Discursive Construction of China's "Double First-Class" Policy: A Five-Dimensional Analysis Based on the Wahlström &amp; Sundberg Framework

Chaobin Zou; Xue Li; Feng Li

doi:10.47297/wspiedWSP2516-250016.20261002

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Discursive Construction of China's "Double First-Class" Policy: A Five-Dimensional Analysis Based on the Wahlström & Sundberg Framework

Volume 10, Issue 2

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Discursive Construction of China's "Double First-Class" Policy: A Five-Dimensional Analysis Based on the Wahlström & Sundberg Framework
Discursive Construction of China's "Double First-Class" Policy: A Five-Dimensional Analysis Based on the Wahlström & Sundberg Framework
1.Gachon University, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, 13120, Republic of Korea
2.Neijiang Normal University, Neijiang, Sichuan, 641100, China
3.No.6 Middle School of Neijiang City, Neijiang, Sichuan, 641100, China
Vol. 10, Issue 2, Pages: 81-86(2026)
Published：28 February 2026
DOI：10.47297/wspiedWSP2516-250016.20261002
Accepted：

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Zou Chaobin,Li Xue,Li Feng.Discursive Construction of China's "Double First-Class" Policy: A Five-Dimensional Analysis Based on the Wahlström & Sundberg Framework[J].Journal of International Education and Development,2026,10(02):81-86.
DOI：

Zou Chaobin,Li Xue,Li Feng.Discursive Construction of China's "Double First-Class" Policy: A Five-Dimensional Analysis Based on the Wahlström & Sundberg Framework[J].Journal of International Education and Development,2026,10(02):81-86. DOI： 10.47297/wspiedWSP2516-250016.20261002.

摘要

Abstract

This study examines the discursive construction of China's "Double First-Class" (DFC) higher education policy. While existing research has predominantly focused on implementation outcomes

scant attention has been paid to how the policy itself is discursively shaped and rendered legitimate. Drawing on discursive institutionalism as a theoretical lens

this study employs Wahlström and Sundberg's five-dimensional analytical framework—encompassing the epistemological

political

ethical

aesthetic

and instrumental/utilitarian dimensions—to conduct a qualitative content analysis of core DFC policy texts. The findings reveal that DFC policy discourse constitutes a multi-layered structure anchored by two overarching logics: state volition and performativity. The political dimension (national strategic imperatives) and the instrumental dimension (performance-driven logic) jointly shape a utilitarian conception of knowledge (epistemology)

a narrative of service to the nation as the supreme good (ethics)

and a heroic mobilizational rhetoric (aesthetics). These five dimensions operate synergistically to construct a self-reinforcing legitimacy narrative chain from "why build" to "how to build." However

deep-seated internal tensions persist

principally between rigid state discipline and university autonomy

between universalistic world-class standards and particularistic Chinese characteristics

and between the long-term mission of moral cultivation and the short-term pressures of performativity. This study demonstrates that these discursive tensions constitute root causes of practical dilemmas

offering a novel diagnostic perspective for understanding the internal dynamics of Chinese higher education reform.

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references

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Discursive Construction of China's "Double First-Class" Policy: A Five-Dimensional Analysis Based on the Wahlström & Sundberg Framework

DOI：10.47297/wspiedWSP2516-250016.20261002

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references