Capital,inequality and education in conflict-affected contexts

Abstract

Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-first Century has brought the issue of inequality to the centre of political debate. This article explores contemporary research on the relationship between education and inequality in conflict-affected contexts with a view to seeing how Piketty’s work speaks to these issues as a field of research and practice. The article provides a critique of Piketty’s approach, arguing for a broader, interdisciplinary and holistic approach to exploring and addressing inequality in education in conflict-affected contexts in their multiple economic, cultural and political dimensions. In doing so the article also lays out an analytical framework inspired by cultural political economy for researching education systems in conflict contexts which seeks to go beyond narrow human capital framings of education and address the multiple potential of education to promote sustainable peace and development in and through education.     

高等教育促进正向社会流动的策略研究

高等教育有利于促进正向社会流动,对我国社会阶层分化和变动起到重要和特殊的积极作用。通过对高等教育促进正向社会流动策略的研究,有助于更多社会中下阶层接受高质量的高等教育,从而实现自身的正向社会流动。     

Understanding the persistence of inequality in higher education: evidence from Australia

During the latter half of the twentieth century, Australia, like many countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, experienced rapid expansion in participation in higher education which was supported by government through increases in the number of publicly funded university places. However, in spite of this expansion, a disproportionately large share of the undergraduate student population is still drawn from higher socio-economic backgrounds. This paper seeks to understand the persistence of inequality in higher education by examining changes in patterns of participation in Australian universities since the 1970s. Using logistic regressions to analyse data collected by three Australian surveys conducted between 1987 and 2005, the authors examine the influence of having a university-educated parent on an individual’s chances of obtaining a higher education degree. They find that although the expansion of higher education has had some impact in terms of reducing inequality, having a university-educated parent continues to exert a direct effect on an individual’s propensity to graduate from university. The paper draws on the theories of maximally maintained inequality and relative risk aversion to interpret institutional and student behaviour. The policy challenges of addressing structural inequality in higher education are also discussed.     

Working the Borderlands: working-class students constructing hybrid identities and asserting their place in higher education

Abstract

Through the case-study experiences of 24 White and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) working-class students from three very different universities, we aim to illuminate the often hidden struggle for recognition and respect for classed, ‘raced’ and gendered ways of being in the university. We discuss how the students perceive their identities in relation to their universities and their peers, and whether they feel the need to adapt and change their classed/’racialised’ identities in order to survive and progress or whether they resist any pressures and expectations to do so. We explore the tension between ‘assimilation and belonging’ and ‘betrayal and exclusion’ for White and BAME working-class students and consider the intersectional implications. We draw on the concept of hybridity to show the fluidity and fusions of transitioning and developing identities. The article also seeks to contribute further to the illumination of habitus as generative, through a process of hybridity.     

大众化进程中高等教育的公平问题与社会流动

促进社会流动,实现社会公平是高等教育的重要社会功能,高等教育的公平问题是实现社会公平的前提。本文探讨了大众化进程中高等教育的政策改革和发展现状,并就如何最大程度地实现高等教育的公平进行了论述。文章着意于高等教育大众化过程中新问题产生的原因分析以及问题解决的途径探讨。     

Managing neo-liberalism with Chinese characteristics: The rise of education markets and Higher education governance in China

Reviewing the massification of higher education in China in the last two decades, this article critically examines how the education markets have emerged and developed in China through engagements with three major minban HEIs for addressing different development needs of the country. More specifically, this article discusses 1) the rise of minban (people-run) higher education developed by different local social forces; 2) the invitation of overseas universities to co-develop transnational education programmes for meeting citizens’ pressing demands for higher education; 3) the engagements of leading institutions from overseas for research capacity advancement. Through the analysis of these different types of non-state-run HEIs, we would appreciate how the Chinese government has skilfully transformed its higher education systems through the tactical adoption of neoliberal practices for education market formation in the country. The present article also reflects upon the unique university governance model in China, clearly revealing how state-university relationship has been affected by the unique and strong historical, political, and institutional traditions of the country.     

