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Higher Education Opportunities of Elite Family Students in Economic and Cultural Highlands of a Confucian Heritage Society

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Title: Higher Education Opportunities of Elite Family Students in Economic and Cultural Highlands of a Confucian Heritage Society
Language: English
Authors: Hantian Wu (ORCID 0000-0003-0904-8281), Yan Cao
Source: Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. 2025 34(1):483-493.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 11
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Advantaged, Social Class, Family Characteristics, Educational Opportunities, Higher Education, Foreign Countries, Cultural Capital, Geographic Regions, Enrollment Influences, Confucianism, Differences, Educational Practices, Asians
Geographic Terms: China
DOI: 10.1007/s40299-024-00871-0
ISSN: 0119-5646
2243-7908
Abstract: This study focuses on the (in)equality of higher education in mainland China by exploring whether students from elite families in culturally/educationally and economically more developed regions have significant advantages in accessing (elite) higher education institutions. It considers how regional features related to educational resources and the social class structure influence their (elite) higher education opportunities. It further discusses how an examination-based system in a Confucian heritage society limits the advantage of the elite class. Data analysis reveals that their advantages may be insignificant while the understanding of the (in)equality of higher education opportunities in China may need to be revised.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1457832
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0182324038;[gchw]01feb.25;2025Jan22.01:57;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0182324038-1">Higher Education Opportunities of Elite Family Students in Economic and Cultural Highlands of a Confucian Heritage Society </title> <p>This study focuses on the (in)equality of higher education in mainland China by exploring whether students from elite families in culturally/educationally and economically more developed regions have significant advantages in accessing (elite) higher education institutions. It considers how regional features related to educational resources and the social class structure influence their (elite) higher education opportunities. It further discusses how an examination-based system in a Confucian heritage society limits the advantage of the elite class. Data analysis reveals that their advantages may be insignificant while the understanding of the (in)equality of higher education opportunities in China may need to be revised.</p> <p>Keywords: China; Higher education opportunity; Elite population; Confucian heritage society; Education Specialist Studies In Education</p> <p>Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-2">Introduction</hd> <p>This study considers the (in)equality of higher education (HE) in mainland China by examining HE opportunities of students from elite families in more culturally/educationally and economically developed regions. In Chinese society, the distribution of educational resources is unbalanced, and intellectual families attach great importance to their children's education (Liu, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref1">13</reflink>]). The common assumption is that students from elite families in cultural and economic "highlands" benefit from both regional and socioeconomic advantages in accessing (elite) HE institutions (HEIs) under an exam-based, highly competitive admissions system. However, despite a stereotypical understanding of education systems in mainland China and some other East Asian economies, our investigation reveals that such advantages may not be as significant as imagined.</p> <p>The pre-modern tradition of large-scale national standardized examinations has led to most emerging economies in the Confucius cultural circle adopting examination-based HE admissions systems. According to historical roots, while such a system intensifies the competitiveness of the admissions process, it also, to some extent, has a tendency of limiting the advantages of students from elite social classes in developed regions with sufficient educational resources. For previous research on Chinese students' HE opportunities, most studies focusing on regional differences ignore the class gap (e.g., Cao & Zhang, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref2">1</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref3">2</reflink>]; Hamnett et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref4">4</reflink>]), while studies mainly considering students' socioeconomic backgrounds usually assume that regional social structures remain unchanged (e.g., Hannum et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref5">5</reflink>]; Jia & Ericson, [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref6">6</reflink>]; Liu, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref7">11</reflink>]; Wei et al., [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref8">24</reflink>]). Since the "Reform and Opening Up", China's domestic population migration has profoundly influenced the social stratification in most provinces and municipalities. In this investigation, to analyze the situation of HE opportunities of elite social classes in developed regions in mainland China, a major hypothesis has been proposed based on existing theories surrounding the (in)equality of educational opportunities (e.g., Lucas, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref9">14</reflink>]), as well as China's social stratification and institutional roots which make the situation more complicated.</p> <p>The two research questions are: (<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref10">1</reflink>) Do students from elite families in China's culturally/educationally and economically more developed regions have significant advantages in (elite) HE opportunities? (<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref11">2</reflink>) How could regional features related to educational resources and the social class structure influence elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities? Further, we intended to discuss how the examination-based admissions system limits the advantages of elite family students in developed regions.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-3">Context and a Brief Review of Literature</hd> <p>There is a widespread understanding that East Asian Confucian heritage societies have highly hierarchical educational systems and highly competitive examination-based HE admissions systems. Marginson ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref12">16</reflink>]) proposed the "Confucian model" to describe the "distinctive common approach to organizing education" in East Asian societies (p. 594). Due to historical and geopolitical reasons, education systems in societies with a Confucian heritage usually have the typical characteristics of strong nation-state policy interventions with "the rapid growth of tertiary participation" and "one-chance national examination systems at the end of schooling" (Marginson, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref13">16</reflink>], p. 594). In mainland China, the HE admissions system is centered around the highly competitive College Entrance Examination, also known as <emph>Gaokao</emph>. In 1977, "the <emph>Gaokao</emph> was restored as a key mechanism of structuring HE opportunities, and the academic performance [...], instead of political affiliation [and loyalty], became the decisive factor in access to HE" (Liu, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref14">12</reflink>], p. 873). Since then, "the <emph>Gaokao</emph> performance has been demonstrated to be a consistently strong indicator of students' chances of getting accepted into elite universities" and, "in this sense, the <emph>Gaokao</emph> seemed to be a meritocratic selection for elite opportunities" (Liu, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref15">12</reflink>], p. 883). Historical factors largely shape China's current HE admissions system. The examination-based <emph>Keju</emph> system "provides the state with a mechanism for social sorting that can be adjusted to permit variations in the extent of merit-based upward mobility" (Marginson, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref16">16</reflink>], p. 600). Such a "mechanism and [its] values took shape in China in the first millennium CE" (Marginson, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref17">16</reflink>], p. 600), and which, to some extent, have profoundly shaped meritocratic selection mechanisms in education in contemporary East Asian societies.