From a historical perspective, it was only in the modern era that the academic profession was favored by the middle and upper classes who came to dominate it. This article shows that, in contemporary China, the pattern of the middle and upper classes dominating the academic profession results from their families having a good early education and…

There has been a rapid global expansion of English instruction in the early grades in public school curricula. Particularly in so-called developing countries, the increase of and its shift from exclusively private to public education is linked to the idea that acquiring English promotes personal, social, and economic development. The author takes…