Description

Book Synopsis


Trade Review

[Meritocracy and Its Discontents] contributes an important new perspective to the theoretical discussion on what drives the myth of meritocracy, or the machine of misrecognition. Howlett's book is empirically rich, theoretically sophisticated, and very timely to the situation facing China and the world in this historical moment.

* Developing Economies *

Table of Contents

1. A Fateful Rite of Passage: The Gaokao and the Myth of Meritocracy
2. Mobility, Time, and Value: The High Stakes of Examinationand the Ideology of Developmentalism
3. Counterfeit Fairness: State Secrets and the False Confidence of Test Takers
4. Diligence versus Quality: Merit, Inequality, and Urban Hegemony
5. Courage under Fire: The Paradoxical Role of Head Teachers and the Individualizing Moment of Examination
6. MagicandMeritocracy: Popular-ReligiousResponses to Examination Anxiety
Epilogue: Lost and Confused

Meritocracy and Its Discontents

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    A Hardback by Zachary M. Howlett

    £97.20

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      Book details

      Publisher Cornell University Press
      Published 15 April 2021
      ISBN-13 9781501754432
      978-1501754432
      ISBN-10 1501754432
      Also in:
      Education: examinations and assessment

      Description

      Book Synopsis


      Trade Review

      [Meritocracy and Its Discontents] contributes an important new perspective to the theoretical discussion on what drives the myth of meritocracy, or the machine of misrecognition. Howlett's book is empirically rich, theoretically sophisticated, and very timely to the situation facing China and the world in this historical moment.

      * Developing Economies *

      Table of Contents

      1. A Fateful Rite of Passage: The Gaokao and the Myth of Meritocracy
      2. Mobility, Time, and Value: The High Stakes of Examinationand the Ideology of Developmentalism
      3. Counterfeit Fairness: State Secrets and the False Confidence of Test Takers
      4. Diligence versus Quality: Merit, Inequality, and Urban Hegemony
      5. Courage under Fire: The Paradoxical Role of Head Teachers and the Individualizing Moment of Examination
      6. MagicandMeritocracy: Popular-ReligiousResponses to Examination Anxiety
      Epilogue: Lost and Confused

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