</p> <p>A hierarchical HE system with a highly competitive exam-based admissions process often brings inequalities. In mainland China, the HE system is traditionally considered as having significant regional differences in quality and enrollment opportunities. Previous studies have shown that Chinese students in "first-tier" municipalities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, have greater opportunities for high-quality HE (e.g., Cao & Zhang, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref18">1</reflink>]). Regional differences seem to have increased during China's HE massification. Hamnett et al. ([<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref19">4</reflink>]) argued that China's current exam-based system benefits "those applicants who live in one of the two cities or provinces with a high concentration of top universities and a lower <emph>Gaokao</emph> threshold", and such an advantage "is made up of three interlocking elements" including "the existence of the highly meritocratic <emph>Gaokao</emph>", "the uneven geographical distribution of high-quality [top] universities", and "the existence of [unequally distributed] provincial quotas and differential score requirements" (p. 266). Besides regional differences, studies also reveal the inequality in educational opportunities among different social classes in Chinese society (e.g., Liu, [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref20">11</reflink>]; Luo et al., [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref21">15</reflink>]). Based on their analysis of the Chinese College Student Survey data (2012), Luo et al. ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref22">15</reflink>]) argued that "the expansion of Chinese HE fails to reduce the inequity [...], in particular in providing low socio-economic status students access to elite Chinese universities" (p. 1015). In addition to economic status, Liu ([<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref23">11</reflink>]) revealed that Chinese students' HE opportunities are significantly affected by family educational/cultural backgrounds (p. 206). Wu ([<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref24">25</reflink>]) investigated the Chinese General Social Survey data (2008) and found that from 1999 to 2008, students with agricultural household registrations [<emph>Hukou</emph>] were 26% less likely to enter HEIs than urban students. Jia and Ericson's ([<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref25">6</reflink>]) research reveals that, in a certain province in mainland China, "higher socioeconomic family backgrounds, better high schools, and more urban homes are more likely to be admitted into prestigious colleges" (p. 97). It seems evident that urban elite families have both the ability and motivation to devote more resources to their children's education, especially under a highly competitive system.</p> <p>Current research on HE opportunity in China has two major limitations. First, as previously noted, studies of regional and class (in)equality in HE admissions are often conducted independently of each other, incorrectly assuming equal access for all eligible individuals within a region. However, research on class equity indicates that students from advantaged classes are more likely to gain access to HE (e.g., Li, [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref26">7</reflink>]). Ignoring class-based disparities within regions may thus lead to erroneous conclusions about regional differences. Second, significant interregional migration, particularly of high-level talent to China's southeastern regions, has altered class compositions within regions since the 1990s (Yue, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref27">27</reflink>]). Neglecting the shift in regional class composition may lead to inaccurate estimates of (elite) HE supply and demand in China. In China's hierarchical HE system, former "985" and "211" universities are considered elite HEIs,[<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref28">1</reflink>] roughly equivalent to the current "world-class universities" and "universities with first-class disciplines," as identified by China's "Double First-Class" initiative (Ministry of Education [MoE] et al., [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref29">19</reflink>]).[<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref30">2</reflink>] As the most developed regions in mainland China, the eastern coastal provinces and municipalities are not only economic and talent hubs but also "highlands" of educational resources. In Beijing and Shanghai, required <emph>Gaokao</emph> scores are lower due to their high admissions quota-population ratios (Cao & Zhang, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref31">1</reflink>]). Students from elite families in these regions are often considered to have "dual advantages" in (elite) HE opportunities. In other words, it is widely believed that for students from inland provinces with low socioeconomic status, their "chances of getting a place at one of the top universities are very slim compared with those of the relatively privileged who live in Beijing or Shanghai or one of the prosperous coastal provinces" (Hamnett et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref32">4</reflink>], p. 266). However, the reality of the situation is more complex than is commonly perceived due to the combined effects of various factors, including those of an institutional, cultural, and historical nature. By considering the composition of social classes within different regions, it is possible to identify more accurately the true (elite) HE opportunities available to elite groups in "highlands". This approach may facilitate a more precise comprehension of the distribution of HE opportunities in China and a more rational interpretation of the issue of excessive competition in education in China's "highland" provinces and municipalities.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-4">Theoretical Grounding and Hypothesis</hd> <p>Raftery and Hout ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref33">21</reflink>]) proposed the theory of maximally maintained inequality (MMI) which argues that "if the demand for a given level of education is saturated for the upper classes, [...] the association between social origin and education is weakened" (Raftery & Hout, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref34">21</reflink>], p. 57). Therefore, when a particular stage of education "becomes universal for upper-class persons", students from disadvantaged classes obtain the remaining resources and the gap between social classes may thereby be narrowed (Lucas, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref35">14</reflink>], p. 1649). Moreover, considering the quality of education, Lucas ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref36">14</reflink>]) proposed the theory of effectively maintained inequality (EMI) which argues that "socioeconomically advantaged actors secure for themselves and their children some degree of advantage wherever advantages are commonly possible" (1652). "If qualitative differences are common, the socioeconomically advantaged will obtain qualitative advantages" (Lucas, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref37">14</reflink>], p. 1652). China's HE experienced a massification process since 1999 (Zha, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref38">28</reflink>]). Although the rapid massification provided additional HE opportunities, Ding ([<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref39">3</reflink>]) revealed that students from elite families still obtain elite HE opportunities. As mentioned, Luo et al. ([<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref40">15</reflink>]) argued that "[Chinese] students' socio-economic status [still significantly] influences access to elite universities" after the expansion of HE (p. 1015). As Lucas ([<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref41">14</reflink>]) pointed out, "socioeconomically advantaged parents can secure advantaged places for their child, not only because they may use a wide array of resources [...], but perhaps more important, they have personal experiences [... and] know which decision points involve high stakes and which can be ignored safely" (p. 1650). Such advantages are significant under examination-based admissions systems. Liu ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref42">12</reflink>]) argued that "the <emph>Gaokao</emph> had already filtered out a substantial number of students whose parental educational level was relatively low and who were from rural areas" (p. 833). "Consistent with expectations based on the EMI theory, [...] students whose parents have a higher level of education and those from professional families secured qualitatively better opportunities to elite universities" (Liu, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref43">12</reflink>], p. 833).