In the stage of elite-oriented higher education,cultivating the elites is the essential goal of universities.Since the mid of the 20th century,egalitarianism has gradually replaced elitism in the development of higher education.With the higher education expansion aiming at egalitarianism,the characteristics of elite education in universities have been replaced by higher vocational education and the general application of cutting-edge scientific research.In this context,elite education is facing the fate of being exiled,and it is increasingly difficult for universities to cultivate top talents.Today,China has entered the stage of universal higher education,and the higher education expansion is still continuing.In this background,only by examining the contradiction between excellence and equality with the theory of egali-tarianism and elitism can we set up the reasonable scale of mass and elite education so as to realize the high-quality development of higher education.
scale expansion of higher educationeducational equalitycultivation of top tal-entselite education