Meritocracy, social mobility and a new form of class domination

ABSTRACT

Meritocracy is used by governments in many societies as an ‘effective’ way to represent social justice and legitimise – explain away – class inequality. By focusing on a small number of working-class students who achieve academic ‘success’ and have reached elite universities in an ideal meritocratic environment – Chinese schooling – this paper aims to discuss the relation of meritocracy to upward social mobility and class domination. Our analysis raises questions about the notion of ‘success’ in a meritocratic environment and suggests the operation of a new form of symbolic domination in relation to these working-class high-achievers. Through their ‘successes’ at school, they are distanced from their working-class localities and histories, while they also remain outside of the middle-class sensibilities that they aspire to – they become a ‘third class’ whose core values reside in meritocracy itself. There is no transcendence of class here rather a different form of distinction and exclusion.

KEYWORDS:

• meritocracy
• social mobility
• Bourdieu
• working-class students at elite universities
• China

Acknowledgments

We owe our deep gratitude to the 17 research participants, who gave us enormous trust to share their life stories, very personal feelings and reflections. In some sense, they are the other 17 authors of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Schools are divided into key schools and normal schools in China; key schools (including primary schools, junior secondary schools and senior secondary schools) receive more government funding and policy support, have the best teachers and recruit the best-performing students in every level of entrance exams.

Additional information

Funding

Peak Discipline Construction Project of Education at East China Normal University.