</p> <p>Marginson ([<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref44">17</reflink>]) argued that "whether China [...] move[s] towards greater inequality and lesser social mobility depends primarily on two factors", "the larger patterns of social and economic inequality" and "the way stratification is managed within HE" (pp. 10–11). Yue ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref45">27</reflink>]) pointed out that "even within the same city, the [HE] opportunity gap among different family backgrounds is wider [...], as educational resources of superior quality are more accessible to students of better family occupational and educational background" (p. 57). The complexity of the situation is compounded by China's social structure and historical traditions. Since the "Reform and Opening Up", China's social structure has drastically changed along with its modernization and urbanization (Li, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref46">9</reflink>]). According to China's sixth national population census, Li ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref47">9</reflink>]) revealed that the middle and lower-middle-class population has expanded. He argued that China's major metropolitan areas are increasingly moving towards an "olive-shaped" society with an increasingly sizeable middle-class population (Li, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref48">9</reflink>]). However, the current mechanism does not enable specific social classes to obtain corresponding resources or opportunities (Li, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref49">9</reflink>]). Wu ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref50">26</reflink>]) pointed out that the existing phenomena in Chinese society, such as the expansion of social inequality and the consolidation of social classes, enhanced the importance of education within the process of social mobility. Therefore, Chinese families compete fiercely for educational resources and opportunities (Wu, [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref51">26</reflink>]). While many people, especially the young elites, flow into more developed and urbanized areas, high-quality education opportunities in such areas will not expand rapidly. We, therefore, speculate that for elite families within the "olive-shaped" society in China's major metropolitan areas and some developed provinces, their advantages in HE opportunities may have remained static or may have declined, especially under the current admission system based on meritocratic criteria.</p> <p>In terms of historical/institutional roots, it is widely known that <emph>Keju</emph> played a crucial role in ancient China and led to a scholar-bureaucrats' gentry class. It seems natural to infer that examinees from scholar-official families in economically and culturally prosperous regions might have had more significant advantages. The elite class of scholar-bureaucrats, therefore, could maintain its superiority for generations. However, the <emph>Keju</emph> system had implemented a regional quota system since the late Tang dynasty (755–763) (Li, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref52">8</reflink>]). In the Song dynasty (960–1279), the imbalance in economic and cultural development between northern and southern China led to a dispute between the two views of "recruiting based on examinees' performance [<emph>ping cai qu ren</emph>]" and "recruiting based on examinees' regions [<emph>zhu lu qu ren</emph>]" (Li, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref53">8</reflink>]). In the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), when the <emph>Keju</emph> system reached its maturity, the government provided an additional quota for scholars in culturally backward areas (Li, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref54">8</reflink>]). Liu ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref55">10</reflink>]) pointed out that "according to the history of the <emph>Keju</emph> system, for over 1300 years, there were always contradictions between maintaining regional equity and recruiting based only on performance, and its overall development trend was that regional equity was increasingly emphasized" (p. 931). Liu ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref56">10</reflink>]) believed that such a tradition had influenced the current regional HE admission quota system in mainland China. For contemporary China, a national-level policy for restricting HE admissions quotas for local students was implemented in 2008 (MoE, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref57">18</reflink>]). According to this policy, in terms of the MoE affiliated (elite) universities, the proportion of admissions quotas for local students should be less than or equal to 30%. To some extent, this reduced the elite HE opportunities for students in developed regions that have more elite universities.</p> <p>For this investigation, we hypothesized that the advantages for elite family students in mainland China's culturally/educationally and economically more developed regions in terms of (elite) HE opportunities may be insignificant. Moreover, it seems inappropriate to use household income as the only indicator to identify the elite population in mainland China. The traditional order of occupations in Confucianism has a profound influence in Chinese society. In ancient China, the idea of "four categories of the people [<emph>si min</emph>]" was used by Confucian scholars to classify occupations. The four categories are gentry scholars or scholar-officials [<emph>shi</emph>], peasants [<emph>nong</emph>], artisans [<emph>gong</emph>], and merchants [<emph>shang</emph>]. Becoming part of the Confucian gentry class of scholar-bureaucrats can be considered the highest pursuit of ancient Chinese people under the <emph>Keju</emph> system. After the so-called "Cultural Revolution," "meritocracy, as an ideology with powerful political attraction, was [... again] used by the Chinese Communist Party during China's transition to the market society" (Liu, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref58">12</reflink>], p. 869). In present China, intellectuals and government officials still have a high status in Chinese society. We defined occupations of "managers" as well as "technicians and intellectuals" identified by China's sixth national population census (National Bureau of Statistics [NBS], [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref59">20</reflink>]) as elite population.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-5">Methods and Data</hd> <p>Considering both regional differences and class gaps, we conducted a preliminary statistical analysis and a regression analysis to explore the interrelations between regional features and elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities. Based on available datasets, we constructed Eqs. 1 and 2 to estimate (elite) HE opportunities for elite family students in China's different provincial regions (i.e., provinces and municipalities). Data were collected using data-crawling techniques and the Chinese government's public datasets (see Table 1). We tentatively identified China's economic and cultural/educational "highlands" while conducting a preliminary statistical analysis. Regression analyses were conducted for exploring interrelations between regional contextual features that we were concerned about (i.e., local HE resources and elite population proportions) and elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities.</p> <p>Table 1 Variables, indicators and data sources</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Variables</p></th><th align="left"><p>Indicators for measuring variables</p></th><th align="left"><p>Data sources</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left" rowspan="3"><p>Elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities (dependent variables: EF<sub>H</sub>; EF<sub>EH</sub>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>HEIs' admissions quotas for each province/municipality for measuring TP<sub>H</sub> and TP<sub>EH</sub></p></td><td align="left"><p>China's nationwide HE admission dataset (2014, 2015) constructed via data crawling techniques</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Population proportion of elite families in each province/municipality (P)</p></td><td align="left"><p>China's Population Census (2010)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Numbers of middle school graduates (TP<sub>J</sub>)</p></td><td align="left"><p>China's NBS data (2011, 2012)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>Proportion of local (elite) HEIs' admissions quotas for local students (independent variables)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Local HEIs' admissions quotas for local students</p></td><td align="left" rowspan="2"><p>China's nationwide HE admission dataset (2014, 2015)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Local elite HEIs' admissions quotas for local students</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Age-appropriate population for HE (cultural variable)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Number of elementary school graduates in 2008 and 2009</p></td><td align="left"><p>China's NBS data (2008, 2009)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Tentatively identified "highlands" (for preliminary statistical analysis)</p></td><td align="left"><p>Average annual growth rate of permanent resident population in each provincial regions (2005–2015)</p></td><td align="left"><p>China's National Bureau of Statistics data (2005–2015)</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <hd id="AN0182324038-6">Estimating China's Elite Family Students' (Elite) HE Opportunities</hd> <p>For each province/municipality, we used the supply/demand ratio of local HE resources to estimate HE opportunities for students from local elite families (see Eq. 1). EF<subs>H</subs> and EF<subs>EH</subs> stand for HE opportunities and elite HE opportunities for the local elite population, respectively, while TS<subs>H</subs> and TS<subs>EH</subs> refer to the total supply of HE resources and elite HE resources for local students, respectively. ED<subs>H</subs> in Eq. 1 stands for the total demand of the local elite population for HE resources. As mentioned, using occupations identified by China's sixth national population census (National Bureau of Statistics [NBS], [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref60">20</reflink>]), we identified "managers [<emph>guan li zhe</emph>]" as well as "technicians [<emph>ji shu ren yuan</emph>] and intellectuals [<emph>zhi shi fen zi</emph>]" as elite population.