My colleagues and I have been conducting research related to cosmopolitan academic competitions among students in East Asia - China and South Korea as examples. Previously, we argued with reviewers regarding the definition of 'elite education, elite students, and elite positions'. We acknowledge the term, 'Elite Education', entails numerous meanings. Especially within the context of Western capitalist society, some of the prominent meanings involve power, honor, and privilege as symbolic forms of power. Namely, students from relatively wealthy families may have better opportunities to have quality education, obtain college admissions from high-profile universities, and further seek competitive occupational opportunities in the social hierarchy. However, there are also multiple ways to see elite education, elite university, and elite positions. Not every individual/student is from wealthy families but some non-Western nations, whether capitalist or socialist regimes such Asian nations as China, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, have different ways to view elite education. Students' intellectual levels regardless of socio-economic status can be viewed as elite (smart) students. As we have seen, there are numerous ways to define elite education.
At this point, I would like to learn about more diverse worldviews how global scholars perceive the meanings of 'Elite Education' in their own national or cultural contexts beyond the lexicon definition.
This debate is interesting. Elite universities have been compared to designer labels, a valuable credential in the job market, and an entryway into top jobs or graduate schools. There is a certain level of academic nepotism in many countries (i.e., USA) related to social class and the traditional paradigm related to some families and not to the quality of candidates.
Faruk Hadžić,
Thank you for your insights on elite universities. I agree with you. I myself had all schooling experiences in a capitalist society, especially higher education in the U.S., and had similar ideas about elite education. I have had students from numerous countries including China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Finland, among others, and while I have been learning and hearing about their educational journeys, their understanding of elite education was more like intellectual levels. Particularly, I have seen numerous students fully rely on public education instead of private education and become superior students among peers. I feel many of Asian students (e.g., Chinese and Korean) perceive those who go to domestic elite universities, especially undergraduate programs, and further seek graduate education abroad through scholarship or fellowship, consider themselves as elite students too.
Hi, Benjamin.
I think the tl;dr is, as Faruk pointed out, "brand image". For instance, a "what institution" view of credentialism, as opposed to a "what level" view.
From a Bourdieusian perspective, this results in processes of social reproduction, with élite education (or ranking systems in general, I guess) emerging as a form of symbolic violence.
As you pointed out, this is especially relevant to East Asian contexts, where, following the traditional Confucian model of hierarchical meritocracy, the struggle to ensure national strength in neoliberal markets results in financially disadvantaged learners potentially being left behind.
Returning to your question, I think that "élite" education is often style over substance. In Japan, for instance, the Nikkei Business Publications' Brand Rankings of Japanese Universities, is based entirely on subjective opinion, rather than any tangible metric. Yet, it has a huge impact on local hiring practices.
That's not to say, of course, that the students aren't high-level. In fact, they often are. More that prestigious universities secure learners based on reputation alone. Graduates from said universities then secure high-level employment, and the process repeats.
Unfortunately, I feel that everything in the middle (the actual pedagogy) sometimes gets lost in the shuffle.
Anyway, great question!
Michael,
Thank you for your critical insights. Brand image is a very interesting point, as numerous prestigious universities and polytechnics have been transforming excellence in teaching and research and recruiting foreign scholars and teachers, especially from English-speaking countries to provide English-Medium Instruction programs. Domestic elite students who go to those prestigious universities can gain or maintain their accumulated cultural capital and expect their future transnational occupational trajectories. In this power dynamics, even parents who are in red may make extra efforts and invest in their children's education. This phenomenon is something that may produce educational gaps in the nexus between symbolic power and symbolic violence.
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