Indifference to differences: the two stages of upper secondary education in China and the Gaokao preparation framework

  • Siyu Li Instituto de Estudos Políticos de Paris – Sciences Po Paris, França
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24109/2176-6673.emaberto.34i112.5011
Keywords: admission exam; China; high school; meritocracy; social and educational inequalities

Abstract

This article analyzes inequalities in the preparation conditions for the Gaokao exam, which reveals that these inequalities are inscribed in the institutional and historical context of massification of higher education in China. Data comes from an ethnographic research conducted in two high schools in Beijing enjoying different statuses: one is a key school and the other an ordinary school. In the year set for the Gaokao preparation, students take repetitive and constant exams: the main ones, once a month, and the minor ones, about four or five times a week. A qualitative approached allowed the research to focus on the period before the exam, as well as on the uneven effects it casts over the students’ trajectory. The disparity of resources set for this preparation involves two aspects: time and space for students and availability of teachers to supervise study efforts after the end of classes. Findings reveal that hierarchization of schools creates inequality of learning conditions, while it justifies and invisibilizes them.

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Author Biography

Siyu Li, Instituto de Estudos Políticos de Paris – Sciences Po Paris, França

Doutoranda em Sociologia e pesquisadora vinculada ao Centro Maurice Halbwachs da École Normale Supérieure e Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques (Clersé), na Universidade de Lille, desenvolve pesquisas sobre o exame de admissão Gaokao na China, mobilizando a Sociologia da Educação, a Sociologia Quantitativa, a Sociologia das Elites e a Antropologia Econômica. Leciona Sociologia e métodos de pesquisa no Instituto de Estudos Políticos de Paris (Sciences Po Paris).

siyu.li1450@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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