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The aim of my article is to confront the insider/outsider dichotomy with the present state of cultural research from the meta-analytical perspective. In the beginning, the paper reconstructs classical Robert Merton's theory of insider/outsider and the research potential of its basic assumption. Then, the emic-/etic approaches, as well as absolutist and constructivist approaches to cross-cultural research, are considered. The four James Bank's types of cultural researchers and Richard Hanvey's cultural empathy levels are presented against the background of multicultural reality. Further, the opposition of indigenous epistemology and the Western one is analyzed, as well as potential value of decolonizing methodology is emphasized. Finally, the article brings solid conclusions regarding the importance of the insider/ outsider dichotomy as a tool for understanding the key issues of cross-cultural research even in our current global era.

This article concerns „gaokao” Chinese exams. I show how the „high stakes” tests (the essence of these exams) create the winners and losers in the battle for stratification success. They set up, as a one-time „selection act”, the trajectory of a career and the whole future life of young Chinese. At the same time, they are an example of the entanglement of the testing process in politics and of the enormous (and overwhelming) social pressure on young people.

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Contemporary educational policy of many developed countries is permeated with the ideology of neoliberalism, the essence of which is to increase the efficiency and "focus on the best," while respecting the principle of indifference to sex, race or social origin. It is belevied that in neoliberalism, education - seen as the "good of the individual" is bringing economic benefits to society. Learning / knowledge becomes a commodity, an individual is treated in accordance with the logic of neoliberalism as "innovative entrepreneur", which determines his/her own success or failure. Here there is a dominance of rhetoric of performance, efficiency and standards together with conviction that schools should operate as excellent corporations that bring profits through routine activities, procedures, diagnosis and evaluation. In this context one can ask the question: is it still possible, to believe in emancipatory function of education?