[<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref61">3</reflink>] We used P to denote the proportion of the elite population in each province/municipality. We measured the total supply of local HE resources (TS<subs>H</subs>; TS<subs>EH</subs>) using the total number of local students admitted to local (elite) HEIs (TP<subs>H</subs>; TP<subs>EH</subs>). We used the number of local students from elite families who completed high school education (P<subs>S</subs>) to estimating their total demand for HE resources (ED<subs>H</subs>). According to the EMI theory and since we can only obtain the elite population proportion for each province for 2010,[<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref62">4</reflink>] we assumed that the number of elite family students who graduated from high schools (P<subs>S</subs>) roughly equals the number of such students who completed middle schools (P<subs>S</subs> ≈ P<subs>J</subs>). It equals the total number of local middle school graduates (TP<subs>J</subs>) times the local population proportion of elite families (P) (see Eq. 2).</p> <p>1 <ephtml> <math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><msub><mtext>EF</mtext><mtext>H</mtext></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mtext>TS</mtext><mtext>H</mtext></msub><mo stretchy="false">/</mo><msub><mtext>ED</mtext><mtext>S</mtext></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mtext>TP</mtext><mtext>H</mtext></msub><mo stretchy="false">/</mo><msub><mtext>ED</mtext><mtext>H</mtext></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mrow><msub><mtext>TP</mtext><mtext>H</mtext></msub><mrow><mo stretchy="false">/</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mtext>TP</mtext></mrow></mrow><mtext>J</mtext></msub><mrow /><mo>∗</mo><mtext>P</mtext><mrow><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>;</mo><msub><mtext>EF</mtext><mtext>EH</mtext></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mtext>TS</mtext><mtext>EH</mtext></msub><mo stretchy="false">/</mo><msub><mtext>ED</mtext><mtext>H</mtext></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mrow><msub><mtext>TP</mtext><mtext>EH</mtext></msub><mrow><mo stretchy="false">/</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mtext>TP</mtext></mrow></mrow><mtext>J</mtext></msub><mrow /><mo>∗</mo><mtext>P</mtext><mo stretchy="false">)</mo></mrow></mrow></math> </ephtml></p> <p>Graph</p> <p>2 <ephtml> <math display="block" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mrow><msub><mtext>ED</mtext><mtext>H</mtext></msub><mo>=</mo><mtext>Ps</mtext><mo>≈</mo><msub><mtext>P</mtext><mtext>J</mtext></msub><mo>=</mo><msub><mtext>TP</mtext><mtext>J</mtext></msub><mrow /><mo>∗</mo><mtext>P</mtext></mrow></math> </ephtml></p> <p>Graph</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-7">Tentatively Identifying "Highlands" for Preliminary Statistical Analysis</hd> <p>Considering the massive population/talent mobility in present China, we used geographical locations and the average annual growth rates of permanent residents to tentatively identify economic and cultural/educational "highlands" for conducting the preliminary statistical analysis. The eastern coastal provinces are generally considered to be the relatively more developed regions that accept majority of talent. We tentatively identified east coastal provinces/municipalities with average annual permanent resident population growth rates (2005–2015) higher than or equal to 1% as "highlands" [i.e., Tianjin (3.6%), Beijing (3.2%), Shanghai (2.3%), Guangdong (1.5%), and Zhejiang (1%)]. Considering their low birth rates, population growth shows the influx of skilled labor and top talent. According to China's 2010 Population Census, the proportions of the elite population are nearly 20% and 23% in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively, while the average ratios are approximately 12.4%, 7.8%, and 7.6% in eastern, central, and western China, respectively (NBS, [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref63">20</reflink>]). Meanwhile, such regions are usually HE-resource "highlands" due to their development status and strategic position.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-8">Data Collection</hd> <p>Table 1 presents the major sources of data. Using data-crawling techniques, we obtained provincial enrollment information from the Internet.[<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref64">5</reflink>] This technique allowed for the construction of a nationwide HE admissions dataset, which contains annual admissions quotas for all 4-year and 3-year HEIs in mainland China. The data, aggregated by province, facilitate a macro-level analysis, offering insights into enrollment opportunities at different types of HEIs in each provincial region (i.e., TP<subs>H</subs> and TP<subs>EH</subs>). The dataset also contains each HEI's admissions quotas for local students and students from other provinces. To supplement the data obtained from the Internet, we utilized public datasets from the Chinese government to acquire information on the number of graduates from primary and middle schools (i.e., compulsory education) in different provincial regions. This approach ensures the comprehensiveness and reliability of our dataset, while also enabling efficient data collection over a wide geographic and temporal span. This is essential for conducting a macro-level analysis of HE enrollment in mainland China. Since our target population was born in 1997 and 1998, usually graduated from elementary schools in 2008 and 2009, and graduated from middle school in 2011 and 2012, we used data from the corresponding years. While estimating elite family students' total demand for HE resources (ED<subs>H</subs>), as mentioned, since we can only obtain the elite population proportion data in 2010, we used the number of middle school (compulsory education) graduates (TP<subs>J</subs>) to calculate the number of elite family students who graduated from high schools (P<subs>S</subs>) (see Eqs. 1 and 2). The number of elementary school graduates in 2008 and 2009 was used to estimate the total age-appropriate population for HE enrollment in each region, which was used as a control variable in the regression analysis. Proportions of elite families in the whole population in different provincial regions (P) were retrieved from China's sixth population census (2010). The 2010 census data provides a precise reflection of the family class structure of students at the time they took the high school entrance examination and subsequently participated in the college entrance examination in either 2014 or 2015.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-9">Findings</hd> <p>We conducted a preliminary statistical analysis and regression analyses to explore interrelations between regional contextual features that we were concerned about and elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities. As mentioned, we focused on two regional attributes, local HE resources and elite population proportions.