Abstract:

The relationship between the quality of undergraduate education and high school reforms has aroused increasing concern in the educational academia. Starting from the reality of undergraduate education from the perspective of the popularization of higher education in China, this research points out that the quality of undergraduate education in China has not been kept in pace with the pace of scale expansion. The“disarticulation”of lower-grade college students in cognitive abilities, knowledge base, learning skills and management, and identity choice and formation is the result of not clearing the mission of the college organization and not adapting to the norms of the college community. When the development of higher education has reached the phase of universal access, it is critical for countries around the world to discuss and solve the problem on articulation of secondary and higher education. In order to more clearly identify the current cruxes of Chinese high-school and college articulation, this research proposes and elaborates the concept of“Educational Gap”alienating colleges and high schools. And an analytical framework is formed to explain the current weak link between high-school and undergraduate education in China, so as to provide suggestions for the two-way quality improvement for both sides.

Key words: articulation of secondary and higher education, educational gap, high school education, universal higher education