创造一个抱负文化—高等教育在人力资本和社会变革中扮演的角色

Creating a Culture of Aspiration：The Role of Higher Education in Human Capital and Social Change

在美国，为经济与社会的双重效益发展人力资本的想法可以追溯到建国之初，正是这一想法导致建成之世界上第一个大学高等教育系统。现在大多数国家都在竞相扩大大学以及学院的入学率，并增强其在社会中的作用。高等教育在建设一个抱负文化中的重要性将显著地增加，并反过来促进人力资本的形成，提高社会经济流动性，并决定国家的经济竞争力。本文横跨过去和未来，简要讨论了人力资本对国民经济的重要作用，探讨了从高等教育中收获的公共和私人利益、民族国家和地区为了建成一个抱负文化所做出的努力以及在高等教育领域试图建设一个”结构化机会市场”所用方法的整合。各种机构、发达国家和发展中国家、某些情况下甚至包括像欧盟这样的超国家实体，将越来越多地走向结构化机会市场的大部份—如果不是全部的话，而那些未走向这一市场者将被要求在国内以及国际范围的舆论的舆论环境内为其不采取这种模式的原因作出合理解释。本文最后对中国新出现和日益发展的高等教育系统提出了一些意见。

In the United States， developing human capital for both economic and social benefits is an idea as old as the nation itself and led to the world’s first mass higher education system. Now most other nations are racing to expand access to universities and colleges and to expand their role in society. Higher education will grow markedly in its importance for building a culture of aspiration and， in turn， the formation of human capital， the promotion of social economic mobility， and for determining national economic competitiveness. This essay briefly discusses the vital role of human capital for national economies， past and future. It also examines the public and private benefits of higher education， the effort of nation—states， and region， to build a culture of aspiration， and the convergence of approaches towards building a “structured opportunity market” in higher education. The paper concludes with a few observations on the emerging and growing higher education system in China.