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ZHANG Jie, CHEN Xuanyu
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DOI:10.17265/2161-623X/2025.03.004
Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
In the context of the withdrawal trend of educational preferential policy, it is vital to verify its rationale of existence and efficacy in promoting social justice, by evaluating whether such policies enhance ethnic minorities’ accessibility to the tertiary education, taking China’s policy of awarding extra points to ethnic minority candidates in the national college entrance examination (Gaokao) as an example. Using Rawls’ theory of justice and ethnic identity theory, the paper analyses the rationale and effectiveness of this affirmative action policy. Through a comparative single-case study of China, the paper highlights the historical evolution of the policy and its role in promoting ethnic minorities’ educational attainment. Findings suggest that while the policy enhances accessibility to higher education for ethnic minorities to some extent, it may also perpetuate new social injustices by ignoring intra-ethnic disparities. Therefore, this paper calls for future reforms to consider multiple factors, such as regional and economic differences, to achieve greater social justice.
affirmative action, educational preferential policy, ethnic minority, social justice, extra points awarded policy
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