The Process of Establishing a Special Class for the Gifted Young at the University of Science and Technology of China

Abstract

The Special Class for the Gifted Young (SCGY) is an educational model created by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) during a special historical period. It aims at selecting and cultivating young talent in the natural sciences. Significantly, the establishment of the SCGY in 1978 marked the beginning of higher education reform in China after the ‘Cultural Revolution’ (1966–1976) and promoted the development of education. Currently, there are only a few general descriptions of how the SCGY was established. In research for this paper, we used many sources, including archives, personal diaries and interview records, to uncover the process leading to the establishment of the SCGY. We also investigated the reason why the SCGY was first established at USTC.