Fairness Ideas In Higher Education Practice

Of the present studies of education fairness,attention to higher education is not sufficient.Among studies on higher education fairness,most of which are concerned with problems,less with idea.The study in this dissertation tried to study the theory of higher education fairness with the practices of China as the perspective.The main methodologies of which include hermeneutics methodology,analysis of text,analysis of discourse,individualism methodology and theory of relation.This study takes the theories of higher education system and publicity of higher education as the theoretical basis,and,in a macro historical examination way,takes the path of evlotion of higher education theory,the path of policy and the path of important institutional change to explore the idea of higher education fairness underlying the practice of China higher education.Based upon the above exploration,and combined with the discussion about the theory of fairness and the fairness issue of China's higher education,the author illustrates an ought-to-be theoretical frame about the idea of higher education fairness for China's reform.The author also holds that the study of China's higher education fairness should change the paradigm of problem-study to the paradigm of theory-study,and change the discourse of “dispute between the fairness and efficiency”or the discourse of “dispute between the elite and mass” to an open topic for discussion.The development of the theory of fairness has undergone the fairness theory of distributive justice,the fariness theory of equalism and the fairness theory of competition.The Western had experienced the conservatism and liberalism disputes on education fairness,the different higher education theories had reflected the development and evolution context of higher education theories.The three phases of higher education from the Western academic community also reflected the developmentlogic of higher education theory: the evolution of higher education fariness ideas from higher education as privilege to common.In summary,the ideas of higher education fairness written impliedly or expressed in the policy texts or practiced in the reformation of higher education since the estatlishment of People's Republic of China include the following:Firstly,the fairness idea of equalism which include the fair protection of opportunities of higher education for the disadvantaged,e.g.,the idea of higher education fairness reflected in the discourse of “workers and peasants” and the discourse of “mass”,and the education form of Working while Reading and Farming while Reading,and the idea of higher education fairness underlying the preferential higher education policy;the territorial equalism;the material construction of women right of higher education.In terms of the changes of the idea of equalism,there had the pseudo thoughts of fairness with Education Revolution and Cultural Revolution as the discourses.Since the era of Reform and Open Policy,the idea of territorial equalism has evoluted into the idea of the territorial fairness,which has been reflected in the reform of macro higher education administration system and its primary contents are to enlarge the opportunity to higher education,enlarge the functions of serving the local districts and enlarge the administrative functions by the local governments.Secondly,the fairness idea from the perspectives of distributive justice.Which includes the compensatory treatment to the disadvantaged,the special treatment to the disadvantaged,the improvement and better of competitional conditions of the disadvantaged in distributive justice sense.Since the era of 90^thdecade of last century,the policy of enrollment expansion in higher education may be understood as the idea of higher education fairness in result in terms of equalism,and may also be understood as the enlargement of opportunities to higher education system from the perspective of equalism.As the indigenous idea in China,the idea of fair sharing of better quality education resources is also theprimary distributive justice.Thirdly,the idea of fair competition.Which had developed since the late 90^th Decades last century.The main contents of this idea include: the fairness of opportunities,which has undergone the process from the idea of equal rights to the idea of equal opportunity;the idea of fairness of choices,which include the idea of open higher education system,fair choices within the inner system of higher education and fairness in all higher education choices;and the reflection and protection of diversity in higher education fairness sense,which includes the establishment of racial higher education system which is inclusive to the cultural pluralism,establishment of higher education for the countryside,sponsoring the adult education and other education with the aim to enlarge the enrollment of higher education,sponsoring the professional and technical higher education for the less gifted,establishing the diversified talents training aims and others.The pursuit of excellency and selection of excellency are the most impressed macro higher education policies in China since 1949.The formation of this policy originated from the policy of supporting key and important universities and the preferential social status of the university students which now has become the policies of key and important universities,key and important disciplines,key and important laboratories,key and important talents and others.It is held that,from the perspective of higher education institutes as the organization studying the deep knowledge and specialized knowledge,the policy of pursuit of excellency and selection of excellency reflects the idea of applicable opportunities for every individual,and such idea is a kind of idea of higher education fairness in individualist sense.However,the mandatory selection of excellency by the government is contrary to the idea of fairness,gives rise to the unfair situation of the local higher education institutes and is in violation of the idea of fair competition.The idea of higher education fairness as a theory should have the characteristics of virtue and legitimacy,and should be applicable to thetime as a theory inclined to action.Base upon the theoretical analysis and the comprehensive analysis of Chinese higher education problems,this dissertation developed the ideas of higher education fairness that China needs as follows:Firstly,to treat the same equally.The concrete contents of this idea include equal protection of right to education,the idea of preferential treatment and special treatment to some special group of persons or institutes.Secondly,to respect the difference and to protect the diversity.This is a kind of individualistic sense of higher education fairness,which includes the fairness of higher education choices,the promotion to the social mobility and mobility within the higher education system and the fairness applicable to the needs of some individual person or group.Thirdly,to develop the idea of fair competition.This idea has undergone the transformation from the idea of equal opportunities to the idea of fair opportunities.And the concrete contents of the fair competition ideas include treating the same equally,fairness of rules and just competition;assisting the advantaged and awarding the advantaged;the idea of applicable opportunities for every individual;fair competition between different organizations;idea of prohibition of robbery or predation and the protection of basic order of fair competition;the idea of tending to improving the competition capacity of the disadvantaged;and others.