The Political Mechanism On The Development Of The Institutional Classification And Graduation In America And The Reflection In China

The issue of the classification and graduation of higher education institutions has been given great attention since the rapid enrollment expansion and massification started up. What causes these problems? What should the government do to guide the institutions to operate in different types and graduations? To the further extent, what is the intrinsic relationship between the diversification of the institutions and the higher education massification? Can we learn any experience from other countries?To answer these questions, the dissertation compares the political mechanism on the institutional classification and graduation both in America and China and is presented in five parts. In Chapter One, the concerned definitions are stated and the theoretical basis and methodology are presented, mainly on the base of Martin Trow's theory and the sociological theory. Chapter Two and Three are the core of the whole dissertation. In Chapter Two, the author reviews the history of the diversity of the American institutions briefly, and focuses on the policiy changes in American higher education massification during the phase from the ending of the Second World War to the 1960s, to analyze the influence of the federal and state government's policies on the graduation and classification of the institutions. Based on the Chapter Two, the author describes the status quo in China correspondingly in Chapter Three, which involves the massification of higher education and the experiences of the graduation and classification. Chapter Four is the comparative base between America and China on the topic of the institutional graduation and classification theoretically and empirically, and follwed the reference and the policy choice. The last part is the conclusion.The discovery of the dissertation is the flowing: the systemic design of American governments in the institutional graduation and classification improved the diversity of the institutions and assured the quality, at the powerful convenience of the resources configuration. The present problems in Chinese institutional graduation and classification are linked with the government itself closely. Political dominance is the main characteristic in the development of the graduation and classification of the institutions in China. There should be a balance among the political influence, institutional autonomy and the classification infrastructure. To achieve it, it is imperative to transform the functions and manners of the government, make full useof the political mechanism.