The "Fourfold Logic" for the Classification of Higher Education Institutions in the Development of a Leading Country in Education
Wu Daguang
Abstract：The classification of higher education institutions is a product of a country's higher education when its scale and system gets developed in a certain stage, and the marker of a mature higher education system. The classification of higher education institutions in China concerns not only the country's strategic goal of becoming a leading country in higher education, but also the future development of its higher education institutions. In the new era, the classification of higher education institutions in China needs to be considered on the basis of the following fourfold logic: The shift of higher education institutions from "natural growth" to classification reflects both the historical logic in the classification-based development and the contemporary logic of adapting to social changes; the Western logic for the classification of higher education institutions is rooted in their unique university traditions and institutional pathways, while China's latedeveloping, exogenous model of higher education needs a process of China-based and redefined development; the classification of higher education institutions embodies a conscious integration of the educational logic, which follows the intrinsic laws of education, and the logic for the development of a leading country, which is driven by means of enhancing the country's global competitiveness; and the shift from the system-based logic to the governance-oriented logic in the classification of higher education institutions constitutes an inevitable reality in the development of a leading country in education and the theoretical development of the classification of higher education institutions.
Key words：leading country in education ; higher education ; classification management ; classification development
Published in Educational Research (《教育研究》), 2025, Issue 5.
