been related to the fact that their own parents were highly educated. ...
The Gaokao exam is still a hot topic in contemporary Chinese society designed to select people for the country by testing their knowledge of specific exam subjects. People from all walks of life have different attitudes and understandings towards it. The purpose of this study was to examine how do Chinese female students from Top Universities in China perceive the gaokao exam by using a semi-structured, in-depth interview (N =5) and an open-ended interview questionnaire (N = 7). The findings suggest that an evaluative dichotomy can characterize the exam itself and exam preparation period. Although initially this time was seen in terms of immense sacrifice and was highly intense, positive attitudes to the Gaokao exam dominated, and the exam was considered a relatively fair and equitable selection method. It should be borne in mind that this study does not attempt to be globally representative. However, we do trust that the findings will have a universal appeal to educational communities.
... Since 1998, higher education in China has expanded significantly, but admissions have become not solely Gaokao-based. Notably, since 2013, alternative channels for college entrance have emerged, exemplified by the Independent Freshman Admission Program that favors students with college-educated parents, students from urban families, and students who graduated from key-point high schools (Liu et al. 2014;Wu and Li 2017). Despite evidence suggesting that college education may have benefited the development of students from disadvantaged families more than others (e.g. ...
Taking advantage of changes in college admissions and the labor market in post-revolution China, this study sheds light on the institutional conditions under which a college degree may “equalize” the influence of family educational background on labor market outcomes. We examine differences in the first job’s occupational attainment and economic returns between first-generation, second-generation, and non-college graduates. We compare birth cohorts with distinctive experiences, some of whom entered college through political recommendation while others did so through objective examination, and some of whom attained their first job through state assignment while others did so through market matching. We find that a college degree only equalized occupational attainment in cohort 1980–1992, who experienced expanded test-based admissions and a developed labor market. Within-occupation economic returns were equalized in cohort 1966–1979, who experienced test-based admissions and yet an underdeveloped labor market, but appeared to be unequal again in cohort 1980–1992, echoing rising social inequality.
... IFAP varies from one university to another, but some common features include adding additional scores to high school graduates who have excellence in arts, sciences, or sports, or delegating some portion of test scores to face-to-face interviews. X. Wu and Li (2019) have examined the factors that determine whether students can be admitted through IFAP programs into three Chinese elite universities (the Beijing, Tsinghua, and Renmin universities). They reveal that, on average, about a quarter of freshmen in these three universities were admitted through IFAP. ...
This book explores how students in China vary in their understanding of careers upon arrival at college and how these initial differences develop into distinctive career preparation pathways. Drawing on survey data, students’ self-reflections, and semi-structured interviews over the four years, the book examines students’ engagement in curricular and extracurricular activities, as well as their interactions with peers, faculty, and staff, and how this affects their ability to navigate, develop, and cultivate career prospects and relevant skills. It also considers how colleges may aggravate social inequality rather than equalize among students with divergent family backgrounds through cumulative advantage framework, impacting on their conceptualization and construction of careers. Addressing a key generation in a key market, this text will interest students, scholars and practitioners in sociology, social work, education, and public policy, career counselling, student affairs, human resources, and education policy.
... If they do not do a good job on the national CEE, these 10 points may help. The decision to give a student an offer depends on whether their CEE score plus bonus points meets admission requirements (Wu and Li 2017). ...
Drawing data from the Beijing College Student Panel Survey, this article examines how study fields would influence gender disparities in early occupational attainment in China. Results from multinomial logistic regression show that women are more likely than men to become office clerks, a typically female-dominated occupation. Gender disparities in professional/technical occupations are largely attributed to women’s underrepresentation in science and engineering fields. As to managerial/marketing occupations, after controlling for study field, gender disparity in attaining these jobs grows even larger. Innovatively constructing a hypothetical scenario, we further examined probable career outcomes if women were as likely as men to enter the specific study field. Our results suggest that, despite pervasive influence of gender norms, egalitarian gender attitudes at job entry can partially moderate women’s disadvantage in entering male-dominated occupations. Holding traditional gender attitudes would increase women’s chances of becoming office clerks. In contrast, those tending to be more progressive are more likely to become managers.
