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==Origin==
French élite, from Old French eslite, from [[feminine]] of eslit, past participle of eslire to [[choose]], from [[Latin]] eligere
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1823]
==Definitions==
*1a singular or plural in construction : the [[choice]] part : cream <the elite of the [[entertainment]] world>
:b singular or plural in construction : the best of a class <superachievers who [[dominate]] the computer elite — Marilyn Chase>
:c singular or plural in construction : the [[socially]] superior part of [[society]] <how the French-speaking elite…was changing — Economist>
:d : a [[group]] of persons who by [[virtue]] of position or [[education]] exercise much power or [[influence]] <members of the ruling elite>
:e : a member of such an elite —usually used in plural <the elites … , pursuing their [[studies]] in Europe — Robert Wernick>
*2: a typewriter type providing 12 characters to the [[linear]] inch
==Description==
'''Elite''' (occasionally spelled élite) is taken originally from the [[Latin]], eligere, "to elect". In [[sociology]] as in general usage, the elite is a group of [[relatively]] small size, that is [[dominant]] within a large [[society]], having a [[privileged]] [[status]] perceived as being envied by others of a lower line of order.
The elite at the top of the [[social strata]] almost invariably puts it in a position of [[leadership]], whether it be expected or volunteered, and often subjects the holders of elite [[status]] to [[pressure]] to maintain that leadership position as part of status.
==Educational elite==
Elites are [[educated]] to govern. While common [[public]] [[education]] is often designed to educate the general [[population]] to produce knowledgeable and [[skilled]] [[citizens]], the elite approach to education is often presented at a more [[intellectual]] and demanding level, and is geared to produce [[leaders]] of a sort. It can be [[idealized]] as an education geared to producing an individual capable of [[thinking]] at an intellectual level more advanced than the general population, consisting of [[diverse]] philosophical [[ideals]] and [[theories]] to enable the elite to logically [[evaluate]] situations.
However in some [[systems]], such as that of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholar-bureaucrats Scholar-bureaucrats] that administered China for 1300 years, elite education is used to select and skim off the most able [[students]] regardless of [[class]] or financial background. To pass these [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_examinations Imperial examinations], students had to be versed in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism Confucian] [[classics]] and neo-Confucian commentaries, creating a [[cohesive]] and socially [[homogeneous]] [[scholar]]-gentry. This co-opted into its [[service]] those who would have [[potentially]] been the most [[dangerous]] to the [[state]] and left would be malcontents either leaderless or those it did have uneducated. As an avenue to [[political]] [[power]], the [[examination]] system became increasingly corrupted, with [[political]] connections and [[loyalty]] to the [[regime]] becoming as important as outright [[ability]]. The [[cultural]] [[legacy]] of this [[policy]] can still be found in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China selection for the elite Chinese Universities] to this day. Elite universities, through a [[process]] of indoctrination of a common [[heritage]], [[ethos]] and [[promise]] of preferred advancement, create a [[loyal]] administrative/ruling elite for the [[service]] of the [[state]]. Such a system of selection for elite education can be seen in the [[Occident|Western]] [[tradition]] as well, for example in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandes_%C3%A9coles France's Grandes écoles].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite]
[[Category: Sociology]]
[[Category: Education]]
==Origin==
French élite, from Old French eslite, from [[feminine]] of eslit, past participle of eslire to [[choose]], from [[Latin]] eligere
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1823]
==Definitions==
*1a singular or plural in construction : the [[choice]] part : cream <the elite of the [[entertainment]] world>
:b singular or plural in construction : the best of a class <superachievers who [[dominate]] the computer elite — Marilyn Chase>
:c singular or plural in construction : the [[socially]] superior part of [[society]] <how the French-speaking elite…was changing — Economist>
:d : a [[group]] of persons who by [[virtue]] of position or [[education]] exercise much power or [[influence]] <members of the ruling elite>
:e : a member of such an elite —usually used in plural <the elites … , pursuing their [[studies]] in Europe — Robert Wernick>
*2: a typewriter type providing 12 characters to the [[linear]] inch
==Description==
'''Elite''' (occasionally spelled élite) is taken originally from the [[Latin]], eligere, "to elect". In [[sociology]] as in general usage, the elite is a group of [[relatively]] small size, that is [[dominant]] within a large [[society]], having a [[privileged]] [[status]] perceived as being envied by others of a lower line of order.
The elite at the top of the [[social strata]] almost invariably puts it in a position of [[leadership]], whether it be expected or volunteered, and often subjects the holders of elite [[status]] to [[pressure]] to maintain that leadership position as part of status.
==Educational elite==
Elites are [[educated]] to govern. While common [[public]] [[education]] is often designed to educate the general [[population]] to produce knowledgeable and [[skilled]] [[citizens]], the elite approach to education is often presented at a more [[intellectual]] and demanding level, and is geared to produce [[leaders]] of a sort. It can be [[idealized]] as an education geared to producing an individual capable of [[thinking]] at an intellectual level more advanced than the general population, consisting of [[diverse]] philosophical [[ideals]] and [[theories]] to enable the elite to logically [[evaluate]] situations.
However in some [[systems]], such as that of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholar-bureaucrats Scholar-bureaucrats] that administered China for 1300 years, elite education is used to select and skim off the most able [[students]] regardless of [[class]] or financial background. To pass these [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_examinations Imperial examinations], students had to be versed in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucianism Confucian] [[classics]] and neo-Confucian commentaries, creating a [[cohesive]] and socially [[homogeneous]] [[scholar]]-gentry. This co-opted into its [[service]] those who would have [[potentially]] been the most [[dangerous]] to the [[state]] and left would be malcontents either leaderless or those it did have uneducated. As an avenue to [[political]] [[power]], the [[examination]] system became increasingly corrupted, with [[political]] connections and [[loyalty]] to the [[regime]] becoming as important as outright [[ability]]. The [[cultural]] [[legacy]] of this [[policy]] can still be found in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China selection for the elite Chinese Universities] to this day. Elite universities, through a [[process]] of indoctrination of a common [[heritage]], [[ethos]] and [[promise]] of preferred advancement, create a [[loyal]] administrative/ruling elite for the [[service]] of the [[state]]. Such a system of selection for elite education can be seen in the [[Occident|Western]] [[tradition]] as well, for example in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandes_%C3%A9coles France's Grandes écoles].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite]
[[Category: Sociology]]
[[Category: Education]]
