Parental Involvement in College Access: Comparison Between Rural and Urban Parents in Mainland China

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: How Parents and Families Navigate Educational Contexts

Abstract

There has long been a huge rural-urban divide in China, especially in college access. Most Chinese are persuaded by the power of meritocracy and thus believe that every high school student has the equitable access to college through Gaokao. Actually, there are a lot of factors beyond individual merit play an important role in students’ college access. This study interrogates the pervasive myths that there is less and less space for parents to get involved when their children grow up. The key issue in this study is to explore the mechanisms of parental involvement in their children's college access under the social context of rural-urban gap in mainland China.

Author

• Quanyong Yi, The University of Hong Kong