试论高等教育成本分担与社会公平

从理论上分析了高等教育成本分担政策对社会公平的促进作用，指出实行高等教育成本分担政策可以促进社会在公共教育资源、收入分配和高等教育机会方面的公平。论述了高等教育成本分担政策在现实中表现出来的局限性，并根据具体情况提出了相关的政策建议。     

高等教育研究与高等教育期刊的作用

本文旨在阐明高等教育期刊在传播高等教育研究成果中所起的作用。首先 ,简要介绍了高等教育研究的现状 ,主要是欧美国家有关高等教育研究的定义、性质的各种观点 ,以及欧美高等教育研究的差异。其次 ,重点介绍了欧洲主要的高等教育期刊以及其他高等教育研究出版物的情况及各自的特点。最后 ,从作者、编者、读者三个不同的角度剖析了高等教育期刊对于传播高等教育研究成果所发挥的作用     

高等教育民主与中国社会阶层的良性流变

中国社会科学院在《当代中国社会阶层研究报告》中认为：中国社会已经具备现代社会分层结构雏形，但不理想。当前的关键是要积极创造条件，加快社会底层成员向中上层流动。要达此目的，必须加快高等教育民主化进程，增加社会底层成员受高等教育的机会。     

Reconsidering regionalisation in global higher education: student mobility spaces of the European Higher Education Area

This paper examines international student mobility between member states of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), a group of 47 countries that committed to reforming their higher education systems to improve the comparability and compatibility of degrees. While increased student mobility is a key goal in its official documents, little research has empirically investigated student mobility patterns in respect to the EHEA. The analysis employs multivariate techniques to identify trends in student mobility between 1999 and 2009, using a spatial approach to visualise the relationships between member states as constituted through student mobility flows. Results show that within the analysis timeframe student flows in the EHEA became more even in their distribution, but that in terms of the relationships between states, the EHEA became more centralised and segmented, meaning that key actors mediated exchanges between peripheral states and the region was more easily divided into self-contained clusters. These trends indicate a need to critically reconsider the nature of the EHEA and its role in the globalisation of higher education.     

高职教育社会功能探析

高职教育的社会功能表现在满足产业升级、经济转轨对高端人才、高端技术的紧迫需求;促进社会阶层的合理流动;与社区共同成长,为社区服务,推动社区发展;改变传统观念中对体力劳动者的轻视并营建现代技术文化。目前高职教育的社会功能还有待于进一步完善。     

Experience and reality in religious education

A central task of religious education is to show how the puzzlements to human intelligence and the experiences that are associated with spirituality, are compelling in relation to our development as human beings. There are always more theories than objects or events to be explained, and while the spiritual ‘data’ that gives rise to our puzzlements and experience is elusive and meagre, the supply of literature, teaching, ritual and other forms of articulation is torrential. To understand the nature of religious education we need firstly to ask about the nature of spiritual experience itself at its broadest level and then to identify and co-ordinate the kinds of material that will sensitise pupils to this experience and help them to articulate it. This should provide a basis for evaluation of the material against the context of their own life experiences. In this respect religious education is no different in structure to other areas of the curriculum.     

Higher education journals: their characteristics and contribution

The study of higher education journals – that is, refereed academic journals wholly focused on higher education – reveals much about the field of higher education research. This analysis identified 86 such journals published in the English language, considering their focus, ownership, location, orientation, age, size and ranking. From this analysis, a shorter list of 28 key journals is identified. It is argued that, given the scale of the contribution being made to higher education research – for example, the 86 journals between them published over 16,000,000 words in 2016, with this total increasing year on year – it may be time to spend more effort on synthesising and disseminating what we have already learnt, rather than, or before, undertaking fresh research.     

艺术院校高等教育与社会流动关系初探

随着高等教育大众化时期的到来,艺术院校高等教育促进个体社会流动的功能呈弱化趋势.家庭经济资本、文化资本和社会资本分别成为影响艺术院校高等教育起点、过程、结果公平的主要因素,而且“艺考热”使处于社会中下层的艺术生完成上升性社会流动的通道更加逼仄.应当在逐步实现高等教育招生政策去城市化和去本地化的基础上,坚持整体发展和适度补偿的原则,加大艺术生中弱势群体的受惠比例和额度,从而促进他们实现合理有序的社会流动.     

