A Motivation Perspective on College Admission Reform in Shanghai:The Effect of Providing More Choices and Multiple Evaluation Criteria

Purpose:This study offered insights into how Chinese college admission reform brought about school changes and influenced students'motivation and learning behaviors.Design/Approach/Methods:Four classes in one public high school in the Shanghai Municipality were observed in their homeroom activities and during class breaks.Students and teachers were purposively selected and interviewed.Findings:Due to the more choices on national college entrance examination-examined subjects,career development courses and internships were offered to give students guidance on subject selection.A class shifting system was adopted.In response to the comprehensive evaluation criteria,more free time and club activities were offered so that students can develop their own interests in nonacademic areas.While the reform promoted some students'intrinsic motivation and mastery goals-that is,students reported their intention to develop interests and improve competences-some students made strategic decisions(e.g.,avoiding choosing Physics,intensive preparation,and extracurricular academic tutoring)to maximize college admission possibilities at the cost of ignoring their personal interests.

Traditional Dietary Habits and Interprovincial Migration in College Choice: Evidence From Ningxia in China

Purpose:Every September,millions of students—elite human resources—enter higher education in China.This large-scale college-induced migration has substantial impacts on China’s national and local labor markets.This study examines the migration pattern in college choice and admission among the Hui students in China.In doing so,we extend the existing interprovincial migration model by identifying and measuring the role of traditional dietary habits in college migration decisions.Design/Approach/Methods:This study uses college entrance examination(Gaokao)admission data for 10 high school graduation cohorts from 2001 to 2010 in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.These data are used to study the interprovincial migration of the Hui students following their college entrance examination.Ordinary least squares and logit regressions are used to control for other confounding factors,while the method of instrumental variables and placebo group comparison were used to rule out other explanations.Findings:Results demonstrate that traditional dietary habits produce geographic inequalities in terms of college opportunities for Hui and other minority group students.First,after controlling for variables such as college entrance examination scores and personal characteristics,results show that the Hui students are more likely to choose an institution closer to their hometown and preferred institutions located in Ningxia and the northwestern provinces rather than the Yangtze/Pearl River Delta regions and coastal provinces.Second,this migration pattern is shaped by the dietary habits of the Hui.Third,the Hui students were more likely to choose institutions in underdeveloped areas,resulting in corresponding welfare losses.Originality/Value:This study supplements classic college choice literature by documenting a special impact factor of geography previously overlooked by researchers,demonstrating the need to examine the underlying mechanisms of proximity and its significance in college choice.Moreover,the provision of dietary information may have important policy impacts for improved college choice,as well as for human capital investment and poverty alleviation measures in Northwest China.

Rehabilitation of the imperial examination system

Since the abolishment of the imperial examination system(the IES)in 1905,the system has been the target of severe criticism by most Chinese people.This paper is intended to clear up the misunderstanding of the IES in seven respects based on some ideas of rehabilitation of the IES over the past 100 years.In the author's opinion,the IES is actually not so contemptible as most people think,at least it is not a bad system.The examination system was an attempt to recruit men on the basis of merit rather than because of social position or political connections,which is a great invention of China.Although it was abolished,the method to select talents by means of examination has not yet been and cannot be exterminated,and it is still proper to be used in the present society.The IES with a 1,300-year history has rich experiences and valuable lessons,which have implications to various examination reforms.