Decoding the behavioral imaginary

Voluntarily submission to symbolic violence of Chinese Postgraduate Entrance Examination (PEE)

Bibliographic Data

ID7148802
AuthorsYibin Wang (0000-0003-0852-0767, Northeast Normal University), Yan Shi (0000-0003-0320-3244, Northeast Normal University, corresponding author), Xinrui Wang (0000-0002-0846-354X, Jilin University), Jing Wang (0000-0002-7594-8539, Jiangsu Second Normal University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume47
Issue1
Pages139-157
Publication date2026-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Sociology of Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0142-5692 • E-ISSN: 1465-3346
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01425692.2025.2584179
OpenAlexW7106083821
LanguageEN
References cited44

In China, the Postgraduate Entrance Examination (PEE) presents a paradox: students devise elaborate preparation strategies and persist in intensely competitive study, despite recognising that these very behaviours are collectively inefficient. Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Charles Taylor and Pierre Bourdieu, this study reveals that students’ behavioural imaginaries in the PEE function as an interpretive bridge that transforms symbolic violence into voluntarily submission. We used digital ethnography on Chinese online platform. We interviewed 18 candidates (aged 22–26). They showed paradoxical engagement with this detrimental form of competition. Analysis reveals three behavioural imaginaries: strategic rationalization, competitive internalization, and technical legitimation. Contrary to views attributing competition to irrational decision or individual anxiety, our findings highlight sophisticated meaning-making processes that reconcile structural constraints with personal agency. This analysis contributes to understanding how educational systems foster voluntary participation bey­ond mere compliance, offering insights into the cognitive dimensions of educational competition across diverse contexts

Decoding methods · Discourse analysis · Ethnography · Higher education · Poison control · The Symbolic · Academic integrity and plagiarism · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Global Educational Reforms and Inequalities

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