Recipients of PSC Small Grant Awards

While adult higher education accounts for nearly half of the entire college credential production in China since 1949, it has received little scholarly attention. My dissertation research aims to fill this gap with a systematic investigation of the modern institution of Chinese adult higher education. I begin with a social history of Chinese adult higher learning, followed by a macro-level estimation of the size and trend of adulthood higher education between 1982 and 2010, and finally an examination of three individual-level processes (i.e., enrollment, degree attainment, economic return) over the communist regime. As the research topic is seriously underrepresented in the literature written in English, I propose to conduct an archival research at Beijing Normal University, Peking University, and Renmin University. For restricted census and survey data, special data-usage arrangements will be made with local Chinese collaborators at Renmin University and Peking University. Both the archival research and data analysis will take place in Beijing between May 1 and September 2, 2013.

Funding Source: The Marshall Weinberg International Travel Fund