‘Up or Out’ System: Young Teachers in Chinese Universities

Against the backdrop of academic capitalism, this study explores the implementation of the "up-or-out" system in Chinese universities and its impacts on young teachers via a mixed-methods approach combining questionnaires and in-depth interviews. It reveals that the system, a localized adaptation of the U.S. tenure-track system, suffers from value misalignment and rigid quantitative assessment, leading to academic alienation, severe group-specific dilemmas, and structural injustice. The study clarifies four core conflicts in the system, including incentive vs. alienation effects and quantitative vs. qualitative assessment debates. It proposes optimized paths featuring value return, classified adaptation, and enhanced guarantees to balance institutional logic, academic essence, and individual demands, providing theoretical and practical support for university personnel system reform.