Meritocracy and its discontents : anxiety and the national college entrance exam in China / Zachary M. Howlett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Howlett, Zachary M., 1976- author.

Series:

Cornell scholarship online.

Cornell scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gaokao (Educational test)--Social aspects.

Gaokao (Educational test).

Universities and colleges--China--Entrance examinations--Social aspects.

Universities and colleges.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource)

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2021.

Summary:

This volume investigates the wider social, political, religious, and economic dimensions of the Gaokao, China's national college entrance exam, as well as the complications that arise from its existence. Each year, some nine million high school seniors in China take the Gaokao, which determines college admission and provides a direct but difficult route to an urban lifestyle for China's hundreds of millions of rural residents. But with college graduates struggling to find good jobs, some are questioning the exam's legitimacy - and, by extension, the fairness of Chinese society. Chronicling the experiences of underprivileged youth, Zachary M. Howlett's research illuminates how people remain captivated by the exam because they regard it as fateful - an event both consequential and undetermined.

Contents:

Prologue : The Final Battle

A Fateful Rite of Passage : The Gaokao and the Myth of Meritocracy-"Study Changes Fate"

Mobility, Time, and Value : The High Stakes of Examination and the Ideology of Developmentalism-"Water Flows Downwards and People Move Upwards"

Counterfeit Fairness : State Secrets and the False Confidence of Test Takers-"My Generation Was Raised on Poison Milk"

Diligence versus Quality : Merit, Inequality, and Urban Hegemony-"The Way of Heaven Is to Reward Hard Work"

Courage under Fire : The Paradoxical Role of Head Teachers and the Individualizing Moment of Examination-"Attitude Determines Knowledge"

Magic and Meritocracy : Popular Religious Responses to Examination Anxiety-"If Your Faith Is Sincere, Your Prayer Will Be Effective"

Epilogue : Lost and Confused.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2021.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on August 17, 2021).

ISBN:

9781501754463

1501754467

9781501754456

1501754459

OCLC:

1241447780