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-10">Preliminary Statistical Analysis</hd> <p>Table 2 presents the results of the preliminary statistical analysis. The analysis describes the regional features of the tentatively identified "highlands" in terms of both population structure and educational resources. The results of the hypothesis testing (<emph>t</emph>-test) reveal statistically significant (<emph>p</emph> < 0.01) advantages of "highland" provinces/municipalities in terms of elite family population proportions and the number of elite HEIs. As mentioned, students from elite families in the "highlands" with sufficient (high-quality) educational resources seem to have significant advantages in opportunities for HE under the current system. However, the descriptive statistical analysis reveals that both HE opportunities and elite HE opportunities for elite students in "highlands" are lower than in other provinces. The average number of HE opportunities for elite students is approximately 3.362 in "highlands" and approximately 5.962 in other provinces. This means that every elite student in "non-highland" provinces has approximately six potential HE opportunities but in the "highlands" has about three potential opportunities (see Table 2). Such a difference is statistically significant. The standard deviation (sd) of HE opportunities for elite students in "highlands" is 0.857, which is lower than that in other provinces (1.027) (see Table 2). This indicates minor differences within "highland" provinces/municipalities regarding elite family students' HE opportunities. The average elite HE opportunity [i.e., world-class universities (0.129) and universities with first-class disciplines (0.378)] for elite family students is also lower in "highlands" than in other provinces (0.138 and 0.466, respectively) (see Table 2). (However, such a difference cannot be proven to be statistically significant). The results also show that for both elite and non-elite HEIs, the proportion of local HEIs' admissions quotas for local students is not significantly higher in "highlands" than in other provinces. This may be due to policy factors that will be discussed later. As mentioned, China's major metropolitan areas are transitioning towards an "olive-shaped" society with a growing middle-class population. However, as some scholars have argued (e.g., Li, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref65">9</reflink>]), the current mechanisms do not seem to provide sufficient (higher-quality) education opportunities for the elite population in the metropolis.</p> <p>Table 2 Results of preliminary statistical analysis among elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left" rowspan="2" /><th align="left" colspan="3"><p>"Highlands"</p></th><th align="left" colspan="3"><p>"Non-highlands"</p></th><th align="left"><p>Difference</p></th></tr><tr><th align="left"><p><italic>N</italic></p></th><th align="left"><p>Mean</p></th><th align="left"><p><italic>sd</italic></p></th><th align="left"><p><italic>N</italic></p></th><th align="left"><p>Mean</p></th><th align="left"><p><italic>sd</italic></p></th><th align="left"><p>(<italic>T</italic>-test)</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>HE opportunities for elite family students</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>3.362</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.857</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>5.962</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>1.027</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 2.601***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Elite HE opportunities for elite family students ("universities with first-class disciplines")</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.378</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.17</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.466</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.222</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.088</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Elite HE opportunities for elite family students ("world-class universities")</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.129</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.064</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.138</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.038</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.009</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Population proportions of elite families</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.165</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.054</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.08</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.016</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.085***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Numbers of local HEIs</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>86.9</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>31.046</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>74.288</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>39.821</p></td><td align="left"><p>12.612</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Numbers of local "universities with first-class disciplines"</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>11</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>9.638</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>50</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>2.98</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>3.107</p></td><td align="left"><p>8.020***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Numbers of local "world-class universities"</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>3.4</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>2.633</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>32</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>1.5</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.622</p></td><td align="left"><p>1.900***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Proportion of local HEIs' admission quota for local students</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.29</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.296</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.297</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.199</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.007</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Proportion of local elite HEIs' admission quota for local students ("world-class universities")</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.136</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.091</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>50</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.119</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.105</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.017</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Proportion of local elite HEIs' admission quota for local students ("universities with first-class disciplines")</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.045</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.036</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>32</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.045</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.031</p></td><td align="left"><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>HE age-appropriate population</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>10</p></td><td align="left"><p>552.08</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>714.234</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>52</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>599.627</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>370.506</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 47.547</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>*<emph>P</emph> < 0.05; **<emph>P</emph> < 0.01; ***<emph>P</emph> < 0.001</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-11">Regression Analysis of Elite Family Students' (Elite) HE Opportunities on Contextual Features</hd> <p>HE opportunities may be affected by several contextual factors related to local (elite) HE resources and social class structures, such as the proportion of the elite population, as well as the number of (elite) HEIs and their admissions quotas for local students. We employed ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models to explore the interrelations between such contextual factors and (elite) HE opportunities for students from elite families. (The tentatively defined "highland" or "non-highland" regional attribute for the preliminary statistical study was not used as a variable). Elite family students' HE opportunities and elite HE opportunities (i.e., opportunities to attend China's "world-class universities" and "universities with first-class disciplines", respectively) were used as dependent variables. Contextual variables including local population proportion of elite families and indicators reflecting local HE resources (i.e., the number of local (elite) HEIs and the proportion of local (elite) HEIs' admissions quotas for local students) were used as independent variables. We used the local college-aged population size and the year (2008 or 2009) of elementary school graduation of the target population (a dummy variable) as control variables. Table 3 shows the results of each of the three regression models. The adjusted <emph>R</emph>-squared values for all three models are above 0.6, so the independent variables used in the regression models explain the dependent variables accurately.</p> <p>Table 3 Regression estimation results of contextual features' effects on elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left"><p>Variables</p></th><th align="left"><p>HE opportunities</p><p>(Model 1)</p></th><th align="left"><p>Elite HE opportunities</p><p>("univ. with first-class disciplines")</p><p>(Model 2)</p></th><th align="left"><p>Elite HE opportunities ("world-class univ.")