Examinations And Admissions System To Higher Education In The UK

The UK has a long history of educational examinations and admissions system with its own characteristics, which has had great influences on those of other countries. With a long period of the development and evolution, the British examinations and admissions system to higher education has formed its own outstanding characteristics, which has tremendous influences on that of many other places all over the world. Until today, a lot of universities in the world accept the results of A-level examinations held by main examinations bodies of the UK as admission requirements. In some countries and territories, their examinations and admissions System to Higher Education is the same as that of the UK. We may wonder what the system is like, why it works this way, what about its equality, and what experience and lesson China can learn from when it tries to reform its examinations and admissions System to Higher Education. With the questions in mind, the author carries out a deep and systematical research about it.The dissertation focuses on two issues——level 3 examinations (qualifications) in theNational Qualifications Framework and admissions system to higher education, investigating examinations and admissions system to higher education in the UK longitudinally and latitudinally, in both macro and micro way, using the following research methods: documentation method, field research, questionnaire method, interview method, case studies and comparative method. Firstly, the research exploits the origin, development and reform of the system in the macro way, and moves further to analyze it through case studies in the micro way. Secondly, it traces the origin of the system chronologically in the longitudinal way, probing into its function as 'a regulating device' between stakeholders in the British society, and the influences which politics, economics, culture, tradition and religion have had on it in the evolution process. Latitudinally, the author summarizes the reform, characteristics, problems and trends of the system from different angles and provides enlightenment for the reform of examinations and admissions system to higher education in China. On the base of Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital, habitus and field, as well as the questionnaire to 373 students from 6 different secondary schools and interviews of 49 students and relative persons, the author attempts to find out the factors influencing HE opportunities and choices of the students, how those from different social groups have different HE opportunities and how they choose among them, in order to draw attention to the equality of examinations and admissions system to higher education in the UK.The dissertation consists of 8 parts, including introduction. The introductory part covers context and significance of the research; review and comments on previous research; framework and methods of the research; research thesis and its definition. Chapter one and chapter two have an appreciation of British education system and historical context of examinations and admissions system to higher education in the UK, which provide "system memory" and "historical memory" respectively for further study. Chapter three examines the current examinations and admissions system to HE in the UK and its practice in macro way, in order to get the holistic idea of it as a whole. Chapter four explores the reform of the system in macro way, with the emphases on history, focuses and trends of the reform, through which fair admissions system to HE can be established. Chapter five carries out case studies, selecting different HE institutions as cases to analyze British universities and colleges admissions system. Chapter six moves on to focus on equality analysis of British examinations and admissions system to HE, using Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital, habitus and field, as well as survey-questionnaire and interview to analyze the factors influencing HE opportunities and choices of the students, how those from different social groups decide whether they go into the HE, who goes where, and who does what in higher education. Chapter seven compares British examinations and admissions system to HE with that of China, in administration and mechanism, examinations and awards, institutions and their functions, assessment and selection, tuition fees and support, which summarizes characteristics, problems and development trends of british examinations and admissions system to HE, offering five references and suggestions for the related reform in China:①Establishment of an examinations system with unified national examinations and multi-examinations;②Establishment of examination subjects framework consisting of compulsory subjects and selective subjects;③Establishment of the selective system by assessing applicants through both total scores of examinations and a holistic Assessment;④Establishment of the public Services system of examinations and admissions to HE;⑤Establishment of a fair admissions system to HE.