National higher education entrance examination: an analysis of Gaokao

  • Rogério Justino IFGoiano-Cristalina
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24109/2176-6673.emaberto.34i112.5001
Keywords: chinese national examination; college admission; Gaokao; large- scale exam

Abstract

This review article results from the research and analysis of the main bibliographic works about the Chinese National Exam, Gaokao, 高考, the first large- scale exam applied in the world and the largest exam in number of examinees. Initiated in 1952, this model is associated with imperial examinations, a set of exams aimed to qualify examinees for administrative and military positions in bureaucratic imperial China. Historically, notions such as meritocracy and justice associated with imperial exams influenced the creation of Gaokao. The exam setup is dynamic and may vary among provinces. However, despite its long history, criticism is constant and the reforms implemented, especially in the attempt to create alternative ways of admissions in universities, are strategies to lower the pressure the Exam puts on young Chinese people. The development of Gaokao’s history, with emphasis on its current form, content and criticism, reveals a traditional component that creates culture in the Chinese school life, inheriting from the imperial exams a combination of meritocracy and justice.

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Author Biography

Rogério Justino, IFGoiano-Cristalina

Doutor em Educação pela Universidade de Brasília (UnB), é professor do Instituto Federal Goiano (Campus Cristalina) e diretor de ensino da unidade. Participa do grupo de pesquisas Gerações e Juventude (Geraju – UnB), e desenvolve o projeto de pesquisa “Estudo comparado dos exames Enem (Brasil) e Gaokao (China): repercussões nos currículos do ensino médio e no acesso à educação superior de jovens brasileiros e chineses”.

rogerio.justino@gmail.com

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Published
30-12-2021
Issue
Vol 34 No 112 (2021): Enem and Gaokao: repercussions of High School on Higher Education
Section
points of view - What do other experts think?

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