</p><p>(Model 3)</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Local population proportions of elite families</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 26.620***</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 4.157***</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 1.289***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>[4.46]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.53]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.16]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Numbers of local (elite) HEIs</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.00022</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.00652</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.00171</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>[0.01]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.00]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.00]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Proportions of local (elite) HEIs' admissions quotas for local students</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.178</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.726***</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.931***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>[1.54]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.17]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.11]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Age-appropriate population (control variable)</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.059</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.291***</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.0991***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>[0.28]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.02]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.01]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Graduated from elementary school in 2008 or 2009 (2008 = 1; control variable)</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.344</p></td><td align="left"><p>− 0.0129</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.000326</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>[0.22]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.02]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.01]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Constant</p></td><td align="left"><p>7.157*</p></td><td align="left"><p>4.503***</p></td><td align="left"><p>1.529***</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left" /><td align="left"><p>[3.58]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.22]</p></td><td align="left"><p>[0.10]</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Observations</p></td><td align="left"><p>62</p></td><td align="left"><p>60</p></td><td align="left"><p>42</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Adjusted <italic>R</italic>-squared</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.616</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.857</p></td><td align="left"><p>0.839</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p><italic>F</italic></p></td><td align="left"><p>20.58</p></td><td align="left"><p>71.92</p></td><td align="left"><p>43.81</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>*<emph>P</emph> < 0.1; **<emph>P</emph> < 0.05; ***<emph>P</emph> < 0.01</p> <p>While controlling other variables, the results reveal that the independent variable of the local population proportion of elite families in each of the three regression models has a statistically significant negative relationship with the dependent variable of (elite) HE opportunities. Coefficients imply that a 1% increase in the proportion of the elite family population in a particular province/municipality is associated with a significant decrease of about 26.62, 1.29, and 4.16 opportunities for elite family students to attend HEIs, China's "world-class universities", and "universities with first-class disciplines", respectively (see Table 3). Such a negative impact is relatively more significant for opportunities to attend 4-year/3-year HEIs in general, while the influence on elite HE opportunities is limited. In other words, elite family students in provinces/municipalities with a relatively higher proportion of elite populations have relatively fewer potential HE opportunities. Such an impact is statistically significant but somewhat limited in terms of attending China's most prestigious "world-class universities". It seems appropriate to speculate that elite family students in such "highland" regions may have relatively limited opportunities to enter either universities/colleges in general or elite HEIs.</p> <p>Local HE resources have been measured by the number of local (elite) HEIs and the local (elite) HEIs' admissions quotas for local students. For each of the three models, results cannot prove that the number of local (elite) HEIs significantly influences elite family students' opportunities to attend (elite) HEIs (see Table 3). (For Model 1, we used the number of local 4-year/3-year HEIs as an independent variable, and for Models 2 and 3, we used the number of local "universities with first-class disciplines" and the number of local "world-class universities" as independent variables, respectively). To some extent, provincial regions with more (elite) HEIs do not necessarily provide more opportunities for elite family students. Such phenomena may be related to the tendency of and rationales behind elite population mobility in present China. As mentioned, "highlands" have more "world-class universities" and "universities with first-class disciplines" identified by China's "Double First-Class" initiative. This has become one of the reasons why elite families choose to move to "highlands" to optimize their children's educational opportunities. Due to an increasing proportion of elite families in the "highland" populations caused by unidirectional talent flow, it seems appropriate to argue that advantages in the numbers of (elite) HEIs were diluted.</p> <p>The results also reveal the relationships between the proportion of the local HEIs' admissions quota for local students and elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities (see Table 3). Models 2 and 3 show the proportion of local elite HEIs' admissions quotas for local students has statistically significant positive relationships with dependent variables (see Table 3). The coefficients are 0.726 and 0.931, respectively.[<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref66">6</reflink>] However, these positive effects are relatively limited compared with the negative impact of a high proportion of elite families in the population. The result cannot prove a significant influence on elite family students' opportunities to attend 4-year/3-year universities/colleges in general. Such a result motivates us to think further about the impact of HE admissions quota systems on elite family students' (elite) HE opportunities in more developed regions. Due to the national-level policy (MoE, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref67">18</reflink>]), admissions quotas for local students were greatly restricted for those prestigious universities located in such "highlands". For instance, in Shanghai, the proportion of the admissions quotas for local students in its four "world-class universities" (i.e., previous "985" universities) was 25.1%, 24.9%, 19.6%, and 9% in 2015. It seems evident that such policies may increase the competition within the elite population, considering the high proportion of the elite population in the "highlands" and their emphasis on their children's education. In addition to the historical traditions of <emph>Keju</emph>, which increasingly emphasized regional equity throughout its long history, China's equity-oriented ideology and current social structure also play pivotal roles in driving policy implementation. During the process of urbanization, the Chinese government aims to prevent the exacerbation of social stratification and the monopoly on quality educational resources. Such policies and mechanisms aimed at improving equity in access to higher education between regions and social classes would obviously stimulate the elite population of major cities to invest in education in order to enable their children to succeed in the intense intra-competition based on standardized examinations.