Expansion, Differentiation, and the Effectively Maintained Rural-Urban Gap in Higher Education: Evidence From Shanghai

• In Event: Rurality and Education

Abstract

Analyzing data of a representative sample of a cohort born between 1980-1989 in Shanghai, this study examined how the rural-urban gaps in college enrollment change in the context of educational expansion, and whether students of rural or urban origins are channeled into different types of postsecondary institutions in a highly stratified higher education system. This study documents significant rural-urban gap in college enrollment in the sample. The rural-urban gap in college enrollment significantly decreased from 1998 to 2007 as higher education enrollment rapidly expands. However, this decrease is more driven by the equalization in access to vocational colleges than four-year institutions. In terms of the enrollment in four-year institutions and elite institutions in particular, the rural-urban inequalities effectively maintained.

Author

• Kai Zhao, Florida State University