ERIC Number: EJ1258752
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jun
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2096-5311
EISSN: N/A
Review and Critique on the New Higher Education Policy Promoting "The First-Class Major Programs" in China
Lu, Xiaodong
ECNU Review of Education, v3 n2 p338-345 Jun 2020
Purpose: After the concepts of first-class universities, first-class research disciplines, and first-class undergraduate education, China's Ministry of Education (MOE) proposed a new concept of first-class undergraduate major programs and also proposed policy initiatives for relevant selection and funding. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the motives, historical background, policy texts, core concepts, and unintended consequences of the policy and proposes six criticisms. Design/Approach/Methods: This education policy analysis article uses two research methods. The first is a content analysis that focuses on policy text. The second is comparative and historical research that focuses on the history of the undergraduate education organization model in China and the background of the four first-class concepts. Findings: This article argues that the first-class major programs in undergraduate education include provincial-level points of these programs, which stealthily narrowed the scope for comparison from potentially the whole world to that of provinces. The policy also essentially strengthened the traditional concept of "zhuanye" as a physical unit and caused unintended consequences in its attempts to cultivate innovative talents and to adjust the "zhuanye" structure. Originality/Value: This article addresses a new education policy in China and its unintended consequences.
Descriptors: Criticism, Higher Education, Educational Policy, Undergraduate Students, Educational History, Policy Analysis, Content Analysis, Comparative Analysis, Models, Talent Development, Foreign Countries, Majors (Students)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A