Abstract
To date, little research has focused solely on rural students’ adjustment and integration on campus after admittance into elite universities through special admission policies. This qualitative inquiry aims to uncover the adjustment concerns faced by rural students enrolled through special admission policies in elite universities in China. The study findings are discussed and analyzed in Bernstein’s conceptual framework. The study revealed that students were mainly faced with two kinds of concerns, academic and social-cultural. The findings of this study have important implications for faculty and administrators at prestigious universities in China. As the elite universities commit themselves to recruiting more rural students, attention must be paid on how to best support and incorporate rural students into the lives of these campuses. It is important to develop a friendlier and more inclusive ethos in elite universities in China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aries, E., & Seider, M. (2005). The interactive relationship between class identity and the college experience: the case of lower income students. Qualitative Sociology, 28(4), 419–442.
Andreas, J. (2009). Rise of the red engineers: the cultural revolution and the origins of China’s new class. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Awbrey, S. M. (2005). General education reform as organizational change: integrating cultural and structural change. The Journal of General Education, 54(1), 1–21.
Baxter, A., & Britton, C. (2001). Risk, identity and change: becoming a mature student. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 11(1), 87–101.
Bernstein, B. (1975). Class, codes and control (Volume 3): Towards a theory of educational transmissions. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Bourdieu, P. (1990). The logic of practice. Cambridge: Polity.
Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1977). Reproduction in education, society, and culture. Beverly Hills: Sage.
Bowen, W. G., & Bok, D. (1998). The shape of the river: long-term consequences of considering race in college and university admissions. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Finn, P. (2012). Preparing for power in elite boarding schools and in working-class schools. Theory Into Practice, 51(1), 57–63.
Flores, M. (2003) Senator wants college rule axed; Official: Automatic admission for top 10% in high schools is unfair. San Antonio Express News, p. 1.
Gao, Y., Liu, Z., & Fang, P. (2015). The effect of family capital on the academic performance of college students—a survey at 20 higher education institutions in Jiangsu Province. Chinese Education & Society, 48(2), 81–91.
Gaztambide-Fernández, R. A. (2009a). The best of the best: becoming elite at an American boarding school. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Gaztambide-Fernández, R. A. (2009b). What is an elite boarding school? Review of Educational Research, 79, 1090–1128.
Ginsberg, H. R. (1980). Reported problems of rural students at the University of Pennsylvania as a function of gender and class (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.
Han, L., & Li, M. (2014). Relationship among the rural college students’ depression social support and resilience. Journal of Chinese School Health, 35(3), 385–390.
Heinisch, B. P. (2016). Small fish out of water: rural first-generation student experience at a large university. Journal of College Orientation and Transition, 24(1), 21–33.
Hu, H. (2015). The socialization of rural college students: Social Stratification and the transformation of living styles for rural college students. Chinese Education & Society, 48(2), 114–127.
Keane, E. (2011). Distancing to self-protect: the perpetuation of inequality in higher education through socio-relational dis/engagement. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 32(3), 449–466.
Lehmann, W. (2012). Working-class students, habitus, and the development of student roles: a Canadian case study. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 33(4), 527–546.
Levin, H. M., & Xu, Z. (2006). Issues in the expansion of higher education in the People’s Republic of China. In H. Lauder et al. (Eds.), Education, Globalization, And Social Change (pp. 909–925). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Li, H. (2013). Rural students’ experiences in a Chinese elite university: capital, habitus and practices. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(5–6), 829–847. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.821940.
Li, M. (2018). The research on the rural college students’ mental illness and counseling methods towards them. Rural Technology., 3, 24–25.
Li, W., Yan, K., & Li, Y. H. (2016). Types and growth factors of college students from impoverished rural areas: an empirical study of “self-improvement program” participants. Tsinghua Education and Research, 1, 55–60.
Liu, J. M. (2014). Ability and background: analysis of mechanism affecting access to higher education. Social Science in China, 8, 109–128.
