The 'Competition for University Places' in Home-School-Community Collaborative Governance: The Emergence of Involution in County-Level Senior Secondary Education and Strategies for Resolution

Leyan Han

doi:10.6918/IJOSSER.202512_8(12).0033

Authors

Leyan Han

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6918/IJOSSER.202512_8(12).0033

Keywords:

Academic, Competition, Educational, Involution, Home-school-community collaborative governance

Abstract

This study examines the "competition for university places" within county-level secondary schools and the resulting educational involution. It explores the misalignment of roles and conflicting dynamics among schools, families, and communities within this competitive framework. Taking Hengshui High School and its imitators as case studies, the research reveals how intensive exam-focused training and an overemphasis on university admission rates profoundly distort the educational ecosystem. Scarce educational resources at the county level and limited evaluation methods exacerbate parental anxiety and teaching pressures within schools. The prevailing "score-centric" ethos within society intensifies the competition for secondary school admission, creating a vicious cycle of involution. By applying social elite theory and cultural capital theory to analyse this phenomenon, the study examines the formation process of involution and its detrimental effects on educational equity and student development, proposing concrete countermeasures to break the cycle. Reforming educational assessment systems, altering teaching organisation and performance evaluation methods, establishing sound home-school collaborative education mechanisms, and fostering a positive educational culture provide theoretical guidance and feasible solutions for county-level educational improvement, thereby advancing educational equity and enhancing teaching quality.

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