Pursuing Sustainable Higher Education Admission Policy Reform: Evidence from Stakeholders’ Perceptions in China’s Pilot Provinces

Abstract

This study aimed to examine sustainable higher-education admission policy reform and stakeholders’ attitudes toward the implementation of a new education policy. We collected 1071 questionnaires exploring stakeholders’ attitudes regarding a new higher-education admission policy. We found that administrators at provincial education bureaus, mangers from admission offices at universities and colleges, and teachers at local high schools held relatively positive attitudes toward the education policy of the new college entrance exam, specifically regarding reform directions, enrollment allocations, examination contents and methods, and means of admission. During the process of implementing the new educational policy, despite encountering some critiques regarding the formation and implementation of the new policy, the general reform direction was positively accepted by administrators, mangers, and teachers at different levels. Moreover, attitudes toward the reform direction and the equity evaluation were positively associated with individuals’ reform engagement. The implications are discussed to illustrate the rationale and context of the implementation of the new policy in contemporary China.