国外高等教育分流与社会分层流动研究的特点及启示

国外高等教育分流与社会分层流动研究起步较早,成效显著,在理论依据、研究目标、研究对象、研究内容、研究方法和研究结论等六个方面呈现出从单一取向向二元(或多元)结合转变的特点.借鉴国外经验,我国高等教育分流与社会分层流动研究要加强基础理论建设,确立以研促建目标,重视社会整体调查,注重多元方法分析,强化互动规律探讨,致力互动机制构建.     

From Vocational to Higher Education: An International Perspective

This paper explores the value of explaining contextual admissions policy directives through the conceptual lenses of meritocracy and social reproduction. It is suggested that examining these concepts can assist in highlighting some of the ideological and practical complexities associated with contextual admissions whilst providing opportunities to engage with wider debates concerning affirmative action in higher education policy.     

论省级政府高等教育统筹协调权限

省级政府对高等教育的统筹协调,既能缓解中央高度集权带来的忽视地方特色的弊端,也能弥补高校自主办学过程中可能出现的无序和失序,保障高等教育事业平稳健康发展。省级政府获得高等教育统筹协调权历经艰难历程,先后经历协助办学、分级管理、逐步确立、法律确权与不断扩权等五个时期。目前,省级政府主要拥有统筹协调省域高等教育结构布局、学科专业设置调整、学位与研究生教育、民办高等教育工作、高等教育收费与奖助学管理、免费师范生就业等权限,但其统筹权限仍存在不够科学周延及不稳定等问题。为此,应继续下放不必中央政府管理的高等教育权限,取消无须省级政府统筹协调的高等教育事项,通过法律形式明确省级政府的统筹权限。     

东莞成人高等教育发展的问题与对策——基于社会流动的视角

目前东莞的社会阶层结构中下层庞大,与两头小、中间大的"橄榄型"社会阶层结构不相符合,因此需要加快社会流动,特别是下层向中间阶层的流动。作为促进社会流动的有效途径,东莞成人高等教育发挥了重要的作用,但也存在着诸如教育观念、受益对象、专业课程和师资力量等方面的问题。为推进东莞的社会流动,成人高等教育需要转变教育观念,加大投入力度;完善办学类型,拓宽受益层面;加强课程建设,提高教学质量;注重师资建设,构建专业化的教师队伍和管理团队。     

Employability and mobility in the valorisation of higher education qualifications: the experiences and reflections of Chinese students and graduates

ABSTRACT

In the last two decades, we have witnessed a rapid expansion of higher education in Mainland China and Taiwan, recording a significant increase in higher education enrolments in these two Chinese societies. The massification of higher education in China and Taiwan has inevitably resulted in an oversupply of university graduates, with growing social concerns for skills mismatches being found in the labour market, stagnant graduate employment and social mobility. This article critically examines how university students and graduates in these two Chinese societies reflect upon their employment experiences. Human capital theory predicts that other things being equal, raising participation in higher education will initially increase inequality as rates of return rise, and then it will reduce inequality as expansion reaches mass levels and rates of return decline. If the output of graduates outpaces the demand for their skills, which appears to be the current case in many countries, then supply and demand pressures reduce the pay premium for degrees and lower income inequalities. However, this study clearly demonstrates that the massification and the universalisation of higher education in Mainland China and Taiwan, respectively, have actually intensified inequality.     

Understanding working-class 'drop-out' from higher education through a sociocultural lens: Cultural narratives and local contexts

The 'drop-out' of working-class students from universities has been identified as one of the most pressing issues for the higher education (HE) sector in the United Kingdom. This article draws on the initial findings of a major research project that explores the meanings and implications of such withdrawal from HE amongst young working-class people. The article argues that drop-out should be seen not just as an educational problem, but also as a manifestation of sociocultural change. To understand drop-out we need to look beyond student support needs or institutional barriers to cultural narratives and local contexts. This enables us to use a sociological frame to understand the educational question, and employ the educational data to contribute to sociological debates on class. The article analyses 'drop-out' as a self-fulfilling cultural narrative that is increasingly connoted as working class, as well as being a consequence of the material exigencies of working-class circumstances. It illustrates how class identity mutates yet stays the same, with the working class still positioned in terms of 'lack'. Although the possibility of university study has become a part of working-class identity, the expectation that this experience may be 'flawed' or 'spoilt' has also become engrained. The article analyses drop-out as two sides of one coin: as both significantly influenced by local culture and as having a perceived impact upon that culture, with different effects in different locales.