From Conflict To Harmony: A Sociology Analysis On Value Orientation Of Higher Education Assessment

In the process of mass higher education, it is a general choice to ensure the quality of higher by education carrying out assessment around the world. Also, it is a necessary requirement to promote the harmonious development of Chinese higher education. Chinese higher education has made remarkable achievements as well as facing serious value conflict, which needs to be explored from value orientation.Value orientation of higher education assessment means basic value of position, beliefs, attitudes and bias that assessment subjects and objects hold while they are facing or dealing with various contradictions, conflicts, relations during the course of assessment. Value orientation of higher education assessment shows in the system of higher education assessment. It plays foundmental and oriented role. Judging a system of higher education assessment is reasonable or not, its criteria is that assessment philosophy is developmental, assessmetn subject is inclusive, assessment object is conscious, assessment indicator is logical, assessment method is specificatious and assessment result is objective.In the world, there exist four tipical assessment model:represented by France's government-controlled model, UK's principal-agent model, Netherlands'superposition model and USA's multifaceted cooperation model. Their common features show that ensuring quality and enhance the effectiveness are corresponding, government involvement and social assessment are co-ordered, external promotion and self-awareness are co-operative, comprehensive assessment and classificational assessment are co- fusion, quantitative assessmetn and qualitative assessment are co-symbiotic, fair competition and performance funding are dependent, which reflects the harmonious development of international higher education values. Choosing its merits, it is helpul to build a higher education assessment system with Chinese characteristics.As far as Chinese condition is concerned, its higher education assessment meets philosophical conflict, subjective conflict, objective conflict, indicative conflict, methodological conflict and result conflict in the process of value change. The main reason of higher education conflict is mandatory that shows in symbolic violence, administrative authority, discourse deprivation, absolutism, irrationa, unfair distribution of logic and so on. Balancing the value conflict of higher education assessment so that it develop harmoniously, it needs to take the following measures:First of all, we must establish a value balance mechanism of higher education assessnment; Secondly, we must establish a value strategy of higher education assessnment; Last but not the least, we must establish a value security system of higher education assessnment.Above all, we can safely draw the following conculsions:First, Higher education assessment exists as a unity of conflict and harmony, but the conflict is absolute, the harmony is relative. Second, the harmonious higher education assessment is an ongoing process, it is a long journey and eternal pursuit of modern higher education development. Third, The immediate conflict can not subvert the existing value of higher education assessment, the position that carrying out assessment should be insisted. Fourth, the conflict in higher education assessment exposes the weaknessesf higher education assessment itself, which shows the assessment system needs to be constantly improved. Fifth, the citizen's understanding and support is a great driving force for higher education assessment to develop healthily and sustainablely.