Framing Ideology Through Examination: The Role of Gaokao Political Science in Contemporary China

• In Event: 20480 - Education and Society: Institutional Interactions and Reciprocal Influences

Abstract

The Chinese Gaokao itself is not only crucial in the field of education; it is also an effective way through which the political, economic, and social goals of the nation are successfully achieved. The paper tries to outline those paths through which the political subject of Chinese Gaokao spreads the national ideology and develops students' political identity. An important part of China's educational system, the political subject has sharp ideological functions. Systemic discussion of political Gaokao and its compilation of test items contributes to clearly and definitively arguing the role of education itself in constructing ideology, especially within complex agencies, with regard to political identities and value culture. It was done to further elaborate on exactly how the state lays extra foundations whereby education can be tapped or be helpful to promulgate core values-based ideology and institution-based advantages concerning the state's legitimacy and cultural self-confidence. This understanding underlined that Gaokao is an instrument of knowledge assessment and an important channel of ideological dissemination and the construction of social identity. This paper aspires to engage with the practical dimensions of contemporary ideological construction in China and to enrich scholarly discourse on the dynamic interplay between state ideology and education.

Author

• Yushan Wang, University of Pennsylvania