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-12">Discussion and Conclusion</hd> <p>According to the data analysis, the advantages of attending (elite) HEIs that have been attributed to students from elite families in China's economic and cultural/educational "highlands" may be insignificant. The preliminary statistical analysis proves the advantages that tentatively identified "highlands" have for elite HE resources. However, it reveals that HE opportunities for students from elite families in these "highlands" are relatively lower than those in other regions. Regression analyses reveal that the one of the two focused contextual factors, the population proportion of elite families, has a significant negative relationship to elite students' (elite) HE opportunities. It also reveals that the positive impacts of sufficient local HE resources are statistically insignificant or relatively limited compared to being in a region with a high proportion of elite population. Such a phenomenon is partly due to the restricted (elite) HE admissions quotas for local students and the intense internal competition among the elite population. This finding partially contradicts prevailing assumptions in the literature, as discussed by Liu ([<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref68">12</reflink>]), that a higher concentration of elite families in a region naturally leads to greater HE opportunities for their children. This observation may lead to a reevaluation of theories such as effectively maintained inequality (EMI) and maximally maintained inequality (MMI), as it suggests that children from elite families in developed regions may not gain significantly more access to (high-quality) higher education. One plausible reason is that previous studies and theories have primarily been based on societies characterized by predictable socioeconomic dynamics and relatively homogeneous population movements. However, within China's complex socioeconomic landscape, with large regional imbalances, heavily influenced by migration and substantial shifts in social class structure—a phenomenon colloquially referred to by Tiebout ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref69">22</reflink>]) as "voting with their feet"—we are witnessing a regional scarcity of public HE services in the "highlands". This highlights the need to reconceptualize a theoretical framework that more accurately captures China's unique circumstances, especially in revealing the situation of China's elite families in accessing (elite) HE opportunities. Addressing the issues unearthed in this investigation mandates a thorough reassessment of current policy trajectories, particularly the regional HE admissions quota system. From a short-run perspective, the current policies have shown a significant delay in addressing the complexities of population mobility and regional changes in class structure. To address the existing challenges, it seems necessary to optimize the allocation of HE resources between different regions in order to reduce the demand–supply imbalance of HE opportunities for the elite population in major metropolises, and to implement more inclusive admissions policies to ensure equal opportunities for students from different regional and socioeconomic backgrounds.</p> <p>Generally speaking, advantages of Chinese students from elite families in culturally/educationally and economically more developed regions in accessing (elite) domestic HEIs are limited. In terms of the historical/institutional roots, it seems worth noting that the <emph>Keju</emph> system limited the intergenerational transmission of power and resources. In economic and cultural/educational "highlands" in both ancient and present China, the benefits of students from elite classes are more likely to be limited by two phenomena: the internal competition in standardized examinations within the elite population, and the regional admissions quota system. Although previous studies have revealed regional differences and class gaps, China's dramatically changing social class structure and historical/institutional traditions make the situation more complicated. As mentioned, China's major metropolitan areas are moving towards an "olive-shaped" society with a growing middle class, while the current mechanism does not allow the elite population to obtain sufficient resources or opportunities (Li, [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref70">9</reflink>]). We would preliminarily like to argue that the <emph>Keju</emph> system provides some institutional traditions that restrict advantages of students from elite social classes. In addition to advocating for the fundamental principles and values of meritocratic selection in examinations, as discussed earlier, Liu ([<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref71">10</reflink>]) identified a historical trend spanning over 1300 years within the <emph>Keju</emph> system. This trend witnessed a transition from performance-based recruitment towards emphasizing regional equity, thereby impacting the contemporary system of regional HE admission quotas in mainland China. Chinese governments, both historically and presently, have tended to restrict the formation of a solidified and even hereditary elite class through mechanisms such as standardized examinations and regional admission quota systems. The desire of the elite in developed regions to maintain their superior position can only be expressed through intense intra-class competition, as this institutional arrangement is difficult to oppose. Therefore, in the long term, mitigating the challenges identified in this study requires promoting the rationalization of metropolitan demographic structures by partially reversing the tendency of elites to over-concentrate in "highlands".</p> <p>For a Confucian heritage society in the process of rapid urbanization and HE massification/universalization, it remains to be explored whether similar institutional arrangements can promote equity in HE opportunities. On the one hand, this study reveals that students from elite families in culturally/educationally and economically more developed regions do not have the advantages in accessing domestic (elite) HEIs under the existing mechanism, even though they may be perceived to have such an advantage. On the other hand, they may become even more competitive in standardized tests and other areas due to the elite's greater investment in education and intense intra-class competition. Furthermore, intense intra-class competition may also motivate elite families to send their children abroad for HE. For future research, it seems necessary to concentrate on situations in other East Asian societies with similar pre-modern institutional traditions and examination-based HE admissions systems. Differences among institutions that belong to China's "world-class universities" may also deserve further attention. For instance, it seems worth examining whether students from elite families in developed regions have a significant advantage in accessing China's most prestigious "C9 universities".[<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref72">7</reflink>] The impact of study abroad on HE opportunities for different social classes also deserves attention. The China Study Abroad Development Report 2022–2023 (Wang & Miao, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref73">23</reflink>]) indicates that approximately 100,000 Chinese undergraduate students pursued studies abroad during the 2022–2023 academic year. For the focused student population of this study, the total number of high school graduates nationwide in 2014 and 2015 was approximately 7.99 million and 7.97 million, respectively, with about 1.6% of these graduates studying abroad (i.e., around 130,000 and 140,000, respectively). Given such proportions and the primary focus of this study, it seems reasonable to disregard the students studying abroad. However, since this research particularly examines five major economic and cultural "highlands" in China—Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Zhejiang, and Guangdong—which have long been major sources of overseas Chinese students, considering overseas (elite) HE opportunities may help to reveal more accurately the HE supply and demand of different social classes in our target regions.</p> <p>This study also has some limitations. For instance, its reliance on macro-level data makes it difficult to explore the micro-level specificities of individual experiences. Future research could adopt a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative research to capture personal narratives and institutional practices. Furthermore, to achieve a more precise definition and identification of the elite class in each region, it is necessary to have dynamic and more accurate data. Most importantly, the above insights not only have the potential to challenge prevailing understandings of the allocation of HE resources in China but also serve as a foundation for future research aimed at unraveling the complexities of educational (in)equalities within the unique socioeconomic milieu of Confucian heritage societies.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-13">Funding</hd> <p>This study was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for China's Central Universities [2017ECNU-HWFW016].</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-14">Declarations</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0182324038-15">Conflict of interest</hd> <p>On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.</p> <hd id="AN0182324038-16">Publisher's Note</hd> <p>Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.</p> <ref id="AN0182324038-17"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref2" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Cao Y, Zhang R. Access to top universities and its regional disparity: 2008-2015. Journal of East China Normal University (Educational Science). 2016; 34; 4: 52-65in Chinese</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref3" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Cao Y, Zhang R. Access to the higher education and its regional differences: 2007-2015. Research in Educational Development. 