Cultural capital and gender differences in parental involvement in children's schooling and higher education choice in China

Abstract

This article employs the concept of cultural capital to examine the ways in which social difference in terms of gender are played out in parental involvement in children's schooling and higher education choice. The intention has been to provide an in-depth analysis of the ways in which Chinese mothers and fathers are involved in the process. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 47 secondary school students and 50 parents in Beijing. This article reveals that the transmission of cultural capital is gendered. Mothers have a different and more direct relationship to the generation of cultural capital than fathers. This article reveals that patriarchal relationships are common among Chinese families, with fathers having a controlling role and mothers having a servicing one. I suggest that the traditional cultural norms, such as that based on Confucian patriarchy, have had influences on gender relationships in the transmission of cultural capital to children's educational achievement.

Cultural and Gender Differences in Experiences and Expression of Test Anxiety Among Chinese, Finnish, and Swedish Grade 3 Pupils

“…Therefore, gender differences in value appraisals and control could mediate differences in achieved emotional experience (Pekrun, 2006). In a study by Sheng (2012) on Chinese families, traditional cultural norms based on Confucian patriarchy were transmitted to children's educational achievement. Children's schooling was thus powerfully gendered to masculine control and female servitude.…”

“…(2008) showed that cultural commandments and the distinctiveness of countries' educational settings affect differences in experiences of test anxiety across cultures. Despite China's great advancements and modernization, which are indicative of important differences between modern Chinese culture and its previous culture based on strict Confucian philosophy (Starr, 2012), Sheng (2012) has suggested that contemporary Chinese society has retained crucial Eastern psychological, social, and cultural aspects. This preservation of the traditional Chinese cultural perspective thus demonstrates that the country has in some sense retained its cultural soul while modernizing.…”

“…However, girls are still confronted by significant obstacles to progression beyond compulsory education, and it is argued that they do not aspire to academic careers as a matter of course (Sheng, 2012). At the same time, the construct of masculinity in China that emphasizes effort, responsibility, control, and group cohesion is considered to be an important contributor to emotions (Ellsworth & Scherer, 2003).…”

Fathers’ Importance in Adolescents’ Academic Achievement

“…Despite distinct categories of fathers in a variety of family dynamics, prior research studies often dichotomize father types into biological fathers versus stepfathers (e.g., Sweeney, 2007;Videon, 2004), or father presence versus father absence (e. g., Vogt Yuan & Hamilton, 2006). Many studies fail to investigate fathers' influence on children's academic outcomes, instead relying on mothers' involvement to model the effect of both parents (see An & Hodge, 2013;Lai & Vadeboncoeur, 2013: Monti, Pomerantz, & Roisman, 2014von Otter, 2014;Sheng, 2012). As family demographics continue to evolve, research into the various influences of different father types becomes more important.…”

Gender Disparity and Cultural Impacts on Girls’ Education in Laos

“…Colclough, Rose and Tembon (2000) have studied the relationship between poverty, schooling and gender inequality in Guinea and Ethiopia. In China, Sheng (2012) reveals the condition of children's education in a patriarchal society, where the fathers take the role of leaders, and the mothers take a secondary role. The transmission of this cultural capital has a great effect on children's educational attainment in China.…”