Transition from elite to mass higher education in China

Abstract

The research focuses on the strategies for the transition from elite to mass higher education in China. The expansion of Chinese higher education has accelerated since 1998. The Chinese government plans to increase its gross enrolment rate in higher education to 15% by 2010. According to Trow's (1974:63) phase development theories, this increase of enrolment would lead to fundamental changes in higher education. These changes interact with its contextual factors, such as, economy, politics, society et cetera. The research aimed at analyzing this by using both literature study and qualitative inquiry. The Chinese strategies for the transition were preliminarily evaluated. Findings were that people's elite values, shortage of funds and social inequality are major obstacles for the transition. The study revealed that developing non-traditional higher education, among others, is an effective way to overcome these difficulties and to accelerate the transition from elite to mass higher education.