Higher Education Choice in China

Social stratification, gender and educational inequality

Xiaoming Sheng

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780415843096
• eBook ISBN: 9781317803935
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Education General
• Index: Social Sciences

Much of the existing research on parental involvement and higher education choice examines the difference between the working class and the middle class, but little literature looks at different factions within the social classes. This book discusses higher education choice in China, particularly through the examination of social issues such as social stratification, parental involvement, and gender and educational inequality.

Drawing from an empirical study based on Bourdieu's theory, the book explores both inter-class and intra-class differences in China, providing an insight into how social class differences influence a number of issues, including:

• educational equality
• the role parents, especially mothers, play in higher education decision-making
• the relationship between traditional cultural norms
• gendered relationships within Chinese families.

The sociology of higher education choices are derived through feedback from various sources, including both parents and students themselves. The book will be key reading for postgraduates and researchers in the fields of sociology, sociology of education, Chinese studies and Asian studies.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Frontmatter 1
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• List of tables
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• 1 Setting the scene
• 2 Class and higher education choice
• 3 Gender and higher education choice
• 4 Cultural capital and class strategy: how middle-class mothers make cultural capital work
• 5 Capital and social stratification: four social factions within the middle classes
• 6 Habitus and the reproduction of cultural capital
• 7 Contributions and conclusions
• Index