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2025, Issue 4

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Capability, Freedom, and Difference: The Proposition of the Capability Approach and Its Implications for a Theoretical Pivot in Educational Equity Research
ZHONG Jingxun, ZHANG Yuping, QIN Zhiying
2025, (4): 5-17.
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Abstract:
Educational equity remains a critical concern to both the academia and the public. In past discussions in Western academia, the utilitarian and resourcism emphasized the utilitarian value of education and the principle of equitable distribution of resources, but lacked attention to human diversity. In contrast, Amartya Sen's Capability Approach theory(CA) offers a distinct theoretical framework, which posits that interpersonal differences fundamentally shape individuals' capacity to convert resources into valued functionings, emphasizing the realization of substantive freedoms. This necessitates rigorous analysis of opportunity structures and barriers across diverse groups to enable individuals to achieve their desired developmental outcomes. While we advocate a critical stance toward CA's limitations—including its ill-defined capability set, individualistic orientation, and operational gaps in implementation pathways—the theory holds significant relevance for China's educational equity research. It provides crucial insights for: 1) Prioritizing differential development pathways aligned with individual heterogeneity; 2) Deconstructing institutional factors perpetuating educational inequities; 3) Constructing actionable strategies to enhance resource-to-capability conversion efficacy.
From "Scholarly Excellence as Teaching Qualification" to "Learning to Become a Teacher": An Exploration of Specialization in Higher Normal Education During the Late Qing Dynasty
LIANG Erming
2025, (4): 18-29.
Abstract(173) HTML (73) PDF(45)
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Due to the inability of the traditional "scholarly excellence as teaching qualification" model to meet the needs of the constantly emerging new-style schools, the education sector in the late Qing Dynasty implemented specialized concepts and practices for modern higher normal education. Through efforts, the education sector established an independent modern higher normal education system based on the "School Charter issued by emperor" and the "School Charter approved by emperor", which clarified the specialized positioning of higher normal education in the late Qing Dynasty. This system adhered to universal pedagogical principles by designing specialized curricula for secondary teacher training, integrating general academic courses with pedagogical disciplines. At the same time, the system also followed the principle of integrating rewards and responsibilities, and on the basis of stipulating the obligation to achieve effective graduation outcomes, different achievements and rewards were given according to graduation grades. With the completion of the modern higher normal education system, curriculum design, and graduation system, the goal of "learning to become a teacher" was basically achieved in higher normal education during the late Qing Dynasty, thus completing the specialization exploration of this period. However, while achieving great success, the construction of higher normal education in the late Qing Dynasty also had problems such as a low degree of standardization, misalignment and grafting with the imperial examination system, and the need to highlight local characteristics. Its level of specialization still needs to be improved.
The Role Interpretation and Evaluation Criteria of Teachers' Modernity Character
YANG Xiaowei, YUAN Xuhui
2025, (4): 30-38.
Abstract(97) HTML (103) PDF(40)
Abstract:
As learning paradigms evolve and schools undergo modernization, the role of teachers will inevitably be redefined. This study examines how teachers enact three core modernity attributes across professional dimensions: 1) As agents of professional development: cultivating individual competencies through autonomous practice; 2) As instructional practitioners: driving pedagogical innovation through creative engagement; 3) As institutional change catalysts: expanding organizational value influence through strategic openness. The cultivation of teachers' modern qualities requires clear value orientations to guide evaluation directions. Following a developmental orientation, schools strengthen diagnostic evaluations to foster teachers' autonomy. Adhering to a scientific orientation, schools optimize formative evaluations to stimulate teachers' innovation. Moving toward a collaborative orientation, schools improve summative evaluations to enhance teachers' openness. Focusing on key indicators in teacher evaluation can prevent evaluation from losing focus and enhance evaluation effectiveness. By setting evaluation key indicators based on teachers' roles in educational activities, evaluation can promote the cultivation of teachers' modern qualities and drive schools and teachers toward high-quality development together.
The Crisis of Interactive Trust Between Schools and Families from a Relational Perspective: Contexts, Manifestations, and Action Logic
CAI Chenmei, KANG Mi
2025, (4): 39-54.
Abstract(149) HTML (66) PDF(13)
Abstract:
The evolving trust crisis between families and schools constitutes an interactive relational phenomenon entrenched in mutual distrust. This study adopts a relational perspective and draws from interview data with 33 primary and secondary school teachers to delve into the relational context, current manifestations, and underlying action logics driving this crisis. The findings reveal that diminishing trust levels and stability, coupled with the disruption of unidirectional trust structures, have catalyzed a mutual distrust crisis between families and schools. This relationally embedded phenomenon manifests through defensive, transactional, and power-imbalanced interactions, resulting in trust boundary-marking, deficits, and withdrawal. In terms of action logic, both families and schools employ strategic approaches: implementing boundary-demarcation to mitigate operational risks, utilizing exchange tactics to gain strategic advantages, and practicing calculated reservation to safeguard their respective selfinterests. Fundamentally, this mutual trust crisis is characterized by individualistic self-centeredness. Consequently, resolution requires prioritizing relationality in trust-building, recognizing the co-constitutive nature of both parties, and promoting collaborative action frameworks.
The Structural Differentiation and Empowerment Strategies of Teaching Organizations in Chinese Universities
LIU Yuan
2025, (4): 55-64.