2017; 37; 1: 25-35in Chinese</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref39" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Ding X. Expansion and equality in Chinese higher education. Peking University Education Review. 2006; 4; 2: 24-33in Chinese</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref4" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Hamnett C, Hua S, Bingjie L. The reproduction of regional inequality through university access: The Gaokao in China. Area Development and Policy. 2019; 4; 3: 252-270. 10.1080/23792949.2018.1559703</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref5" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> Hannum E, An X, Cherng HS. Examinations and educational opportunity in China: Mobility and bottlenecks for the rural poor. Oxford Review of Education. 2011; 37; 2: 267-305. 10.1080/03054985.2011.559387</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref6" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Jia Q, Ericson D. Equity and access to higher education in China: Lessons from Hunan province for university admissions policy. International Journal of Educational Development. 2017; 52: 97-110. 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.10.011</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref26" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Li, C. (2010a). Higher education expansion and inequality of educational opportunities: Examining the equalization effect of college enrollment expansion. 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Meritocracy and the Gaokao: A survey study of higher education selection and socio-economic participation in East China. British Journal of Sociology of Education. 2013; 34; 5–6: 868-887. 10.1080/01425692.2013.816237</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Liu Y. The transmission and conflict of inter-generational culture in Chinese academic-generation families. Social Science of Beijing. 2020; 5: 17-25in Chinese</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lucas SR. Effectively maintained inequality: Education transitions, track mobility, and social background effects. American Journal of Sociology. 2001; 6: 1642-1690. 10.1086/321300</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Luo Y, Guo F, Shi J. Expansion and inequality of higher education in China: How likely would Chinese poor students get to success?. Higher Education Research and Development. 2018; 37; 5: 1015-1034. 10.1080/07294360.2018.1474856</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Marginson S. Higher education in East Asia and Singapore: Rise of the Confucian model. Higher Education. 2011; 61; 5: 587-611. 10.1007/s10734-010-9384-9</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Marginson S. Higher education, economic inequality and social mobility: Implications for emerging East Asia. International Journal of Educational Development. 2018; 63: 4-11. 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2017.03.002</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ministry of Education of, R. China (MoE). (2008). Notification of releasing admissions quotas of Ministry of Education affiliated universities in 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2008, from <ulink href="http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb%5fxxgk/gk%5fgbgg/moe%5f0/moe%5f1964/moe%5f1997/tnull%5f29591.html">http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb%5fxxgk/gk%5fgbgg/moe%5f0/moe%5f1964/moe%5f1997/tnull%5f29591.html</ulink> (in Chinese).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> MoE, Ministry of Finance National, & Development and Reform Commission. (2017). The announcement of the list of world-class universities and universities with first-class discipline and the list of construction disciplines. Retrieved September 21th, 2017, from <ulink href="http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A22/moe%5f843/201709/t20170921%5f314942.html">http://www.moe.gov.cn/srcsite/A22/moe%5f843/201709/t20170921%5f314942.html</ulink> (in Chinese).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> NBS. Tabulation on the 2010 population census of the People Republic of China. 2010; China Statistics Pressin Chinese</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Raftery AE, Hout M. Maximally maintained inequality: Expansion, reform, and opportunity in Irish education, 1921–75. Sociology of Education. 1993; 66; 1: 41-62. 10.2307/2112784</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Tiebout CM. A pure theory of local expenditures. Journal of Political Economy. 1956; 64; 5: 416-424. 10.1086/257839</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Wang H, Miao L. 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China's move to mass higher education in a comparative perspective. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. 2011; 41; 6: 751-768. 10.1080/03057925.2011.590316</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <ref id="AN0182324038-18"> <title> Footnotes </title> <blist> <bibtext> The Project 985 initiated in 1999 supported 39 of the most prestigious Chinese universities. The Project 211 implemented in 1993 supported a total of 112 elite universities, including 39 "985 universities".</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> China's "Double First-Class" initiative implemented since 2017 has supported its 42 "world-class universities" and 95 "universities with first-class disciplines".</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> According to the census, "managers" refers to the head of government/public sectors, and "technicians and intellectuals" include scientific researchers, engineers/technicians, doctors, legal professionals, and teachers (NBS, [20]).</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> In general, the target students all attended high school in 2010. Therefore, census data from the year 2010 represents the optimal data choice for the purpose of tracing the family occupation status of the aforementioned students.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Careful cross-checking confirms that the data obtained via data-crawling is consistent with the officially information released by HEIs' official websites and mainstream media.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> For Model 2, we used the proportion of admissions quotas of local "universities with first-class disciplines" for local students as the independent variable, and for Model 3, the proportion of local "world-class universities'" admissions quotas for local students was used as the independent variable.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> China's C9 universities include Peking University, Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Fudan University, University of Science and Technology of China, Nanjing University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Xi'an Jiaotong University, which are all "world-class universities" identified by China's "Double First-Class" initiative.</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Hantian Wu and Yan Cao</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref1"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref8"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref21"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref24"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref27"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref29"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref33"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref38"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref50"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref55"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref57"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref59"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref69"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref73"></nolink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hantian+Wu%22">Hantian Wu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0904-8281">0000-0003-0904-8281</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yan+Cao%22">Yan Cao</searchLink>
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  Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
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  Data: This study focuses on the (in)equality of higher education in mainland China by exploring whether students from elite families in culturally/educationally and economically more developed regions have significant advantages in accessing (elite) higher education institutions. It considers how regional features related to educational resources and the social class structure influence their (elite) higher education opportunities. It further discusses how an examination-based system in a Confucian heritage society limits the advantage of the elite class. Data analysis reveals that their advantages may be insignificant while the understanding of the (in)equality of higher education opportunities in China may need to be revised.
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