Abstract
Through analyzing original survey data from 1012 ninth graders at 9 middle schools collected in Beijing in 2015 and adopting the frameworks of social stratification and Effectively Maintained Inequality, this study examines the differential in the choice of and access to such educational resources as studying overseas among different social strata in China. Particular attention is paid to students from those groups which are at an advantage in building networks and mobilizing social resources, namely high-ranking officials, wealthy business owners, and white-collar professionals. By analyzing how different social strata differ in their willingness and plan to study overseas, this empirical study has shown that studying overseas, which is considered an option for pursuing high-quality educational resources, has proven to be such a tool for advantaged social classes to maintain their status and for disadvantaged social classes to climb up the social ladder.
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Notes
Chinese secondary schools have a 3 + 3 structure, which means that middle schools cover 7th through 9th grades, and high schools cover 10th through 12th grades.
We did interviews with teachers in the sampled schools and all of them thought highly of this test. Students with higher test scores were more likely to get better grades in the official high school entrance examination.
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Funding was provided by China Institute for Educational Finance Research.
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Fan, A., Cheng, B. Social Stratification and Studying Overseas: Empirical Evidence from Middle Schools in Beijing. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 27, 11–21 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0361-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-017-0361-2