Evolution of Empirical Research on Chinese Higher Education: Process, Logic and Pathways

The evolution of empirical research on Chinese higher education has undergone a process from emergence to prosperity, presenting stage-specific developmental characteristics and inherent logic. This process is not only driven by the self-development of the higher education discipline but also continuously draws nourishment from the reform practices of higher education, while emphasizing the learning, absorption, and transformation of international experiences, and deepening progressively under the conscious promotion of research subjects. However, alongside its rapid development, empirical research on Chinese higher education has also exposed developmental bottlenecks such as inadequate institutional norms, weakening problem awareness, and insufficient local characteristics. Nevertheless, it also harbors significant opportunities for paradigm innovation. In the future, efforts should be made to improve the institutional norms of empirical research on higher education, strengthen its problem awareness, highlight its Chinese characteristics, and promote its paradigm transformation.