Abstract(183) HTML (74) PDF(17)
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High-quality talent cultivation is central to China's higher education development, yet the "student-centered" undergraduate teaching reform has a limited effect on improving education quality, revealing a significant gap between reform intentions and outcomes. So it is necessary to explore the essence, causes and governance of the contrast from the organizational level. The study finds that: (1) The essence of the contrast lies in the severe differentiation pattern of university teaching organizations, where a few ideal-type organizations (high professionalism, high embeddedness) coexist with a larger number of floating-type (low embeddedness), weak-type (low professionalism), and other-type (low professionalism, low embeddedness) organizations. The overall imbalance of supply and demand affects people's perception of educational quality; (2) In the organizational field, "coercive isomorphism" and "mimetic processes" are the two main forces driving the differentiation of university teaching organizations. If left unchecked, they may further exacerbate the differentiation, leading to a shift from "four types" to a "two-tier" system; (3) In order to reduce the contrast, it is necessary to empower teaching organizations to release autonomy, empowerment requires implementing tripartite strategies: intra-organizational capacity building, inter-organizational collaboration, and extra-organizational institutional support.
Why Does the System of Student Evaluation of Teaching in Chinese Universities Fail——A Qualitative Research Based on the Interviews with Undergraduates
LIU Junying, CHENG SHengwei, SUN Yuhong
2025, (4): 65-75.
Abstract(113) HTML (78) PDF(47)
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Guided by the Cognitive Behavioral Theory, this study conducted interviews with 28 undergraduate students and applied coding analysis to examine their perceptions and behaviors regarding Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET). The findings reveal a cognitive conflict between students' idealistic expectations and the harsh reality of SET. Behaviorally, students tend to adopt a perfunctory approach, often providing habitual high ratings. However, through deeper reflection, they still express hope for the improvement of the SET system. The ineffectiveness of SET is manifested in its degeneration into a mere formality. Its root causes lie in outdated evaluation concepts and the marginalization of its institutional status, while its consequences include a loss of respect for teaching among both students and faculty. To address these issues, universities should redefine the guiding principles of SET such as emphasizing student agency, promoting teaching development, and encouraging pedagogical reform. Furthermore, the evaluation design should be optimized in line with contemporary assessment theories by incorporating process-oriented, personalized, and qualitative elements. Finally, effective feedback and application of SET results must be ensured to truly support teaching improvement and to enhance the weight of teaching quality in faculty performance reviews and promotion criteria.
A Study of the Phenomenon of "Pampered Management to Students" in Higher Education: the Generating Logic and the Rectification Pathway
YANG Zhanyi
2025, (4): 76-87.
Abstract(97) HTML (77) PDF(81)
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Student management in higher education is one of the important part of the modernization of university governance. In recent years, the phenomenon of "Pampered Management to Students" in universities has garnered attentions. Through empirical observation, this study tries to: 1) Defines and categorizes the concept of "Pampered Management of Students"; 2) Identifies essential characteristics of both management types; 3) Analyzes generative mechanisms through three analytical dimensions, including the logic of culture, the logic of governance and the logic of role; and 4) Examines detrimental effects on institutional administration and educational outcomes. In order to address these concerns, it is necessary to explore appropriate pathways from the perspectives of cultural psychology, collaborative governance, and educational roles.
Practical Motivations, Action Initiatives, and Reflective Analysis of the Digital Transformation of Education in Germany
REN Ping, CHENG Hui
2025, (4): 88-101.
Abstract(101) HTML (115) PDF(15)
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The digital transformation of education is an important part of building a strong educational nation and improving the country's international competitiveness. With the advent of the Industry 4.0 era, global digital acceleration has necessitated Germany's educational reforms to meet evolving talent demands in the information technology era. Since the 21st century, the German government has introduced a series of new policies on the digital transformation of education, and has actively taken relevant initiatives, with remarkable results: 1) Emphasising on the cultivation of students' digital literacy: improving the ability of primary and secondary school students to adapt to the digital world; 2) Building digital cornerstones: strengthening the construction of digital infrastructure in education; 3) Empowering teacher education: deepening digital training to meet the new needs of the times; 4) Advancing STEM education in primary/secondary schools, emphasizing digital lead to improve scientific literacy. The practical experience of Germany's digital reform of basic education is of great significance to the digital transformation of education in China in the areas of top-level design, infrastructure, teacher training and the development of science education.
The Rise and the Fall of the UK's "Extended Schools" Policy (1997-2011) and Its Lessons: A Perspective from New Social Educational History
LI Xianjun, ZHAO Penghao
2025, (4): 102-112.
Abstract(117) HTML (69) PDF(13)
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To ensure the high-quality development of after-school services, what is required is more than just increasing financial investment, but also prioritize institutional optimization and efficiency enhancement. In this regard, the rise and the fall of the UK's "Extended Schools" policy offers valuable historical lessons. The idea behind the UK's policy aligns with "Home-School-Community Collaborative Education" in China, while its specific measures share similarities with after-school services. From the perspective of New Social Educational History, the imbalance of power and responsibility in policy implementation within British primary and secondary schools was the institutional catalyst for the policy's decline. This issue stemmed from the Thatcher-era educational and fiscal reforms, evolving through three distinct phases (concealment, amplification, and exposure), in response to the UK's economic shifts between 1997 and 2011. Ultimately, the policy was marginalized due to goal generalization. Drawing from these lessons, China's after-school service policy must take two critical historical lessons that avoiding "excessive reliance on central government earmarked funding" and preventing "overly generalized policy implementation goals".

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