Massey, D. S., & Mooney, M. (2007). The effects of America’s three affirmative action programs on academic performance. Social Problems, 54(1), 99–117.
Murphy, M. C. (1984). The adjustment of rural high school students to a large, urban university: the identification of stressors and coping behaviors (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Austin: The University of Texas at Austin.
Niu, X. C. (2017). Early academic performance of rural students under special admission policies—evidence from an elite university. Fudan Education Forum, 15(4), 52–61.
Niu, X., & Wan, G. (2018). The effectiveness and efficiency of China’s special admission policies: the case of X University. Asia Pacific Education Review, 19, 63–78.
Pan, S.-Y. (2014). Intertwining of academia and officialdom and university autonomy: experience from Tsinghua University in China. Higher Education Policy, 20, 121–144.
Postiglione, G. A., Xie, A., Jung, J., & Hong, Y. (2017). Rural students in a Chinese top-tier university: family background, school effects, and academic performance. Chinese Education & Society, 50(2), 63–74.
Qin, H., & Li, N. (2014). The influences of cultural capital within the university: an analysis of Chinese rural college students. Peking University Education Review, 12(4), 73–88.
Sabour, M'hammed (1999). The State Nobility: Elite Schools in the Field of Power by Pierre Bourdie. Acta Sociologica, 42(2), 188–190.
Schein, E. (1985). Organizational culture and leadership: a dynamic view. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Schuck, P. H. (2014). Assessing affirmative action. Journal of Economic Literature, 38(3), 483–568.
Sun, W. (2012). Analysis on the decreasing ratio of rural students in university through the lens of communication theory. Xinwen Aihaozhe. 2012 (3): 57–58.
The Economist. 2014. Not educating the masses; university admissions. The Economist. v.410, no.8868, 2014-01-04.
Thernstrom, A., & Thernstrom, S. (1996). Reflections on the shape of the river. UCLA Law Review, 46, 1583–1632.
Walder, A. G. (1995). Career mobility and the Communist political order. American Sociological Review, 60(3), 309–328.
Wang, X. H., Pan, K. F., & Wu, Q. X. (2017). Study on students’ academic performance of the rural and poor area special enrollment program in high level universities: evidence from a university. Journal of National Academy of Education Administration, 5, 66–75.
Wu, X. (2017). Higher education, elite formation and social stratification in contemporary China: preliminary findings from the Beijing college students panel survey. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 3(1), 3–31.
Xie, A. (2015a). Inside the college gate: rural students and their academic and social success. Chinese Education & Society, 48(2), 77–80.
Xie, A. (2015b). Toward a more equal admission?. Access in the mass higher education era. Chinese Education & Society, 48(3), 157–162.
Xie, A. (2016). Rural students in China's elite universities: social mobility and habitus transformation. Educational Research, 11, 74–81.
Yu, X. (2015). From passive assimilation to active integration: the adaptation of rural college students to cities. Chinese Education & Society, 48(2), 92–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/10611932.2015.1014714.
Yu, X. L., & Bai, X. (2016). Undergraduate special admission policies favoring candidates of rural China: debate, reflection and reform. Journal of Higher Education, 37(1), 22–29.
Zhang, Y., & Wang, Y. (2015). A qualitative study of the adaptation of rural college students to college life. Chinese Education & Society, 48(2), 105–113.
Zhou, X. G. (2004). The state and life chances in urban China: redistribution and stratification, 1949–1994. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Acknowledgments
This study is supported by the Humanities and Social Sciences projects of the Ministry of Education (Grant No: 18YJA880104), Beijing Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project (Grant No: 15JYA002), and Tsinghua University Independent Research Project (Grant No: 2016THZWYX11).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Biographical sketch: Dr. Kun Yan currently works as an associate professor, Institute of Education, Tsinghua University. Dr. Kun Yan received doctoral degree in the Division of Leadership and Policy Studies, College of Education, Arizona State University, USA.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yan, K., Wu, L. The adjustment concerns of rural students enrolled through special admission policy in elite universities in China . High Educ 80, 215–235 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00475-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-019-00475-4