Ability vs Background: An Analysis of the Distribution Mechanism of Higher Education Enrolment Opportunities

Individual education performance is usually influenced jointly by ability and background (family background). The relative share of these two factors forms the basic grounds for judgments of educational equity. Using sheaf coefficients, we compare the influence of these two mechanisms on the distribution of access to regular first degree higher education opportunities for institutions at different levels. Our findings show that both ability and family background have a marked influence. The higher the level of the institution, the greater the ability demanded of its students. The effect of family also increases significantly at this level, but ability always has a much stronger influence than family background. It can be seen that though family background is influential in the distribution of higher education opportunities in China today, ability fundamentally remains the dominant criterion, embodying the classic features of a meritocratic society “open to talent.”