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High Educ (2011) 62:383397
DOI 10.1007/s10734-010-9394-7
Amy Liu
Published online: 25 January 2011 The Author(s) 2011. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Abstract Framed by historical and contemporary discussions, this article reviews the principal foundations of meritocracy and uses the public University of California system as a point of departure for examining the connection between meritocracy and higher education within the context of the United States. Through consideration of four dimensions that inform the concept of meritocracymerit, distributive justice, equality of opportunity, and social mobilitythis review examines the underlying tenets of meritocracy to better understand how higher education functions within it. In The Coming of Post-Industrial Society, Daniel Bell (1973) suggested that higher education would become a defensive necessity. However, if colleges and universities are to serve as instruments for creating and expanding opportunity, then higher education must be more profound than simply being reduced to defensive necessity, and it is important for researchers to examine more closely the theoretical concerns of meritocracy and the higher education implications.
Keywords Access Admissions Distributive justice Equality of opportunity
Higher education Merit Meritocracy Social mobility
Unraveling the myth of meritocracy
The tremendous expansion of higher education in the United States since World War II and the gravitation towards mass ideals have elevated the important role that higher education plays in social and economic matters (Lucas 2006; Thelin 2004). Variables such as ability, wealth, race and ethnicity, social class, high school context, parental and family involvement, and nancial aid have been found to structure and constrain participation in higher education (Geiger 2002; Hossler et al. 1989; McDonough 1997; Teranishi et al. 2004). Bell (1973) once forecasted that in a post-industrial society higher education becomes a defensive necessity. However, if colleges and universities are to serve as
A. Liu (&)
University of California, Los Angeles, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Unraveling the myth of meritocracy within the context of US higher education
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instruments for creating and expanding opportunity, then higher education must be more profound than simply being reduced to defensive necessity, and it is important for researchers to examine more closely the underlying theoretical concerns of meritocracy and their higher education implications.
In a meritocracy, social status becomes increasingly dependent upon an...