Sun Xiaoxue, Shi Lan
School of Education (Teachers College), Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Institute of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 16;20(4):e0321424. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0321424. eCollection 2025.
China has a long history of meritocracy, but as social inequality grows, people are increasingly questioning whether hard work promises a better life, even as national policies and mainstream media spare no effort to promote meritocratic narratives. In response, how do people interpret their lives and act within the conflict context between social realities and political forces? On the basis of semi-structured interviews with teachers in different types of schools, this paper explores how teachers interpret meritocracy and navigate it in their teaching practices. The results indicate that teachers show a dual attitude toward meritocracy. On the one hand, they believe that effort and ability are crucial to occupational and educational success, yet on the other hand, they also acknowledge the influence of guanxi on employment and the noticeable educational disparities caused by family background. Teachers have different approaches to balancing meritocratic and nonmeritocratic factors in their teaching. Teachers who limit their responsibilities regarding student growth offer verbal advice. The majority of teachers guide students to focus on working to redress the gap derived from nonmeritocratic factors while also warning students not to place too much hope on agency. Teachers' practices inevitably contribute to social inequality. This paper underscores that in an environment lacking redistribution mechanisms, meritocracy for teachers is more of a pragmatic calculation than a belief.
中国有着悠久的精英主义历史，但随着社会不平等加剧，即便国家政策和主流媒体不遗余力地宣扬精英主义叙事，人们也越来越质疑努力工作是否能带来更好的生活。对此，人们如何在社会现实与政治力量的冲突背景下诠释自己的生活并采取行动？基于对不同类型学校教师的半结构化访谈，本文探讨了教师如何诠释精英主义并在教学实践中应对它。结果表明，教师对精英主义持双重态度。一方面，他们认为努力和能力对职业和教育成功至关重要，但另一方面，他们也承认关系对就业的影响以及家庭背景造成的显著教育差距。教师在教学中平衡精英主义和非精英主义因素有不同的方法。那些将对学生成长的责任限定在一定范围的教师只是给予口头建议。大多数教师引导学生专注于努力弥补非精英主义因素造成的差距，同时也告诫学生不要对能动性寄予过多希望。教师的做法不可避免地加剧了社会不平等。本文强调，在缺乏再分配机制的环境中，对教师而言，精英主义更多的是一种务实的算计而非一种信念。
