Abstract：The criticizing and governing of examination-oriented education are underway， but with little success， which elicit the academia's questioning on the roots of examination-oriented education. In consideration of people's cognitive biases about the concept of examination-oriented education， this paper borrows the concept of examinationism in Chinese context to define it. At present， the discussions of the roots of examinationism are mostly based on the micro-views， such as teaching epistemology， teaching double-base goal theory， as well as the meso-views such as the shortage of higher education resources， the habitus theory about college entrance examinations， the mechanism of examinationism， and the traceability theory of imperial examinations. However， these perspectives are mostly tumbling in Münchhausen Trilemma， accompanied by determinism and fatalism. It is necessary to examine its external forces to “detach” education-oriented link from other various links of education and take precedence over education. It can be an attempt to examine the social roots of examinationism from the perspectives of social inequality and social mobility， crisis of trust， and divided social system. The emergence of examination-oriented education is the reflection of social characteristics in the educational system. The mode of social mobility in China is manifested mainly as asylum mobility. Emphasis on education is a cultural product with Chinese characteristics. In addition， at the turn of the century， the expansion of higher education has increased the opportunities for lower- and middle-class children to go to university. The social transmission mechanism of social inequality involves students (and families) more actively in educational competition. The objective preference of evaluation criteria makes the results of examination-oriented education better than those of quality education， which further strengthens the organizational operation of examination-oriented education. The emergence of objective preference is not rooted in the “moral vacuum” of social integrity in China， but lies in the conflict between the universalist trust model reflecting the order of public life and the traditional Chinese particularist trust model in the transform of society. In fact， the current examinationism system is closely related to the characteristics of Chinese social organizations.The organizational chain of examination-oriented education is the utilization and reflection of the features of the separated and closed social organizations in the background of the administrative contract system and promotion tournament system. In view of the governance of this complex problem， it is necessary to build up a big theoretical framework with logical consistency adapting to China’s national conditions.
戚务念. 论应试主义的社会根源[J]. 华中师范大学学报（人文社会科学版）, 2019, 58(3): 163-174.
Qi Wunian. On the Social Roots of Examination-Oriented Education. journal1, 2019, 58(3): 163-174.
2019, Vol. 58 
